If you have been following the national news, you will have learned of the recent gang rape of a 15 year old girl, outside of a high school homecoming dance. The crime scene? My alma mater. I can't even explain the level of shock that came over me as I stood in front of my tv watching the local news report. Gang rape? People watching? People filming? WHAT?

Being a high schooler at Richmond High wasn't a cake walk when I was a student there. We were faced with outdated materials, the school district's debt, low quality instruction, and the occasional experience of a teacher leaving a classroom in the middle of a semester because s/he was offered a better opportunity at a "better" school. Within this, there were a few teachers and administration who truly gave a damn. Two of those people are part of the reason that I was able to recognize UC Berkeley as a possibility. I had a teacher who saw potential in me in my Freshman year at RHS, and he nominated me for a scholarship. Through that scholarship, I was paired with a mentor for four years, who took me around networking, bought my prom dress, and volunteered her car for my driving test that landed me a license. Our career councilor took me under her wing and made sure that I knew about every single scholarship that came across her desk. As a result, I graduated from Richmond High School with $55,000 in scholarships, including a full ride to Cal.

But that was then. Recent years at RHS haven't even had a career councilor. Recent years at RHS haven't yielded scholarships. Recent years at RHS seem to be extremely different and severe. And now, students are faced with further tarnishment of the school's name and reputation. This is an unacceptable high school experience. An unbelievable high school environment... one in which students are expected to excel and are viewed as incapable and un-valuable when they do not.

My heart goes out to the victim and I am wishing her all the best in her recovery from this horrible ordeal. I am incredibly proud of the students who have stood up and made their voices heard about their worth and how this crime has affected them. Proud of the girl who had the courage to call the police after she saw the victim in distress. I am also glad that the boys involved are being rounded up and arrested and I am hoping that justice will prevail in this case.