Wednesdays are hug days at Cedar Grove High School.
Students who arrive at the DeKalb County campus are greeted by a crowd of students, teachers and administrators waving, laughing and welcoming them to the campus with hugs or fist bumps. Not every student accepts a hug, but they walk away smiling. It’s a way to start their day with love, explained Shontica Wallace, the school’s attendance protocol manager who recently started the initiative.
“You can really tell they wait for us on Wednesdays to be out here and give them a hug,” Wallace said in between embraces this week. “Even the most low-key kids want a hug. And it’s just amazing to see them waiting.”
There’s no pressure for students to participate, but Wallace said students have been overwhelmingly accepting of the hugs from the start — and they’ve noticed a change on campus.
Before the Wednesday hugs, said sophomore E.J. Colson, the atmosphere at school was “very dry.”
“Everybody just stayed to themselves kind of,” he said. “It was a really dull environment, and now this brings love and joy to it ... I’ve learned so many people’s names in just the past two weeks that we’ve done it.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the global prevalence of depression and anxiety has increased by 25%, according to research from the World Health Organization. And the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released data that shows high school-age girls, in particular, are experiencing record-high levels of sadness and suicide risk.
In Georgia, research concludes there are not enough school psychologists, social workers or counselors to meet students’ needs. The DeKalb school district recently announced that it received a $2.9 million federal grant to hire more employees to help with students’ mental health. But in the meantime, Wallace hopes an act as simple as a hug will help relieve stress and promote well-being for students who are dealing with more than ever before.
“Coming from — what, two years of being in the house, no contact at all?” she said. “It almost feels like we’re making up for the time they didn’t get to see us, feel us and be around us.”
Junior Jocelyn Dodson said remote learning took a toll on her mental health. But being back in school and being part of the group that offers hugs in the mornings has been a great way to socialize.
“I’m happy to be here,” she said.
The idea was so well received that in less than a month, it’s grown into a student organization called The Love Club, which Jocelyn and E.J. are part of. Outside of the Wednesday morning hugs, the group also does acts of kindness like helping the school’s custodian by emptying trash cans and decorating teachers’ rooms.
Hugs haven’t always been welcome at some schools. A decade ago, a Maryland elementary school banned parents from hugging any child except their own. In 2018, a Carroll County parent said her middle school daughter was written up for hugging a classmate. But students at Cedar Grove High said they are glad for the opportunity to connect with each other.
“It means a lot,” E.J. said. “It starts you off with a loving feeling. It makes you spread more love.”
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