two years ago I was able to see how
amazing of a community Park City is I
was able to see all of the things we are
capable of as a whole and I was able to
see that community come together in a
time of need more specifically my time
in need two years ago on October 1st I
lost my brother Sam to a ski accident in
Australia his death took a huge toll on
my family but throughout our whole
journey the people of Park City were
there for us as both individuals in the
whole in the weeks leading up to and
following Sam’s death I saw how truly
remarkable this community was we were
united front ready to face whatever the
world threw at us I was humbled and in
awe of this beautiful community given
the worst circumstances we were our best
selves and at that time in my life and I
thought I had so little to be thankful
for this little ski town I proudly go
home reminded me that I had love and
support around every corner two years
have since passed in the community to
help my family and I through that
horrible time in my life no longer
exists I am no longer humbled to state
that I and from Park City Utah
in fact I’m occasionally embarrassed to
be from a place divided by rich white
kids drugs from unknown places and a
hate spark from a newfound entitlement
fed to us on a silver spoon to summarize
that all into a single phrase we’ve lost
our amazingness but it hasn’t always
been that way I remember being 10 years
old my mom sat me down in front of the
TV and show me the movie heathers now if
you haven’t seen how there’s let me
explain it to you summarized in a single
phrase it’s a movie about a clique of
jealous girls literally killing each
other just to get to the top and why did
my mom have me watch this the goal was
to show me that Mean Girls do exist and
I should never be like them but in the
end I really didn’t take what wake much
from the film why because in my mind
girls like that didn’t even exist I just
thought the people who wrote movies like
Heather’s had wild imaginations
four to one year later I had finally
made it to middle school the place I’ve
been dreaming up for what felt like
forever I’m pleased to say it fully met
my expectations
I made so many new friends and was
always excited to learn now at the end
of seventh grade when I went back and
watched Heather’s I had the exact same
reaction that’s not real that doesn’t
happen here then came junior high my
friend group had gotten smaller but I
had narrowed it down to the people I
really truly enjoyed having around by
then I had somewhat upon the movie Mean
Girls along with the rest of the world
and while my friends and I laughed at
Regina George and her clever creation we
all know as the burn book where insults
and gospel written without remorse I
thought nothing more of it than an
enjoyable comedy to watch at my next
slumber party and when I questioned its
validity I once again credited it’s
witty writers and their wild
imaginations because I had never been
exposed with something like that which
meant it must be fake last came
sophomore year where I had my first look
at the hey I’d convinced myself didn’t
exist in Park City on my drive to school
I looked out the bus window and saw the
word illegal written on the homes of my
classmates right across from the high
school for all of us students to see at
lunch my friends and I discussed the
incident but by the next day a group of
students had already taken action and
painted over the hateful term our
community praised them failed to
acknowledge the problem why had someone
felt the need to write something so
hateful on the homes of my classmates
and why hadn’t we taken advantage of
this situation to teach our students
right from wrong to teach them respect
instead we simply painted over the
problem and pretended it didn’t exist
little did we know the hate we’d begun
to see at the high school had already
started to spread to the grades below
now I’d like you to close your eyes and
picture a dropper full of red food
coloring below it a petri dish full of
crystal clear water pure and still now
imagine what happens when just one drop
of food coloring is released we’ll start
small but within seconds it will expand
it
to all corners of the dish the water
that was once pure has been infected
with red dye and while just one drop was
released the whole dish has turned red I
like to think of the water as our
community and the food coloring is hate
and disrespect while the hate was
sparked here at the high school we have
soon seen its effects in many of our
students and their schools at the high
school we see not only hateful terms
written on the homes of our classmates
but students attacking other students
online we see examples of racism sexism
anti-semitism and so many more hateful
things we published for all to see even
worse at our junior high
we have kids vandalizing school property
by illustrating swastikas on lockers and
running around the halls saying Heil
Hitler
and lastly at our middle school the
place I loved so so much we have a group
of girls who go around bullying their
fellow classmates and if you even try
and leave the party you too will face
the wrath of the group you may know them
better as the Wolfpack
so I ask you how did the places that
always made me feel so welcomed and
excited to learn tune into environments
real students feel scared and threatened
to go to school I speak not with
criticism but with concern who have we
become more specifically who have our
children become our parents now not our
parents our parents are the people who
taught us the Golden Rule treat others
the way you wish to be treated our
parents the people who have worked
endless hours to give us this life we’ve
become so accustomed to no we did not
inherit this illness from them instead
we have contracted this disease and we
have passed it on to the generation
below we have infected them with hate it
is hard for me to see a place that
showed me so much love and respect fail
to do the same for others I have and
always will of my community which is why
it’s so hard to see this place falling
apart if we are the future then what do
we have to offer to the world
sure
we have our endless privileges our
wealth our education our appearance but
we’ve lost it makes us human our respect
our compassion and our values
so now ask yourself when you leave Park
City what will you bring to the world
will it be love or will it be hate
[Applause]
