A place to call home

To some students, talking to a school counselor can be an unnerving task, especially when they don’t feel comfortable at school. That’s why juniors Anup Kar and My-Lan Le recently founded a student-led group called Common Roots.

Common Roots was created in late September on the observation that some students are uncomfortable about expressing themselves to adults at school. Students interviewed by the

Falcon said they would prefer to talk to students rather than adults about serious problems.

“It is difficult to explain to somebody in another generation how you feel, because they have no idea what you are going through,” junior Gloria Liou said. “That said, I would probably talk to a student counselor because they are easier to relate to, and some of them interact with you on a daily basis and know who you truly are.”

Other students concur.

“If I had a problem I wanted to talk about, I would definitely feel more comfortable talking to student counselors because they can relate better,” freshman Anik Joshi said.

At a school where stress can be a big obstacle, Kar and Le felt that a relaxed sub-community was necessary.

“We know that our school’s environment is not always friendly,” Kar said. “And really that doesn’t help with stress levels and more importantly education.”

In mid-October, Common Roots opened up positions for peer counseling. In order to become a counselor, a student must complete an application and be selected by Kar and Le. The application process is designed to make sure that students from different groups are included, so that the majority, if not the whole school, is represented.

“We do strive for the group to be diverse, but they have to have certain first qualifications,” said Kar. “For example, willingness to get outside of the comfort zone is one thing that we look for.”

As of now, there is no set number of peer counselors, but the selected counselors will begin training on Jan. 11. Common Roots counselors will be trained by Dr. Barbara Varenhorst, who has taught many peer-to-peer groups, including ones at Gunn High School. The organization has also received funding for the peer counseling training from SHS.

“Root’s peer counselors are getting trained on Jan. 11, which is really exciting,” Kar said. “We will start having actual activities and meetings after that time, so things have really started to roll.”

The group’s philosophy is that students need a safe environment where they can communicate and be with other students without feeling self-conscious or intimidated.

“We want students who will attend meetings or seek out counseling to know that they will be in a safe environment,” Le said. “We want to establish Common Roots and have people know that the peer counselors are there for them when they need it.”

While there is no guarantee that peer counseling is the solution to students’ problems, the leaders of the group hope it’s a step in the right direction.

“We’re all in a race to finish high school, but sometimes people fall down, or even worse, are pushed down,” Kar said. “It’s about time we stop running by and disregarding it and start helping them back on their feet.”