Students in Watsonville High School’s Hope Club unveiled a “Peace Pole” Friday during a community-wide peace ceremony at the campus library.
The permanent monument, engraved with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight languages, was created to serve as a cornerstone of the Hope Club’s mission “to foster unity, reflection, and positivity within the student body and the broader Watsonville community.”
“At a time when there is so much conflict and grief in the world, the students wanted to help uplift people’s spirits,” said school counselor Daisy Nuñez who helped spearhead the project.
Senior and Hope Club member Crystal Martinez said she and fellow students have been working on the project since January.
“It feels good; it has been one of the best things that has happened to me. It was a big struggle, but we made it.”
Nuñez said students in grades 9-12 worked on the project.
Around 150 people, including students, staff, families, and the local community attended the hour-long event that included brief talks by Hope Club 10 students who highlighted, among other things, three deaths by the deaths of three Watsonville High students and a stabbing attack recently at the campus.
Hope Club is a student-led organization that focuses on “promoting mental wellness, social harmony, and a supportive campus culture through community-building events and inclusive initiatives,” WHS officials said.
Of the Peace Pole, which features English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Italian, Mixteco, Japanese, and French, student Hilda González-Basurto wrote, “The message of hope in our Peace Pole comes from the understanding that, even though we speak different languages and come from different cultures, we all share the same desire for peace, kindness and connection.”
In addition to a program, created by students, each visitor was presented with a handprinted greeting card with their original artwork.
