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daydriana rankin

“TELLING THE TRUTH”

New Year’s Resolution Student Daydriana Rankin stands up for Hattiesburg High

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TEXT AND PHOTOS BY VALERIE WELLS Daydriana Rankin, 16, decided 2010 will be the year she challenges stereotypes about Hattiesburg High School. She’s a busy junior with a bright future, but she will make time. “Get to know my Hattiesburg High School. We are not what everybody thinks we are,” she said. Rankin is tired of going to her little brother’s soccer matches and people asking her about gangs at Hattiesburg High. “There are cliques at every school,” Rankin said. But she doesn’t see any gang activity at Hattiesburg High. “Our discipline is very strict. People think we are running around here, that doesn’t happen,” she said as a class of quiet teenagers filed by on their way to lunch on the quiet HHS campus.

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“It’s ridiculous.” It’s more than just idle talk on the soccer field that riles Daydriana Rankin. It’s the local media that she believes creates negative impressions of Hattiesburg High. Last year, when a gun was found on campus, several news reports focused on crime at HHS while promoting positive activities at surrounding schools. She said it was a misunderstanding that took on sinister implications. “The situation was taken too far and got blown out of proportion, making the front page of newspapers and being the talk of the local news media,” Rankin said. “I’m sure that negative things happen at all schools, but I have never seen those stories in the news. It was then when I began to realize

that we rarely get news coverage about all of the positive things that happen at HHS.” Instead of digging up dirt on Oak Grove High or Petal High, Rankin prefers to take the high road and accentuate positive achievements at Hattiesburg High that don’t get much press. “I wish that people could see all of the success produced at our school. We have so many successful and talented students who are only striving to do better,” she said. “For example, did you know how great our forensics team is? Or have you ever heard our chamber and concert orchestra? Or have you visited some of our great vocational classes?” She admits she has seen a small shift in the media coverage of HHS this year, but wants to see more positive stories and more consistency. She’s working with HHS Principal Robert Sanders to create a group of HHS students who will question negative reports and promote positive news. One possibility is a Web site updated by students. Rankin has more ideas. It adds to her commitments. “She’s a good student,” Sanders said. He pointed at her sitting in one of her favorite spots on campus, the gazebo. “We are very happy to have her.” She gets up at 6 a.m. on weekdays. She goes to history class, then physics, then psychology. After lunch, she has

trig, Spanish II, AP English and orchestra. She has to practice her violin for the upcoming Christmas concert that includes a five-act piece of music. She’s in BETA Club, the National Honor Society, Student Council, Future Business Leaders of America, Poetry in Motion Club, Hattiesburg Del-Teen, Southern Mississippi Youth Orchestra, Spanish Club and Forrest General Spirit Girls. She’s contemplating a run for student body president this spring. She’s also competing in the Forrest County Junior Miss program and trying to get her room painted the right shade of purple. “After school I always have some kind of meeting, practice, or something to do and after finally arriving home I have a long list of homework to do all before getting ready for bed to do it all over again,” Rankin said. “It’s tough, but I have to prioritize and maybe after I get it all done, I get to work a little fun into my schedule. I like to go to parks, game rooms, movie theaters and play sports with close friends or family from time to time just to have fun and put the busy things aside for a while.” She has a close family. David and Yolanda Rankin support their daughter’s pursuits wholeheartedly. David Rankin said his daughter can enlighten others about what is really hap-

pening at Hattiesburg High. He’s proud of her graphic art. Her daddy calls her “DayDay.” She listens to all kinds of music from classical to country, but her favorite is pop. She loves to eat strawberries. She shops for clothes at Forever21 and Charlotte Russe. Her favorite books include “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe and “Anthem” by Ayn Rand. She writes poetry. Before she attended HHS, Rankin heard plenty of negative comments about the school. “Later when I actually entered ninth grade and compared the talk of outside observers to the actual everyday actions of the school, I began to realize that a lot of the outside talk was over-exaggerated or untrue,” Rankin said. She is comparing colleges, looking for the best fit among the University of Southern Mississippi, University of Mississippi, University of Maryland, University of Texas at Austin and University of Alabama at Birmingham She plans to major in journalism and communications or business and entrepreneurship. “Or who knows? Maybe both.” Rankin intends to be a reporter and a writer, then start her own magazine. She wants to tell untold stories. “I would be one of the good journalists,” she said.

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