May 30–Walking into Tonawanda High School, visitors Friday night were treated to the red carpet experience.
A roll of red paper led people from the main entrance to the auditorium, the site of the Student Leadership class’s 2009 film festival. Consisting of seven films, ranging in length from about 90 seconds to nearly half an hour, the festival served as a fundraiser for the club’s Uganda Water Project, in which students are raising $3,000 to provide a water tank for residents in the impoverished country. The group selects a charity every year. “We had a speaker who came in and talked about the problems they have in Uganda,” said Katie Stuart, a sophomore and one of the group’s leaders. “We don’t even think of something like that. We get water with no problem. For them it’s a challenge.” The leadership class was introduced to the school four years ago. Seniors Gretchen Garrity and Jennifer Weber were the other group leaders. “We’re divided into groups,” explained Garrity. ” Each quarter, a different event is held. The groups each pick an event for the community.” Students use the class to learn how to run community events on their own.
“As a class, we ran the TNT pep assembly and hosted an acceptance day,” Weber added.