by Kayla Hilditch
When people share their daily struggles and burdens with strangers, you know that Challenge Day has been a success. On the morning of December 1, 2010, a group of students went into the cluster rooms located around Hudson High. Behind closed doors students were given the opportunity to open up and relieve themselves of their day-to-day troubles. They focused on a range of issues from body image insecurities to parent job loss. The amount of trust and kindness that students showed was nothing less than astonishing.
The next day, the school was buzzing about the social experiment known as Challenge Day. The idea of Challenge Day came from the MTV show If You Really Knew Me and was organized by Caitlin Murphy’s Social Justice Class. The objective was to bring the school closer together by allowing the students to open up about their lives in groups of about 6 to 8. The teachers stayed out of the room giving the students an even more comfortable environment to talk in and break down stereotypes.
By the end of the day it was clear that Challenge Day was a success. Facebook statuses of those who had participated were full of positive comments. Students that participated felt more comfortable around each other, and everyone felt more optimistic and confident about themselves.
Although I didn’t participate in Challenge Day, I could tell by observing the student body that it was a success. To find out more information I interviewed Challenge Day facilitators Danielle Grunbaum and Tommy Barry.
1. I know that you aren’t allowed to give details of what happened at Challenge Day, but could you describe your experience and the emotions you felt?
Grunbaum: Personally, it felt really good to just share my story and know that others have gone through similar situations. When other people were sharing their stories, my emotions went crazy…I felt such empathy for them and to know the burdens and weight they carry around with them every day is truly incredible.
Barry: I felt like it was an opportunity for people to tell things in a confidential environment. Helping people made me feel good.
2. Do you think that there will be more drama about the confidential things people shared?
Grunbaum: I think that the drama will stop. And I wasn’t expecting it to happen, but everyone that participated is only human. However it was only about 4 or 5 people saying things out of 100 which says a lot about the majority of the people and how serious people were about Challenge Day.
Barry: It depends on the relationship of the groups and how tight the bond they formed is. We knew the drama would happen, and we hoped that it wouldn’t be that bad.
3. Do you think that later in the year there will be another Challenge Day?
Grunbaum: I hope that there will be another Challenge Day… I can’t say there will be another one for the same age group, but we’re trying to see about having one for the younger grades that weren’t given the opportunity to participate the first time.
Barry: I hope so. It depends on the class and if they can handle it. It takes a lot of time to organize it, so we can hopefully have another one this year but I’m not sure.
4. Were you skeptical about Challenge Day at first?
Grunbaum: I wasn’t skeptical at all. I believed in Challenge Day 150 percent. I knew that HHS could really use a Challenge Day, and I knew that it would only bring our Social Justice class closer in the end, regardless of the outcome.
Barry: Well, I saw the video and thought it would be good to have here. But my role in it… I was nervous. As for the whole day itself, I knew it would be good.
5. How did your class come up with this idea?
Grunbaum: Well, I actually don’t remember how we came up with it. Ms. Murphy wanted to show us an episode of it in class, and then we all started saying how it should be done at Hudson, and it kind of all just started from there.
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6. What does the picture on the facilitator shirts symbolize?
Grunbaum: I’m not sure if you know the old folks tale of the lion and the mouse, but the story basically symbolizes how we all need each other in some way, that we can all help one another, not jump to conclusions or judgments when we first see someone.
7. Anything else you’d like to add about Challenge Day?
Grunbaum: It was a really amazing experience, and we all now have a deeper bond with people than before, and we should really keep that going because we don’t know what stories that people have to share , but if we open up ourselves and show that other 90 percent that people don’t see, we can make a change. We can make a difference.
Barry: For the people that wish they had done it, let’s hope that there will be another one because it’s a really great and emotional experience.
Gaby • Jun 6, 2011 at 5:46 pm
i thought that Challenge Day was a good idea and even though i couldn’t do it this year i hope we do it again next year so maybe i could be apart of it.