Waubonsie students launch 'Proud to be a Warrior' day

Tired of being the butt of jokes and receiving a "bad rap" in Indian Prairie Unit District 204, students at Waubonsie Valley have set out to change their high school's reputation.

Juniors Nichole Gruneisen and Michael Lyons, both of Naperville, created Thursday's Proud to be a Warrior theme at the Aurora high school in an attempt to change morale in the hallways and classrooms.

Several students wore special green-and-gold T-shirts and announced that a recent fund drive generated enough money to feed 600 children in more than 50 countries through the Feed My Starving Children program.

Lyons and Gruneisen said the idea was sparked in their junior AP English class during a discussion about the district's new 3,000-student Metea Valley High School being built along Eola Road south of Diehl Road in Aurora.

"We've talked about the Metea process and the NSFOC (parents group) lawsuit a ton," Gruneisen said. "I keep up on it a lot because I think it's ridiculous that people don't want their kids to come here for whatever reason they give."

School morale took another hit, they said, during recent boundary discussions when they believe some parents made disparaging remarks and suggested Waubonsie was a "second-rate" school.

"I think a lot of the negative vibe comes from parents at Neuqua (Valley High School), not the students, because the parents have never even been here," Gruneisen said Thursday.

"If people want to talk about us, then they should come here and see what we're all about.

"The fact that we're putting this Proud to be a Warrior thing out there just shows that we can get a group of students who do have pride in their school and they don't care what people are going to say about us. Maybe there's a secret inside Waubonsie that they don't know about. We'd be happy to show them."

Lyons said students also wanted to create an upbeat and welcoming atmosphere for Neuqua students who will move to Waubonsie in 2009 with the new boundary changes.

"We wanted to address the negative criticism because we don't understand that. We have a diverse group of students getting an excellent education and involved in multiple activities all around the school," Lyons said.

"We are also welcoming those students that will be coming to our school and letting them know that they're going to be welcomed. We love our school and you'll love it, too."

English teacher Kim Haake is proud of her students for taking the debate from the classroom to the community.

"In class, the students were frustrated and the comment was made that a lot of people talk but rarely does anybody act on it," Haake said. "Then the weekend comes and goes and by Monday Nichole comes back and has a plan of action."

Waubonsie teacher and soccer coach Julie Bergstrom designed and printed 300 T-shirts on a press in her home and the students sold them all for $5, the cost of the shirt.

The students then placed a $375 full-page ad in a local newspaper, pledging their pride. Teachers, students and alumni each paid $1 to sign the advertisement. More than $500 was raised with the extra money going to charity.

The philanthropic gestures pleased Superintendent Stephen Daeschner, who has also learned of the negative perception Waubonsie has in some quarters through his daughter, who is a junior there.

"I think it's great when students love and openly support their school while understanding their perception in the community," he said. "To me it makes all kinds of sense. So far, there's no downside that I see."

Based on the success of the project, Lyons and Gruneisen plan to lobby their new principal, Kristine Marchiando, to make Proud to be a Warrior Day an annual tradition. But according to Daeschner, they may not have to lobby too hard.

"How do you say no to that?" he asked.