On Wednesday, February 26, twelve CHS students were invited to the Western Justice Center’s Peer Mediation Invitational, a dispute resolution tactic in which students trained with mediation practices find solutions to problems between fellow students. Peer mediation focuses on de-escalating conflicts before they become detrimental. The end goal is to steer students away from extremes such as gun violence. This program can be implemented in high schools to create a less intimidating environment for resolution, as students often feel more comfortable confiding in peers than adults. Peer Mediation is confidential and unbiased, ensuring that all parties are treated fairly when finding solutions. The twelve selected CHS students came from the Ethnic Studies class, the Student Wellness Advisory Group, and the Civic Act club. Each of these groups aims to create equality and a safe school environment for all students.
The Peer Mediation Invitational was held at the California Endowment Center in Los Angeles and hosted by the Western Justice Center. Here, all attendees were taught a grounding meditation technique to help create a calm environment, open to dispute resolution. Students were then split into peer mediation workshops where they learned about positive communication strategies. They highlighted the difference between good and bad communication: listening to understand versus listening to respond.
In order to foster an understanding of the dispute at hand, students were encouraged to use open body language, relevant lines of questioning, and remain impartial. It was made clear that blaming, interrogation, and pressuring students were out of the question. Participants were then asked to model a real-life scenario that required peer mediation and were given five minutes to learn about the situation and propose solutions.
Dr. Molly Arboleda, a chaperone to the Peer Mediation Invitational and a teacher at CHS, believes that the student body will benefit from attendance.
“It was very important for different groups of students to be able to go to a conference on how to negotiate differences between peers,” Dr. Arboleda said.
“Students interested in restorative justice were able to go, students who were interested in developing skills in the context of conflict resolution were able to go – all of those students would like to learn more about all the ways we could reduce violence in our society. That is why I think it was important for CHS students to participate.”
Later, all guests were able to pick two workshops to attend. Students could choose from careers in peer mediation, creating student unions, creating a talking piece, creating safe havens, or a know-your-rights assembly.
“From Classroom to Career: How Mediation Can Jumpstart Your Path” was a workshop where participants were connected with professionals from the arts, sciences, engineering, business, and law. These professionals gave first-hand accounts of how peer mediation can be implemented (and useful) in real-life careers.
“Speak Up, Speak Out: Talking Across Differences In A Divided World” was another workshop led by Azusa High School’s Student Union. Attendees learned how student unions can be used to address the needs of the student body and improve campus life.
“Your Story, Your Voice: Creating Your Talking Piece” focused on inspiring students to participate in open dialogue and reflection on their experiences. The workshop emphasized the importance of creating strong communities that value honesty and improvement.
“Inspiring Safe Havens: Healing-Centered Wisdom for a Positive School Climate” was led by Fidel Rodriguez, an advocate for schools where every person feels valid, safe, and respected. Rodriguez gave insight on how to bring healing-centered practices into school settings, hoping to create an accepting environment.
“Immigration: Know Your Rights” was heavily focused on the current deportation situation. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been door-knocking, pretending to be local officers in order to persuade people to leave their homes. This workshop stressed the importance of knowing your rights in a situation like this. Some tips include refusing to open your door for ICE if they do not have a warrant, and express your Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent without a lawyer present.
“The most important takeaway from the conference is that students are perhaps the most important constituency for helping to reduce violence on a school campus,” Arboleda said.
“It is not necessarily teachers or administrators, but the students who want to help other students.”
The Western Justice Center’s Peer Mediation Invitational was an eye-opening experience for all who attended. CHS is now looking forward to creating a student union of its own and putting the solutions discussed into practice. Claremont hopes to create the same accepting environment that the invitational taught about, making sure all students feel welcome, safe, and valued.
