Hauppauge Middle School students joined with more than two million other students across the country to identify, question and cross social and racial boundaries as part of the 14th Annual Mix It Up at Lunch Day, an event designed to foster respect and understanding in schools. Mix It Up encourages students to sit with someone new in the cafeteria for just one day and to cross group lines and meet new people. “We encourage everyone to participate and have fun!” stated Hauppauge Middle School Principal Maryann Fletcher.
A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Mix It Up at Lunch Day was launched by Teaching Tolerance more than a decade ago. In the group’s surveys, students identified the school cafeteria as the place where divisions are most clearly drawn. So on the last Tuesday in October of each school year, they ask students to move out of their comfort zones and connect with someone new over lunch. According to the Teaching Tolerance website: “It’s a simple act with profound implications. Studies have shown that interactions across group lines can help reduce prejudice. When students interact with those who are different from them, biases and misperceptions can fall away.”
