By Monica Aviles
Recently, school administrators announced that cars and trucks are now prohibited from the homecoming parade. Golf carts, bikes, and walking are the only permitted transportation for parade participants.
The main causes of these changes are liability and safety, said Redwood’s principal, Mr. Shin.
“If a driver wasn’t paying attention and hit a student, then the district is liable, Redwood High School is liable, that’s not something we feel very comfortable with,” Mr. Shin said.
Traffic was also a big problem. Cars traveling on Mineral King would be put to a halt in order for the floats to pass. Using faculty vehicles took teachers away from classrooms and left students unsupervised.
FBLA president Abbie Linhares, ’20, said these changes happened because it was unsafe for students to walk alongside the cars in the parade.
“Some clubs throw out candy to the kids…and if the candy doesn’t make it to the kids, more than likely, some will go into the middle of the road to try and get it,” Linhares said.
ASB president Jada Griffith, ’20, said if we were to keep cars in the parade, we would need to be more strict about the use of cars to ensure people are safe.
Even with these drastic changes, Griffith knows that the parade will still be “fun and exciting as the way it has always been. Redwood students will try to make the most of it.”
Ms. Laufer, chemistry teacher and club adviser for Paws for a Cause, said she witnessed “too many close calls including kids falling to the ground when they weren’t doing something safe.”
Ms. Laufer certainly agrees with new changes and she describes the Homecoming parade as an important event to Redwood, not an excuse to get out of classes.
This year, without the cars, “decorating will be much smaller…a lot of students in the past used it as an excuse to get out of class all day, some don’t even help decorate vehicles,” Ms. Laufer said.
Are these new changes or rules for the upcoming parade, or is Redwood simply going back to its old ways? Homecoming has changed quite a bit since the past years. The parade used to be at the Bowl, not on Main Street, and vehicles were not used.
Math teacher, Ms. Fox, who graduated from Redwood and has taught here for 21 years, said, “We used to not be able to use vehicles because of safety…students had to think of what they could carry in the parade or use golf carts and shopping carts.”
Mr. Shin believes that change is difficult, but that Homecoming is about being involved, showing school spirit, and feeling connected to the clubs.
“We’re the only high school that still has a parade, we want to keep the parade, but it also takes a lot to do that,” Mr. Shin said. “It’s a good tradition that we still have, and we will continue until the city tells us we can’t.” It is what makes Redwood so unique.
Monica Aviles
Monica Aviles ('21) is a senior, and is in her second year of writing for the arts & entertainment section. The majority of her writing revolves around culture, activism, and different forms of art. Outside of the Gigantea, Monica is on the girl's wrestling team, president of the asl club, and is involved with many other clubs like Red Ink. You can reach her by email at monic.av3959@vusd.us
Tags: parade, redwood high school, rhs, visalia ca
