SAN MARCOS - Following the mantra of Mahatma Gandhi, Mission Hills High School student leaders are encouraging their peers to "be the change" they wish to see in the world, and on campus.

Some 30 student leaders, who wear the famous quote emblazoned on their T-shirts, are part of school's recently launched Peer Leaders Uniting Students (PLUS) team, a program designed to connect students and bring about awareness and understanding of each other through discussion and ice-breaking activities.

"It empowers students to take ownership of their school," said Cherryl Baker, a Mission Hills counselor who oversees the program. "They create the world they want to live in."

Developed at Murrieta Valley High School eight years ago, the PLUS program is meant to address school safety, break down barriers among student groups and create a positive atmosphere on campus by using the school's most valuable resource - students, Baker said.

"I realize peer pressure is out there, and I wanted something that would be positive peer pressure on campus," she said. "We do have caring students who want to make a difference, so I wanted to give them an opportunity to demonstrate leadership."

Students were nominated by teachers and underwent an application and interview process to become a part of the school's PLUS team, followed by training and practice sessions.

"We try to seek out a very diverse group of students," Baker said. "Ideally, the PLUS team is a representation of campus. Our goal is to have other students see themselves on the team as well."

On Sept. 11, 12 student leaders led discussions about diversity awareness, bullying, racism, gangs, stress and school safety during the first of six interactive campus forums, which featured a number of getting-to-know-you activities.

For example, the 55 students who participated shared activities they used to do "back in the day," such as playing with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" or watching cartoons as children.

"It was a way for students to see how they had the same interests and things in common," said senior Austin Rose, a peer leader.

Another ice-breaker, called "Lifeboat," forced students to link arms with groups of other students, some of whom they might have never met before, to avoid being stuck without a "lifeboat" and therefore disqualified. The activity was meant to show students the difference between feeling connected and feeling alone.

"There's a lot of cliques on campus and people separate themselves on how they look, how they dress," said Rose, noting the symbolism of the activity. "The goal is to help people accept others who aren't exactly like them."

Students delved into deeper subjects as they broke into small group discussions, in which they identified issues they saw around campus, such as bullying and stereotypes, and offered solutions. Rose said he was surprised to learn that some students didn't feel safe on campus.

"I don't think anybody should feel uncomfortable coming to school," he said, adding that he hopes the forums will help make school a better place. "When people are sitting alone at lunch, that's a problem."

Senior Brenda Castellanos, 17, said the forum helped her realize how quickly people judge others.

"We can't make people stop judging each other, but we can help at least one person to be more open-minded," she said. "Even if I don't know someone, I can still say 'hi.' "

Baker said her ultimate goal is to have students take what they learned at the forums and apply it to their own lives, the campus and the community.

"I want them to be role models and spread the message," she said.

Contact staff writer Noelle Ibrahim at (760) 761-4404 or nibrahim@nctimes.com.