Promoting peace: CCHS Multicultural Club hosts Peace Week virtually

BY ARIELLE KRAUS

Every year, Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) celebrate Choose Peace/Stop Violence Week. To bring this celebration to the CCHS campus, Multicultural Club hosts an annual Peace Week filled with spirit days and activities for students. As CCHS is still engaging in distance learning, Peace Week took place online from September 21 to September 25. 

The purpose of Peace Week is to promote peace throughout the school and encourage students to engage in calm, comforting activities. Multicultural Club promotes this week through their social media accounts– primarily on Instagram– and encourages CCHS students and staff to send in pictures of themselves participating. 

“Multicultural Club celebrates Peace Week because our club stands for unity in diversity. We believe that everyone should be able to come together despite our differences in appearance, cultures, etc. and be able to have peace among ourselves,” Multicultural Club co-president Lauren Dupoux said. “Especially in such a time like this, peace is needed for our world to flourish and I believe that starts with clubs like us.”

Since Peace Week is being hosted virtually, past events held on campus such as Chalk4Peace and the Peace Poll Ceremony can no longer occur. They have instead been replaced with other activities that students can participate in on an online platform. The typical spirit days, however,  are still offered to students, providing a sense of normalcy. 

To celebrate Peace Week, Multicultural Club put together various spirit days and activities for students. Monday, September 21 was “Dream for Peace” day and CCHS students and staff were encouraged to wear pajamas to school and participate in a poster contest. On Tuesday, September 22, the theme was “Team Up for Peace,” where individuals wore their favorite sports-themed attire and the activity was to attend a “Peace and Poetry” event. 

Wednesday, September 23, served as “Wayback Wednesday” with a tie-dye theme. Students were also encouraged to attend the Multicultural Club meeting to become more involved and participate in activities. The theme on Thursday was “Colors for a Cause,” which encouraged students and staff to wear a color representing a cause they are passionate about.

“I participate in Peace Week by showing proud school spirit and participating with various activities throughout the week,” CCHS English teacher Shauna Mogan said. “Peace Week is important because by prompting peace, we promote goodwill, happiness and compassion. These things we desperately need in our world right now and if joining in with Peace Week will help guide even one person, I have done my job.”

On the final day of Peace Week, Friday, September 25, Multicultural Club added an event that has never happened before at CCHS. Alongside the theme of “Flag Day,” where students wear a flag representing their culture, there was a “Hear Our Voices” roundtable discussion. This discussion covered social issues and was co-hosted by Multicultural Club, The Lariat and Peer Counseling. 

“My favorite day is definitely going to be Friday because of our activity we planned with The Lariat and Peer Counselors. The activity is called ‘Hear Our Voices Roundtable’ and although Cooper has never done anything like it before, I’m really excited to see how it turns out,” Multicultural Club member Keri Pollock said. “The roundtable activity is a discussion about social issues that are faced in America at this time. We plan on this discussion bringing our Cooper City community together and a place to address the challenges that we all face.”

“We plan on this discussion bringing our Cooper City community together and a place to address the challenges that we all face.”

Multicultural Club member Keri Pollock

By participating in Peace Week, CCHS students and staff were able to spread positivity throughout the campus. The activities this week promoted peace and allowed students to stay involved from a distance.

“I hope the students and staff gain a sense of comfort throughout all of Peace Week and that they realize that there’s a safe space not only in our school, but in our community,” Dupoux said. “I also hope that they understand that peace isn’t just celebrated for a week, but it should be celebrated every day.”

Photo courtesy of Multicultural Club on Instagram

Illustration by Sofie Kahlig