By James Cruz

Tustin High School is proud to present a new addition to its campus: The Humanities Building. Announced by Principal Matos on February 19, 2016, students and staff were overjoyed with the idea of a new building being added to Tustin territory. The Humanities building will be a great addition to humanities related departments which includes History and English. Although the new building will benefit many students and staff, some students were not that fond of the idea.  

Before the ground was torn open to produce this new campus addition, many  lowerclassmen  occupied that area to bond socially while playing various sports such as football. It is sometimes very difficult to find a specific haven that makes a new high school student feel comfortable themselves at school. Mainly this is due to being constantly surrounded by upperclassmen, which can make a student feel intimidated. Not only did they view the area as a playfield, but some students almost felt a visceral relationship with that area of campus. I took the liberty and interviewed some of the freshmen on a hot Tuesday while they played a game of friendly football.

As I approached the group of kids, one of them stood out to me. I walked over to him and mentioned the development of the new building. The 6’2”, bright blue shirt young student commented disappointedly, “It’s sad that they needed to build it specifically in this area, I really enjoyed meeting other people that liked to play football and chill here”.

Other than the lower classmen missing that piece of the great puzzle that is high school there is also a great worry amongst Tustin`s Color Guard and Marching Band. Prior to the building, marching band and color guard used the area to practice their strategic and skillful numbers. The teams were aware of the agenda that Tustin District had for the school, but that necessarily didn`t make them fully accepting of the idea, as explained by Color Guard member, Kathy Alegria, “We were really cramped up in a small space, and had a limited amount of time”.  

Change can be challenging for everyone and especially for students in their school environment, but although change can be quite intimidating initially, itcan also be refreshing. When the Science Building was built in 2012 for Tustin, it made the education experience in the science department so much more entertaining for Tustin High School’s scholars. Hopefully, through this similar new addition to campus will help students feel more motivated and confident throughout the day. As Yale psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema states, “Gradual small steps motivate people toward larger change,” which in this case will hopefully lead to a more enjoyable learning environment.
As the new year begins, students are filling in the modern classrooms and are realizing they are very satisfied with the new equipment. A change for the better is how students are viewing it as junior Kristina Ching mentions that “the openness of the room allows me to feel more comfortable and focus more”. The Humanities Building will continue to improve the students’ learning experiences at Tustin High throughout the many years to come.