Winter Community Tree

Seeking to promote the gift of giving, the Aragon Leadership class set up a school-wide fundraiser for the Toys for Tots program. To raise awareness for the fundraiser and promote school spirit, Leadership proposed to place a “Winter Community Tree” in center court. Soon following the placement of the tree, however, controversial conversations fluttered across the school.

The leadership plan was to have the tree was erected to promote the drive, and donation bins were to be placed around it for Toys for Tots. A number of students and faculty, however, found the tree offensive because of its religious connotation.

History teacher Michael Gibbons says, “I think the winter community tree is offensive. I think it elevates one set of beliefs and customs over others. The only ‘community’ that sees a tree and thinks of gift giving would be the Christian community.”

Math teacher Lisa Kossiver also believes that many students feel excluded by the tree. She says, “I don’t judge what people do at their home, in their privacy of their homes, but not at my public high school. Every kid should be represented. It is exclusionary because of the nature of the symbol.”

According to the commission in charge of the putting up the tree, the sole intention for the tree was to publicize Toys for Tots. Leadership student junior Sharon Borden says, “We wanted to bring in holiday spirit. None of us questioned the tree.”

Despite allegations that the tree was paid for by school money, the Leadership class clarified that a parent donated the tree to the school.

Borden goes on to explain that the tree was not intended to be exclusionary. “The tree is a secular symbol–a symbol of the holidays. We wanted to put an “A” on top of the tree with the coexist sign. The Coexist club wanted to help decorate the tree. Their support came after the idea of the tree was released,” she says.

Still, despite the leadership’s efforts to call the tree the “Winter Community Tree,” in order to make the tree a secular symbol, it has not been perceived that way. Senior Will Lowenthal says, “I haven’t heard one person call it a winter community tree, and I have heard many people call it a Christmas tree.” Kossiver says, “I know that it wasn’t their intention, but it was the perception.”

Senior Wassim Khemici agrees that the tree is not secular. He says, “I have been told on many occasions that a Christmas tree is not even a religious tradition. But that is all so, so silly. If you are a Christian, what would you have sitting in your living room during the winter season? A lamp? A Russian doll?”

Many against the tree also reason that alternative displays could have been used to support Toys for Tots. Lowenthal says, “If Aragon is trying to put up an object that resembles winter, [it] needs to include the whole community, not just part of it.” Kossiver agrees saying, “What’s wrong with a toy box? A snowman? A sleigh?”
Following complaints from students and faculty, the administration has changed its policy on the tree.

Senior class president Kevin Allan says, “We can leave the tree up, but we cannot associate the tree with the toy drive.”

Principal Patricia Kurtz says “[The tree] was going to be a winter tree, a community tree. Again, the focus was not to be on the tree; it was to be on Toys for Tots, a fundraiser. Even if we had taken the tree down, it still would not have affected the Toys for Tots program.”

Now, however, several leadership students feel that the controversy over the Winter Community Tree has “overshadowed” the original goal. Senior Dani Cutts, who is a member of leadership but was not part of the commission in charge for publicizing the Toys for Tots fundraiser, says, “It wasn’t meant to cause problems. They expected some backlash, but [some of the Leadership students] still didn’t want [the commission] to get a ‘Christmas tree.’”

In reflection, Kurtz says, “I think it was a learning experience for everybody: an activity that was going to support school spirit has caused quite a bit of discussion among the students [and] staff. And maybe I’m putting words in their mouth, but I don’t think Leadership anticipated that. I didn’t anticipate it.”
Regardless of the controversy, the Toys for Tots fundraiser will continue. The last day to bring in new, unwrapped toys is Dec. 21.

Reporting was done by Andrew Lyu, Sangwon Yun, and Brandon Liu