Roy Kim

Cleo, Avery, Elijah, Spencer, Ella, and Cressa gathering at the Friendship table during first lunch.

STAND’s latest initiative introduces “The Bears Who Bond Tables,” offering a lunchtime space where individuals can connect with others and forge new relationships. This project creates a new market for community engagement at school, connecting students of different grades and allowing friends to enjoy complimentary snacks.

Creating a sense of community in any group can be difficult, especially with a school that constantly has students graduating and moving, creating another unique group every year. While this changing student body makes OHS and other schools unique, it can also create a disconnect between students of different grades.

“The importance of the friendship table comes from harnessing a sense of community, which is important, especially with people you might not have talked to. Four freshman boys were sitting here that I never would have talked to unless they came to the friendship table,” said Senior Ella Pratt.

For an advocacy club like STAND, the goal is always to put out ideas that live outside the club, becoming a genuine social movement. “Well, the part of STAND hosting it might not be permanent, but we hope this plants the seed into a table that lasts at OHS forever, even after we’re gone,” said Vy Le, a STAND club member and participant in organizing the event.

The social scene at school has always been focused on grouping students, and breaking out of that structure can be exhausting. With these social norms becoming more prevalent as time goes on, people need to look outside their social bubbles.

The school Principal, Grant, noted, “It’s harder than ever for people to make friends or acquaintances. I see more people sitting alone than I have seen in my career, and school can be very isolating. It’s one way, a small way, of breaking down the barrier to help students get to know each other.”

Although the project’s duration was brief, the movement it embodies hopefully lives on in the background of the student body as something they cherish. With the wishful return of the Bears Who Bond Tables in the future, the hope of creating a better community for all will inspire future generations.