Students in the Peer program have a goal to clear stereotypes surrounding people with disabilities.
“One misconception is that because someone has a learning disability or trouble with speech, they can’t communicate or be friends with them which isn’t true,” senior peer Alex Cole said. “They are just as human as the rest of us and should be treated that way.”
A new club at Huron is offering a unique opportunity for students to connect and engage with students with disabilities through fun activities and field trips during late lunch every other Monday in Room 6218.
“The bowling trips we went on last year were probably my favorite memory from Peers,” Cole said. “It was the first time we had an out of class experience and it was the first time I felt less like a peer and more like a friend.”
The club offers a great opportunity for students to have lunch and spend time with their friends as well as meet new people.
“You get to hang out with friends, hang out with teachers and play sports,” junior Hunter Ward said.
At their first meeting, teacher advisor Nicole Pilkins explained that this club is a chapter of the Unified Champion Schools which is run through the Special Olympics. The club will meet every two weeks during late lunch where students will eat lunch and do activities with some of the students with disabilities at Huron. Each month, the club will also have a field trip during school to go bowling.
A club like this is very important for students to get a better understanding of these disabilities they may not have been exposed to before.
“Being an IB school, understanding that there are all different types of students and that there isn’t just diversity in things such as race and gender but that there is also diversity disabilities and that many students may have more in common with students that have disabilities than they think,” Pilkins said.
The next meeting of the Unified Club will be Monday, Jan. 13. Cole and other members of Unified Club strongly encourage all those interested in the club to stop by during lunch for a unique experience that gives students a new opportunity to make friends and do fun activities.