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West Scranton Students Celebrate Diversity

SCRANTON — Students in Scranton took part in an annual celebration leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The students at West Scranton High School bel...

SCRANTON -- Students in Scranton took part in an annual celebration leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The students at West Scranton High School believe Dr. King's message still makes a lot of sense today.

A few hundred high schoolers in one room on a Friday -- that's a lot of pent-up energy. On this Friday afternoon, teachers at West Scranton High School hope the students channel that into creative energy.

The string of different performances makes up the "Unity in Diversity" assembly. It falls each year around Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"I just feel like he had an amazing message and he fought so hard for rights for African-Americans," said junior Alexis Smith.

The students take Dr. King's message and express it in their own words or someone else's.

Rafael Gomez chose Bob Marley's lyrics to spread the message.

"We're all the same on the inside and I think we all should be treated equally, so I think it's something, we should live this today and for the rest of our lives. It's just a message we should learn about," Gomez.

All the students at West Scranton High School pack the auditorium for the assembly, but for nine students in particular, the words "Unity in Diversity" mean something different.

Students from the school's ESL class or English as a Second Language read words written by Maya Angelou. They say the diversity they add to the school doesn't make them feel different.

"Like for me, when I came here, I didn't think anybody was going to like me. But, when I saw Americans, they helped me in everything. They just said, 'you are my family, too,'" said junior Kauany Pires.

The message of Martin Luther King Jr. is still as strong as it ever was within these walls.

"We're all the same on the inside," said junior Chrys Alicea.

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