It wasn't a protest that elicited honks and shouts last week as students stood on a sidewalk near North Thornydale Road and West Horizon Hills Drive last week.
Instead, passers-by were responding positively to the Flowing Wells School District students painting over graffiti.
Six students from Centennial Elementary School and six from Flowing Wells High School grabbed paint rollers and buckets of white paint last Thursday to cover the gang monikers and "tags" splashed across the walls of two houses.
"It's ugly," fifth-grader Kayleigh Carlstedt said about the graffiti. "It's gross. It's disgusting."
Kayleigh, 11, and her fellow students from Centennial, 2200 W. Wetmore Road, volunteer for a graffiti abatement program through the school's after-school program, Youth Enrichment Services — or YES.
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The high school students partnered with the after-school program as part of a service project for the Future Business Leaders of America club.
Centennial's after-school assistant supervisor, Leigh Medina, collected grant money in January to continue a program that was created during the 2005-2006 school year. During its first year, the program also was funded by grant money, and efforts were concentrated in the neighborhood surrounding Laguna Elementary School, 5001 N. Shannon Road.
Medina, who is also a special education teaching assistant at Flowing Wells Junior High School, said the students who perform community service find the experience gratifying.
Last week's participants understood how their contributions affect the community.
"It shows people we care for the community," said fourth-grader Treyanna Clay, 10. "There is a bunch of people honking because we are doing something good and they're happy."
Medina and her rotating crew of students intend to work once a week to eliminate graffiti within Flowing Wells School District boundaries.
Homeowner Don Martin's wall received a fresh coat of paint last week. His 10-year-old daughter Juli, who attends Richardson Elementary School in the Flowing Wells district, helped the students paint the wall. Juli is not enrolled in the YES program.
"It's very encouraging," Martin said of the students' willingness to tackle graffiti.
Martin had been in contact with Pima County officials since January about the wall, he said, which was first hit by vandals about a year ago.
"They kept adding to it," he said.
If vandals return to deface the now clean surface, so will the students.
"I assured Mr. Martin if they come tag it again, we will come and get rid of it," Medina said.
The students want their good deed to be a deterrent.
"It gives people that tag the idea not to do it again," Kayleigh said.
The students had harsh words for people who engage in vandalism.
"They are not very good people," Treyanna said. "It shows they don't care for the community."
The high school students decided to pitch in because they want to create a better environment for younger children, 16-year-old Erick Vega said.
Sophomore Vega and the other members of the Future Business Leaders of America club commit to doing service projects throughout the school year.
"This is our little way of getting involved," said Vega, theclub president. "This seemed like a neat one."
Club sponsor and Flowing Wells business teacher Courtney Bishop said children should not have to live in an environment plagued by graffiti.
"We just saw how much was around," Bishop said. "The more we can get rid of it, they feel like they deserve clean things."
And doing it does not feel like a chore for the students.
"I like doing this because it helps people that had graffiti on their walls," said Centennial third-grader Teren Morales, 8.
Kids get with the program
Students participating in the graffiti abatement project explained why it's important for them to do service projects, such as graffiti abatement.
"We show that we can develop a good sense of community service and it teaches us graffiti is bad and we shouldn't do it. And it's ugly."
David Thurman, 10
Centennial fourth-grader
"It shows we love our community and we don't like when people graffiti walls."
Shai Reed, 10
Centennial fifth-grader
"It shows that we love our community with all of our hearts."
Ivory Rose, 9
Centennial third-grader
