Mundelein High snags bowl title

Mundelein High School's Latino varsity students won the 11th annual Cinco de Mayo College Bowl Competition, a first for the school.

Latino student clubs from 11 high schools in Cook and Lake counties participated in the May 9 contest at Highland Park High School.

The competition, started by Highland Park High's Latino student club, Hispanos Unidos, tests knowledge of Latino history with questions such as, "How did Cesar Chavez broaden the farm worker union movement?"

Highland Park won the varsity trophy last year. Before that, Wheeling High School's Latino students were reigning champs as the only school to win the trophy four times.

Mundelein High has participated in the contest the past four years. This year's 10-member academic bowl team was the best, said Aracely Lawrence, a counselor and adviser for the Latino student club, Spanish Newsletter Group.

"I have never had a team be so cohesive and so determined, and that's what made the difference this time," Lawrence said. "Just to see the energy and determination of this specific group of students … it was a thrill. It means so much. We are so proud of them."

Also, for the first time, the school's junior varsity team advanced to the second round.

Students were asked trivia questions based on the PBS documentary "Chicanos: A History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement," which they studied for the contest.

The documentary focuses on the 1960s civil rights struggle in California when Latino students staged walkouts demanding better education, and grape growers started unionizing.

Lawrence said Latino students gain "an appreciation of how far we've come and the opportunities that they have right in front of them."

"Back then, in the '60s they didn't have those opportunities," she said. "My students are shocked when they see some of these videos. They are shocked that it could have ever been the way it was, because that's not their daily life today."

Organizers say it's the only academic contest of its kind in the country, focusing specifically on the history of Latinos in the United States.

"I don't think (Latino) kids understand the struggles of where (their) people have been," said Jonathan Weiland, Highland Park High biology teacher and co-sponsor of Hispanos Unidos. "It's important to know your history because I think when you know history, you are empowered to make changes."