amazing of a community Park City is I
was able to see all of the things we are
capable of as a whole and I was able to
see that community come together in a
time of need more specifically my time
in need two years ago on October 1st I
lost my brother Sam to a ski accident in
Australia his death took a huge toll on
my family but throughout our whole
journey the people of Park City were
there for us as both individuals in the
whole in the weeks leading up to and
following Sam’s death I saw how truly
remarkable this community was we were
united front ready to face whatever the
world threw at us I was humbled and in
awe of this beautiful community given
the worst circumstances we were our best
selves and at that time in my life and I
thought I had so little to be thankful
for this little ski town I proudly go
home reminded me that I had love and
support around every corner two years
have since passed in the community to
help my family and I through that
horrible time in my life no longer
exists I am no longer humbled to state
that I and from Park City Utah
in fact I’m occasionally embarrassed to
be from a place divided by rich white
kids drugs from unknown places and a
hate spark from a newfound entitlement
fed to us on a silver spoon to summarize
that all into a single phrase we’ve lost
our amazingness but it hasn’t always
been that way I remember being 10 years
old my mom sat me down in front of the
TV and show me the movie heathers now if
you haven’t seen how there’s let me
explain it to you summarized in a single
phrase it’s a movie about a clique of
jealous girls literally killing each
other just to get to the top and why did
my mom have me watch this the goal was
to show me that Mean Girls do exist and
I should never be like them but in the
end I really didn’t take what wake much
from the film why because in my mind
girls like that didn’t even exist I just
thought the people who wrote movies like
Heather’s had wild imaginations
four to one year later I had finally
made it to middle school the place I’ve
been dreaming up for what felt like
forever I’m pleased to say it fully met
my expectations
I made so many new friends and was
always excited to learn now at the end
of seventh grade when I went back and
watched Heather’s I had the exact same
reaction that’s not real that doesn’t
happen here then came junior high my
friend group had gotten smaller but I
had narrowed it down to the people I
really truly enjoyed having around by
then I had somewhat upon the movie Mean
Girls along with the rest of the world
and while my friends and I laughed at
Regina George and her clever creation we
all know as the burn book where insults
and gospel written without remorse I
thought nothing more of it than an
enjoyable comedy to watch at my next
slumber party and when I questioned its
validity I once again credited it’s
witty writers and their wild
imaginations because I had never been
exposed with something like that which
meant it must be fake last came
sophomore year where I had my first look
at the hey I’d convinced myself didn’t
exist in Park City on my drive to school
I looked out the bus window and saw the
word illegal written on the homes of my
classmates right across from the high
school for all of us students to see at
lunch my friends and I discussed the
incident but by the next day a group of
students had already taken action and
painted over the hateful term our
community praised them failed to
acknowledge the problem why had someone
felt the need to write something so
hateful on the homes of my classmates
and why hadn’t we taken advantage of
this situation to teach our students
right from wrong to teach them respect
instead we simply painted over the
problem and pretended it didn’t exist
little did we know the hate we’d begun
to see at the high school had already
started to spread to the grades below
now I’d like you to close your eyes and
picture a dropper full of red food
coloring below it a petri dish full of
crystal clear water pure and still now
imagine what happens when just one drop
of food coloring is released we’ll start
small but within seconds it will expand
it
to all corners of the dish the water
that was once pure has been infected
with red dye and while just one drop was
released the whole dish has turned red I
like to think of the water as our
community and the food coloring is hate
and disrespect while the hate was
sparked here at the high school we have
soon seen its effects in many of our
students and their schools at the high
school we see not only hateful terms
written on the homes of our classmates
but students attacking other students
online we see examples of racism sexism
anti-semitism and so many more hateful
things we published for all to see even
worse at our junior high
we have kids vandalizing school property
by illustrating swastikas on lockers and
running around the halls saying Heil
Hitler
and lastly at our middle school the
place I loved so so much we have a group
of girls who go around bullying their
fellow classmates and if you even try
and leave the party you too will face
the wrath of the group you may know them
better as the Wolfpack
so I ask you how did the places that
always made me feel so welcomed and
excited to learn tune into environments
real students feel scared and threatened
to go to school I speak not with
criticism but with concern who have we
become more specifically who have our
children become our parents now not our
parents our parents are the people who
taught us the Golden Rule treat others
the way you wish to be treated our
parents the people who have worked
endless hours to give us this life we’ve
become so accustomed to no we did not
inherit this illness from them instead
we have contracted this disease and we
have passed it on to the generation
below we have infected them with hate it
is hard for me to see a place that
showed me so much love and respect fail
to do the same for others I have and
always will of my community which is why
it’s so hard to see this place falling
apart if we are the future then what do
we have to offer to the world
sure
we have our endless privileges our
wealth our education our appearance but
we’ve lost it makes us human our respect
our compassion and our values
so now ask yourself when you leave Park
City what will you bring to the world
will it be love or will it be hate
[Applause]
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