Plaque of pride

Unity through artwork

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After the devastating events occurring in Ferguson, students realized they needed to step up and support our city, Mar. 26. What better way then to show their pride then to make a mural depicting unity and peace in front of the Gate Way Arch. “St.Louis was in bad times, and we needed to get our frustrations out,” LaRonn Woods (12) said. “Our mural shows that we care about our city, and what the future can bring.”

EHS gathered to dedicated a mural painted to reflect the events happening in and around the community.

I’m really happy with the way the mural turned out,” Ashlyn Koob (10) said. “There’s a lot of people that got involved and took leadership and helped steer it in the way we wanted too.”

After the Ferguson events, students wanted to do something good to support the community and bring everyone together.

“It’s another little thing that we do to make sure all students feel included,” Mrs. Jennifer Strauser, associate principal, said. “We can have all those [controversial] conversations, that it’s okay to talk about those issues, and we can do it without destroying friendships. We can do it out of love and just understanding where everyone else is.”

Mrs. Miller and Ms. Davis, art teachers, during all the unrest, came up with the idea to mimic the projects that were going on in Ferguson where people took down plywood or left the plywood up and decorated it with artwork.

In a couple of years EHS will take down the mural and donate it to the Missouri History Museum, according to Mrs. Strauser.

Students who wanted to painted the mural with the support of the administration, Arts Department and those who donated supplies.

“Students designed the mural, painted the mural, and then we had it mounted,” Mrs. Strauser said. “It’s mimicking what was going on in Ferguson to try to recover from what happened.”

The goal of the mural is to show support to our community.

“I hope this mural has a positive impact on the school, and people can see there’s always good and bad ways you should react to a situation,” Koob said. “You should choose the good.”

The mural can be seen on the wall in the Commons by the restrooms. A plaque containing the names of the students who helped create the mural was dedicated, March 25.