Juanita Taking Rad Approach -- Football Player Heads Group Promoting Diversity, Service

KIRKLAND - The group is called RAD. And as the name suggests, it is one of the newest things at Juanita High School.

But RAD does not refer to the Rebels' new red uniforms or their ability to perform skateboard tricks in a half-pipe. It stands for Rebels Against Discrimination, a student group headed by offensive lineman Jonathan Teeters that formed in the aftermath of the Rebels' home football game against Garfield last year.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of that game, during which a racist slur was scratched into the car of a Garfield assistant coach. Though those responsible were never discovered - it is uncertain whether they were students at either Juanita or Garfield - the incident dominated classroom discussion at Juanita the rest of the school year.

Three exchanges were held between the schools. Juanita teachers and students twice visited Garfield and Garfield teachers and students visited Juanita once. Juanita sent a huge card, signed by most students, to Garfield to apologize for the incident.

Juanita Principal Sue Cohn wishes the incident didn't occur on her campus, but said "it was an event that provided us an opportunity for some really positive (discussions)."

Teeters' group is one result of those discussions. RAD was given a grant this year to promote its focus on diversity and community service.

Some students think the administration went overboard in its discussion of race relations. They believed the more surveys they filled out, the worse the situation became, and that proposals to change the school nickname to Sharks or Eagles were absurd.

But as Juanita prepares for its Saturday rematch with Garfield at Memorial Stadium, it's clear some things have changed at the Kirkland school.

The Rebels are wearing new uniforms, partly to try to start fresh after a frustrating 3-6 season in 1997. But the formation of RAD might be the most important response to what happened last fall.