Have you ever thought about being more involved in your school? How about your community? Have you ever thought about joining a club? There are plenty of ways for people to get involved in the community, but for teenagers, reaching out into the community can be stressful and kind of scary. There are a lot of questions and concerns surrounding real-world topics and approaching them with people of varying ages can be extremely nerve-wracking. However, there is a solution: school clubs.
In school clubs, teenagers meet with people close in age and talk about things like the books they’re reading, or the current art project they’re working on, and sometimes they even talk about real-world problems with their peers. The 2024-2025 school year just got going for most teenagers, and clubs are a great way to make new friends and get more involved in the community. BBCHS seems to have captured the attention of many organizations in the community, especially through their art students and advocacy groups. Art students participate in Kankakee Community College’s annual High School Art Exhibition (which is open to the public during specific times listed on KCC’s website), and advocacy groups run events throughout the year to raise awareness for their causes. An example of some advocacy groups at BBCHS include Ecology Club, Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and Students Against Sexual Harassment (SASH). Many of these clubs are new, being only a few years old, but some have been around for quite some time now.
SASH is a newer club, started back in September 2021 after more than 100 BBCHS students gathered in front of the school to protest and raise public awareness of occurrences of alleged sexual assault and harassment in the school. Levi Smith, President of SASH, met with the current principal, Dr. Evan Tingley, shortly after the protests to “discuss how to support the needs of the people who were protesting [that morning in September].” Smith said, “We decided that the best way to show people that the school was supportive was through the creation of a club.” The petition “Justice for Women Against BBCHS” became a staple in the protests, created by someone under the alias Melanie Jensen. Its original goal was to get 2,500 signatures, but according to a 2021 Daily Journal article, it reached 2,395 as of 8 a.m. on the morning of the protest. Now the petition has been signed 6,308 times on change.org, with the goal now being 7,500 signatures. Smith describes SASH as “a supportive place for survivors and allies, as well as a group that is for advocating and supporting anyone who’s not in the group. It’s a safe space for anyone who knows, or needs to know, that there are people there for them if they need the group.”
P.E./Health teacher Ms. Katie Lindo, who is also the sponsor of SASH, addresses how both students and staff can help prevent sexual harassment around the school. She speaks frequently about the importance of consent, as well as reaching out when you think or know you might need help with something going on (whether that is sexual harassment or assault, bullying, etc.). Clove Alliance, according to its website, is an “organization [that] has been serving survivors in [the] community and working to end sexual violence.” Clove, along with some students, reached out to Lindo after the protests in September 2021, wanting to help make a change at BBCHS. She says that staff can get more involved to prevent sexual assault and harassment by taking initiatives and raising awareness. She says that by “having a full understanding of consent, [and understanding that] it exists in all places, we can develop a culture within our school where consent is something that always needs to exist. That [will then] lead to talking about consent in any type of platform, not just related to sexual harassment – which obviously it does (relate). If we make that part of the culture of our building, then that makes it a little bit easier for our staff to participate in that conversation, even if it’s out of what [they would normally teach].” Lindo says that although SASH handles more difficult subjects, they are trying to get more people involved so there are more resources available to students.
If anyone needs to reach out for any reason at all, SASH’s club members are students at BBCHS who are willing to help (or direct help to another member/leader). Their club leaders are students who are selected by fellow members, and most rise in their roles the longer they’ve been involved. Their sponsor, Ms. Lindo, is also there to talk if needed. Clove Alliance is another resource students and staff, as well as the community, can utilize.
SASH meets once a month on Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m. in NN105. Students can find club updates through the daily announcements (which are read during Boiler Block, sent to school-issued emails, and available on the BBCHS web page), SASH’s Remind page, Google Classroom, and on Instagram (@bbchssash).
