The Village Nation holds assembly at Samo; block schedule implemented

Muhammad Yusuf TarrStaff WriterDue to an assembly presented by an organization called The Village Nation, Samo students had a block schedule on Nov. 16 and 17.According to The Village Nation's website, it is an organization that mentors and tutors African American students. The program has led to an increase in African American Academic Performance Index (API) scores at other schools and attempts to foster a community of African American students.The Village Nation assembly, the theme of which was "Kings and Queens," lasted through third period. The assembly was planned for Thursday, so a block schedule was implemented, according to I-House Principal Renée Semik."Students [were] called by call slips delivered to their first period classes," Semik said. " Students [were] strongly encouraged to attend [and] parents were able to opt them out."According to Semik, parents of the African American students were also welcome to attend the assembly.Junior Matthew Hawkins said that while the assembly could help the school, he was not pleased with the block schedule that came as a result of the visit."I did not like the block schedule at all," Hawkins said. "Most teenagers' attention spans are not that long and sitting in one room for two hours [while] staying focused on one subject was a little [too] much."However, junior Michael Kent disagrees."All of my classes were a lot more relaxed, we got plenty more done during each period," Kent said. "I also did not have to worry about having to turn in my homework the next day."Having more African American programs will be effective for Samo, according to sophomore Kenya Morrisson."We have a lot of Black [student] oriented programs, but I think [The Village Nation] is definitely going to give some of our ethnic students a place to go and be successful," Morrisson said. "I felt pretty good to know that my people are trying to promote goodness and wellness."mytarr@thesamohi.com