According to Taft’s Principal Mark Grishaber, this year for the first time in about 84 years, Hispanic students make up the most of our student population. 46 percent of students are reported Hispanic, which makes the month of September widely celebrated for students at Taft High School.
Taft Principal Mark Grishaber responded to the importance of this month saying, “You know what, I’m a little torn on Hispanic month, I think it should be Hispanic year.” Referring to the fact that he thinks everyone should be celebrated everyday.
When asked about what he was doing to celebrate, senior Juan Aceves stated, “Me and my girlfriend Katie went out to our favorite local Mexican restaurant on the first day of the month.”
Since Grishaber said many people either didn’t know about Hispanic Heritage Month in general or didn’t know who was Hispanic, he wanted to educate Taft students. Because of this, Security Guard Joseph Rodriguez was asked to handle lunchroom activities.
When administration was thinking of staff members to participate they went to Rodriguez saying, “This sounds like it’s right up your alley.” He has previously mentioned he likes to play music and initiate fun activities. Rodriguez said,“And I said sure.”
Every Wednesday Rodriquez goes down for lunch periods two through seven and gets the students involved in many ways. For example, he says, “ The first week we played Loteria, the classic game of Spanish bingo.” But that’s not all, they have had flag representation and dance lessons.
Giving credit where it’s due, Alexis Covarrubias, Assistant Principal, handles all of the announcements. Covarrubias gathers all of the facts and announces them every week.
Students, part of the Hispanic community, were asked if they thought what Taft was doing to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month was needed. Senior Katie Alverado expressed, “It makes parts of school fun, and it also educates at the same time.”
