“It was truly inspirational. I will think of my friends in a whole other way now.”
- PHS Senior, Michael Simeon
 Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
That was some of the advice offered by nationally known motivational speaker Michael Pritchard on Wednesday, as he addressed Patterson High School students in the school gymnasium.
Pritchard, who made his presentation two weeks after a campus gang brawl, used comedy routines, impressions and serious anecdotes about the consequences of crime to get his message across.
“All I’m asking from you guys is to increase the peace, increase respect and give teachers a big round of applause for all they do,” Pritchard said as he summed up the second of two presentations.
Pritchard has a background in counseling and stand-up comedy. He has performed with Jay Leno, Robin Williams and Jerry Seinfeld and done voices for television and movies. He said he received a call while on the road to another engagement about the opportunity to speak at Patterson High School, and he couldn’t pass it up.
The St. Louis native said he grew up in a working-class community, much like some Patterson High School students.
“Some of your parents are working so hard and brought you here to escape the thing that we bring with us — hate,” he said.
Pritchard, a man of great size and stature, began his presentation with a moment of silence for young people who had died from acts of violence.
He made it clear during his second speech that he would not tolerate a lack of respect from the audience, telling people who continued talking that they could leave if they did not settle down.
His talk went on through first-hand accounts of the challenges and crises facing today’s youth.
 Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
He described a boy he once talked to who would hide a baby sibling when his father got drunk, so that the child wouldn’t be shaken.
He asked the audience how many students hear the words “bitches” and “hos” spoken on campus each day. The vast majority raised their hands.
Pritchard said those words often are used by murderers who hold women in control before killing them.
He also asked if students regularly heard derogatory words about homosexuals on campus, and about three-fourths of the students raised their hands.
Pritchard described a student who hanged himself in barbed wire after being called such names on campus.
Students in general live in a violent society, from graphic video games to incidents of street violence, Pritchard said.
“Don’t tell me you’re not soaked in this sickness,” Pritchard shouted at one point.
He discussed the consequences of some of those acts of violence, including a gang member in Compton who ended up in a wheelchair after a gun battle. Fellow gang members told him it would have been better if he had died — at least then they could pour a 40-ounce container of alcohol over his grave.
“Too many kids in America are crying with bullets instead of tears,” Pritchard said.
 Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
“Violence doesn’t have a zip code,” Pritchard said.
Pritchard urged students not to use hurtful words and to get to know one another rather than judging on appearances.
“You don’t need to blow someone else’s candle out to make yours a little brighter,” he said.
In the first of two presentations Wednesday, students stepped forward and talked about their own experiences with bullying.
Pritchard said afterward that schools often focus on the mind, but they don’t deal enough with the heart and spiritual matters. Many students in Ivy League schools have high test scores, but have problems such as binge drinking and social difficulties, he said.
Junior Rebecca Hinojos said Pritchard’s presentation was more touching than she had expected.
“I kind of wanted to cry,” she said, “and he’s really, like, funny, all at the same time.”
Several students said the presentation made them think twice about making derogatory comments to others.
Senior Michael Simeon said he will change the way he addresses his friends.
“It was truly inspirational,” he said. “I will think of my friends in a whole other way now.”
 Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
The Central Regional School Insurance Group, which provides insurance for Patterson Unified School District, sponsored the presentation.
Patterson Unified School District Superintendent Patrick Sweeney said various people and groups, such as the insurance firm, have been helpful since the Sept. 19 brawl.
Principal David Stubbs said the presentation probably would not have had as much of an impact if it had happened the day after the melee. Since that time, he has met with “at-risk” students at the school, and talked to them about their perceptions of other students and staff and campus safety in general.
“I want this to continue,” Stubbs said. “I think it had a strong impact on a lot of kids today.”
He said caring attitudes exhibited by school employees have been a great help during the past two weeks.
Students have been fantastic as well, Sweeney said.
The school will have a similar presentation in November, Stubbs said, and more to come after that.
“I’m a firm believer that if kids are in a safe, secure environment, we can go anywhere,” Stubbs said.
To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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