By Mitch Lehman
EDITOR OF THE TRIBUNE
Fifty-nine hours and forty-five minutes after San Marino High School Principal Mary Johnson declared all present had met the standards to graduate last Friday eve in cool, breezy Titan Stadium, students were back on campus Monday morning, providing living, breathing testimony to the seemingly never-ending cycle of education continued to churn away.
The summer school students were one short, however, as it was learned over the weekend that Mira Hu, a rising senior, went missing after taking the SAT test Saturday morning at nearby Arcadia High School. When her parents arrived to collect Mira after the exam, she was nowhere to be found. A short time later, she sent her brother Anthony – a member of San Marino High School’s graduating Class of 2015 – a text message saying she was running away from it all, feeling overwhelmed by the exam and school in general. She has not been seen since, according to Arcadia Police, and could possibly be traveling to central or northern California. Mira is sixteen years old, stands approximately 5,’ 3” and weighs ninety five pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black jacket, black jeans and was carrying a large, navy colored backpack.
A former San Marino High School honor student now attending college on the east coast told The Tribune the incident “is really impacting the high school-aged community.”
Gretchen Go, who will be a sophomore at New York University in the fall, was a speech champion and Promethean her senior year. While indicating she does not know Mira personally and could not specifically address the incident, Go said the two shared a connection through the speech program, where Mira was also recently a member.
“It resonates,” said Go. “The pressure, the environment…we have all had to try to live up to those expectations, which are pretty ridiculous.”
San Marino High School has been rated as the top unified school district in California for each of the past eleven years based on standardized testing, making it one of the most competitive public education environments in the nation, if not the world. The benefits come with a price.
When asked how she would change the system to make it less taxing, Go didn’t hesitate with her response.
“I honestly think it lies with the college acceptance method,” Go said. “All of the students are judged on their system – and you have to play the game. Now that I am in college, I see that we are taught to take tests. There is a much different form of learning taking place in the universities. We can all relate.”
Anyone with information about Mira’s whereabouts is asked to call the Arcadia Police Department at 574-5121. Anonymous tips may be made through Crime Stoppers by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or by texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637).
“We’ll all keep Mira in out thoughts,” Go said in closing.
