From collecting money to folding paper cranes, students and staff took action after the sudden death last month of a Kerr graduate.
Marc Levine, son of social studies teacher Steve Levine and a member of the class of 2006, passed away on February 28.
“We all miss Marc, the legacy he left is great,” librarian Jean Wu said. “He was an activist, idealistic, caring for others, very sensitive guy. When things go wrong in the world, he takes it personally.”
The Levine family is asking for donations to Doctors without Borders, which helps provide medical care to people in need, regardless of their religion, race or political affiliation.
Clubs such as Students for Humanity, Student Council and Future Business Leaders of America have answered the request and have begun collecting money to donate.
“We got a lot of profits from the lock-in so we decided to donate $1,000 to Doctors Without Borders in Marc Levine’s name,” Anh Lu, Students for Humanity’s president, said.
Marc Levine was also the founder of Students for Humanity.
“This is definitely what [he] would want and Mr. Levine suggested earlier in the year to donate to Doctors without Borders but we never got around to talking about it,” Lu said.
Along with donations, senior Maithy Tran and social studies teacher Karen Evans are helping in a different way.
“We are making paper cranes for Mr. Levine–1,000 to be exact,” Tran said. “Just as a way of saying ‘you’re on our mind and we wish you the best.’”
Tran and Evans distributed the paper and collected the paper cranes.
“I’m impressed with how many students are helping,” Evans said. “I really think it shows our compassion and our generosity. There are a lot of ways to show sympathy but 1,000 cranes is so special, every little crane is a blessing.”
Junior Clara Sosa has made a hundred paper cranes for Levine.
“I decided to learn how to make cranes because I want to show Mr. Levine that we are all very sorry for his loss and let him know that we are there for him for whatever he needs,” Sosa said.
While few on the campus knew Marc Levine personally, many were moved to honor him because of their feelings for his father.
“All of us are completely shocked that something like this could happen to [Mr. Levine],” Lu said. “He respects everyone in the school regardless of what he knows or doesn’t know about us.”
Social studies teacher Rick Madsen feels grief for Mr. Levine.
“We’re such good friends; I just can’t imagine a loss like that,” Madsen said. “I just hope Mr. Levine can recover.”
Wu sees a reflection of Mr. Levine in Marc.
“I think Marc is like his father,” Wu said. “He cares about what’s going on in the world and he wants to do something about it.”
