Conversation with Sande Riesett
The founder of the Show Your Soft Side anti-animal abuse campaign, Sande Riesett, visited the school today for a conversation with the students. Sande talked about the origins of the campaign five years ago as a response to combat animal abuse in Baltimore. Its goal was to change the mindset of young people who too often viewed the maiming and torturing of defenseless animals as a sign of “toughness” or “manhood.” The group’s work can be seen around town (and now in many cities around the country) with photographs of professional athletes and recording artists along with their pets. The tag line is “Only a punk would hurt a cat or dog.” Sande has been a long time friend of the school and in addition to lending her considerable talent to the school over the years, her husband is Mr. Don, our long time creative writing teacher and mentor. The students were inspired by her story and several shared their visions for organizations that they would like to start.