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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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International Festival starts on emotional note

Day two of Palo Alto High School’s International Festival featured the opening ceremony, the formal beginning to a month of activities and speakers intended to raise students’ awareness of their responsibilities to and the variety of cultures in the world around them.

"I hope that there will be raised awareness of what’s going on in the world and where we, as a school, fit into the world community," Paly principal Scott Laurence said.

The ceremony consisted of three guest speakers, three student-performed dances, and a procession of the flags of all the countries represented in Paly’s student body. Following the opening ceremony, students were directed to the quad, where a variety of international cuisine was provided. Options ranged from Italian pizza and Mexican burritos to Persian falafel balls and Indian veggie samosas. An inter-graduating class penny war was also held in the quad and will be continuing for the rest of the week.

In contrast to the light-hearted atmosphere inspired by the food, dances, and activities, the guest speakers made emotional appeals to students to be aware of their global surroundings and to work toward a better world for the future.

Chivy Sok, currently a consultant at the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights, related her experience as a worker in the Cambodian killing fields to students. According to Sok, as a child she received a mere bowl of watered-down rice as compensation for her slave-like labor and had to deal with illness as all the doctors in the region were tracked and executed by communist subordinates. Sok encouraged students to take action, however, by telling that she was better off than many of her peers.

"My experience is neither unique nor special; others suffer much more than I did," Sok said. "Today, 246 million children are engaged in slavery-like types of work."

Jerry White, co-founder and executive director of Landmine Survivors Network and a co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace, followed Sok and stressed the importance of unity in the world. White lost his right leg and severely injured his left after stepping on a landmine while on a camping trip in Israel.

"There is no ‘we’ and ‘they,’" White said, quoting the Dali Lama. "We are all one in this interdependent world."

Nicole Sanchez, a Bay Area native and executive director of Youth Philanthropy Worldwide, provided closure to the ceremony, stressing that although she, like the majority of students, has not suffered the consequences of slavery or violence, there is reason to strive for a better world.

"In the U.S. alone, you [high school students] control $211 billion in a year," Sanchez informed students. "Imagine what you could do by breaking off 1% of your spending."

Dances during the ceremony included a Polynesian performance by freshmen Ema Latu and Mary Latu and junior Chantel Tafuna; a salsa performance led by Paly grad Fabiola Mendoza; and a classical Indian performance by junior Teja Kondapalli.

International Festival will continue on campus for the next month. The current penny war is set to close at the end of this week, and the next speaker will be in the quad on Tuesday at lunch.

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