Community Blood Center will bring mobile blood donation units to the cafeteria from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 28. The SHARE planned event will be open to students, staff and community members to donate blood.
Donors are encouraged to sign up in advance on the CBC’s website, savealifenow.org.
Students as young as 16 may donate with parental consent, and anyone 18 or older can donate independently.
“People check in, [CBC] takes your iron levels, and then they take you over to the beds for the actual draw,” SHARE coordinator Erin Billingsley said
According to Billingsley, the blood draw itself usually takes about ten minutes for each person.
Students planning to donate are encouraged to eat iron‑rich foods the night before, stay hydrated and get enough sleep. Donors will be turned away if they do not meet iron or height‑and‑weight requirements.
SHARE chair and senior Lila Kimmel said the event encourages young people to donate blood.
“[For] the younger generation, it’s not as normalized to give blood,” Kimmel said. “One donation can save three lives.”
SHARE has been promoting the drive by posting flyers, sharing on SHARE social media and putting signs on Mission Road. Kimmel has been putting up flyers around the school and signs on Mission Road.
“It’s a great way to give back,” Billingsley said. “It’s not as scary as people think, and once you do it, you tend to keep doing it.”
Youth and Government will host its political panel in the Commons, bringing state and local politicians to SM East in early April.
The panel typically features four elected officials, with the club aiming to have two Democrats and two Republicans, depending on who’s available, according to YAG secretary and senior Adeline Clifford .
Students submit questions for the panel in advance and these are then given to the politicians to answer, according to Clifford.
“People can learn more about local politics and get their questions and concerns answered,” Clifford said.
Clifford helps connect YAG to potential speakers.
“We have a huge spreadsheet of all the state and local politicians, and we delegate different reps to email them,” Clifford said.
The group will announce the final list of attending politicians once confirmations are final.
One of the main reasons students should attend is that it counts as extra credit in social studies classes, which is especially helpful leading up to finals, according to Clifford.
The panel is designed to make politics more accessible to students, especially those who are not yet eligible to vote.
“Only about half the senior class is 18,” Clifford said, “It’s hard to feel a responsibility to get involved when you can’t vote yet.”
Clifford also said that politics can feel “taboo” for students, which is why they tend to avoid the subject.
According to YAG sponsor and social studies teacher Robert Bickers, the event aligns with the group’s goal of increasing awareness of their political surroundings.
“One of the biggest things is getting students aware and active,” Bickers said. “Whether it is getting students registered to vote or just knowing who represents them.”
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