This year, the Stressed Out Student (SOS) Committee, which includes senior Student Body President Max Keeler, will do something different for the February assembly. Instead of having students gather in Spangenberg, the committee will hold a student-managed assembly in each classroom. Students will watch a video of student interviews regarding life at Gunn produced by senior Student Executive Council (SEC) videographer Kaitie Macknick. After watching the video, students will share their opinions about student life on campus. “We want students to talk about their lives and see if their perceptions are correct and learn strategies of coping with life in high school,” Keeler said.

Last year, Gunn held a traditional assembly at Spangenberg in which SOS founder Denise Clark Pope spoke about student stress. “The speaker was effective in that she caused discussion among the students, both positive and negative, but feedback from students suggested they felt she spoke down to the students rather than respecting their opinions,” Student Activities Director Lisa Hall said. “There's a lot of value in student discussions rather than just bringing in an expert to talk to students about student issues.”

The SOS Committee and SEC will train two students to lead each class discussion after the video.