In the afternoon of Oct 21., a small group of MVHS staff gathered in front of the school, right before the theater, where the school’s American flag flies. A Zoom call of Black Student Union students and Queer-Straight Alliance club members faced the flag pole as the staff briefly brought down the American flag to send up two more alongside it: the California Pride flag and a Black Lives Matter flag. 

The organizer of the event, Assistant Principal Daniella Quiñones, reached out to Principal Jiménez and Mountain View QSA and BSU advisors to participate in the purchase and raising of the flags. 

“Since LAHS had done it, there was district precedent. I felt like it was in line with the Equity Alliance mission and vision [to fly the flags,]” Quiñones said.

QSA advisor and Spanish teacher Kate Strasser said the event was important to the QSA club in their mission to promote representation and inclusion.

“We want every community member and visitor to know that our educational community believes that Black Lives and LGBTQIA+ identities are beautiful and fundamental parts of our community that deserve to be celebrated and flown for all to see,” Strasser said.

When visiting campus in-person, QSA president Lena Wessel described seeing the flags as “warming [her] heart” and “a nice reminder that the administration supports and cares about us, and that we are seen.”

Both of these flags will stay on the flagpole indefinitely.