Mehr Singh Co-Editor-in-Chief  Along with changes in gatherings this year, assemblies seem to include a lot more speakers, and from different clubs. This past week, KICK, Kids’ Initiative for Curing Kids, brought in a speaker for the first time, Dr. Rose Briars. And, students were excited to see what the assembly would be all about. However, when students heard the assembly would be on Diabetes, they were a bit puzzled; the topic seemed a bit out of place for a school wide assembly. As the presentation continued and students listened, most actually felt like they learned a lot about Diabetes and its impact. For many students though, an informative session was not exactly what they wanted. Senior Jacob Lorig said “ I thought it was informative, but a total waste of time because it was nothing I couldn’t have looked up myself.” Instead of understanding interesting facts about diabetes or about how there are new theories that researchers are found, many students felt the information was “nothing new.” And, that factor was a huge deterrent for most students. Senior, Kristina Mensik says “ I respect that diabetes is a huge issue in some peoples lives, but I just did not see why we needed to hear about it for 50 minutes at 9:30 in the morning. A Starbucks run would have been more productive.” The fact that getting coffee from across the street seems more productive than listening to a speaker, says a lot. It seems like, while many students know diabetes is a huge issue, the topic didn’t resonate at all with the student body. And, it seems like neither did the speaker. Junior Vic Bruene mentioned, “ The speaker could’ve been a little more exciting and interactive with her speech. It felt like a lecture.” On a brighter note, some thought the speech (or lecture) was necessary for the student body. Considering how many students felt they couldn’t relate to the topic that argument might be valid. Junior, Jen Costa, said, “While a lot of people were talking about how we shouldn’t have had her speak, I thought that it was a good idea because not everyone knows about diabetes.” And, that was the whole point of the assembly. Junior, Camden Olsen, co-head of KICK said the goal of the assembly “was to raise awareness about diabetes- about what it is and what it’s like to live with diabetes,” which it definitely did. Between the Biology lesson, symptoms, and graphs most students left with a great definition of diabetes. However, although the assembly achieved its goal, the dissatisfaction of the student body with the assembly raises concerns. Students want assemblies to be a time where they can learn something new or get a different perspective on an issue. That’s what makes students enjoy assemblies. Perhaps, a highlighted purpose of assemblies should be to show students what they can’t find on the Internet. And, perhaps, as Junior Jen Costa mentions, “ instead of so many assemblies and gatherings, we need more advisories,” just to keep the energy for assemblies alive.  ]]>