Photo: Belmont High senior Lexi Herosian with her “Make a Statement Day” T-shirt.

The saying goes that some people wear their heart on their sleeve.

On Friday, April 11, Belmont High School students wore their hope and inspiration on T-shirts as nearly 500 teens – nearly half the students in the school – and teachers participated in “Make A Statement Day” when students and staff decorate “Tees” with slogans, images, quotes or symbols to showcase their individuality, passion, and creativity for a day.

The event – now in its 12th year – before they would be wearing their statement, students headed to the school’s cafeteria Thursday afternoon, April 10, filling each of the tables and many of the benches as they spent their time coming up with their personal messages amidst music and snacks.

“Take some food, take a T-shirt, listen to our free music and have a great time,” said Carrie Jones, who is the senior leader of the “Make A Statement Day” Committee which sponsors and pays for the event.

“Show us what you’re passionate about, write it down and wear it on Friday,” said Jones.

Some of the creations are elaborate and festooned with color while others are straightforward; freshman Ellie Somers wrote “Smile!” in bright block letters while junior Emma Perrow asked a thought-provoking question: “Why is it that our culture is more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?”.

For senior Lexi Herosian, her multi-color message is a quote from Roald Dahl: “If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of you like sunbeams, and you will always look lovely.”

“It’s my senior quote, so I wanted to stay with it because I really believe it,” she said.

For Jones, Thursday afternoon was non-stop action; handing out T-shirts (purchased at Champions in Belmont Center) placing newspapers on the tables, and making sure there were enough Sharpies for every group or individual.

 

“For this one day it’s a way to show that we just don’t learn from a textbook, we learn from the world around us, what we are passionate about and we want to talk about it,” said Jones, who has been on the committee since she was a sophomore.

With funding from Belmont Against Racism, D.A.R.E., and the Belmont PTO, the committee – with Jones includes David Sullivan, Ani Somers and Molly Thayer – has made the day a highly-anticipated event on the school calendar.

“It’s pretty amazing proof of the level of talent, passion, and creativity in the students here at [the high school],” said Jones.