Central Speaks + Central Speaks Back

HENRY SWANSON ‘24

The lunches need a total overhaul. The fries sometimes are grey, soggy and have grease residue in them, the ‘meat’ tastes more like it was boiled to be cooked, frozen for late then boiled again to be thawed. I have gotten two expired milks and a spoiled applesauce when getting school lunch.“

It’s a decent school. Food needs to improve a lot. On a more serious note though they need to do a “ better job in preventing bullying of queer students.

It’s a little out of hand. And when students tell staff about this they are often ignored. But I’d say 75% of “ the teachers are great and teach very well and some students are very kind.

Central Speaks

SEAN HUMPHREY ‘25

ELLA SHERMAN ‘23

I am a member of both the Cultural Diversity club and the GayStraight Alliance here at Central High School. One thing I feel Central students and staff could work on is valuing diversity and in“ hibiting discrimination. Our students should be able to feel safe and secure in their learning environment, they should feel comfortable in their own skin. When a student or staff member makes a hurtful, discriminatory comment, they should feel comfortable disclosing that information with a staff member, whether that be a social worker or a teacher. Staff should validate the student’s experience and how they are feeling because of it rather than brushing it off or trying to make excuses for the perpetrator’s behavior. The issue should be addressed accordingly and the victim should notice a change. “ Our school could implement more diversity into the curriculum and highlight the importance of understanding and acceptance.

by Lillian Hobart & Ted Arnold staff writer & content editor

Central Speaks is a forum for students to share their thoughts about the ups and downs of the “Central” Life. Here’s what students like you had to say.

IN RESPONSE TO HENRY SWANSON

I’m sorry that he feels that way. Anytime that a student brings a comment forward and we hear of it we always investigate it, we always make sure that there’s a conversation and that parents or guardians are looped in. Sometimes social work and counseling services are provided, too. We don’t want the comments to continue. The majority of the time, it is a kid trying to seek attention from peers, trying to impress somebody else, possibly ‘I want that person to like me, I want “ that person to think I’m cool’ type of motivation, not realizing the impact of their comments.

IN RESPONSE TO SEAN HUMPHREY

Students really seem to like them, so we’re trying to [figure out] how can we have those on more of a regular basis for kids and staff who like them. So any feedback that they have, they can either tell me, or they can tell the kitchen directly too. They love feedback about what kids, what students really liked and what they didn’t like so that we can make some tweaks to the menu. We do have some flexibility there, as long as we’re within the FDA guidelines.“

IN RESPONSE TO ELLA SHERMAN

I would say when somebody makes a comment that’s hurtful or feels like they’re excluding or using power or status to make someone feel small, we’ve got to draw attention to it right away, because what we’ve found in the majority of cases [is] that person didn’t mean or intend to have those consequences. And absolutely, when that comment comes forward, making sure that that person feels heard and feels valued, and we do appreciate that every time, and we do address those every time. There is some confidentiality with, if somebody makes a mistake and made someone else feel less or smaller or hurt, and whether that mistake led to some type of actual disciplinary consequence, like a suspension or just lead to a restorative conversation, we don’t come back and tell the victim: ‘Here’s what happened to the other “ person.’ A part of that is our nature of believing that we’re all humans and we make mistakes. You’re going to right the wrong.

As busy the administrators at Central are, they always have an open ear to listen to what is on the student body’s mind. Here’s what Principal Houghton had to say in response to our Central Speaks forum.