By Amy Tong
Features Editor

The gym is full even before the memorial begins. Rows and rows of students, teachers and community members are present. Everyone waits in silence.
The campus has been touched by the death of a fellow student, junior Alejandro "Alex" Fernandez, and people are gathering in the small gym on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 28, to celebrate his life and mourn the loss. Though not everyone knew him, it is clear from the attendance of his memorial that students cared. Alex was a student, a part of the community and he will be missed by family, teachers and friends alike.
Alex lived with his mother, stepfather and two brothers, Andy and Randy.
"He was a good son, always having a smile on his face, and he always respected me. He loved to go out to eat, he loved to go to Great America and church, loved Christmas," mother Edith Fernandez said.
Alex was not only a respectful son, he was also a caring brother.
"We always used to play Nintendo together," said Andy Fernandez, Alex’s 12-year-old brother.
His teachers will also miss him. Though he wasn’t the perfect student, according to special education teacher Bob McFarlene, he was a good person. There were moments his teachers saw a very caring side of him.
"I remember seeing him playing with his little brother during a meeting we were having. He was so sweet, caring, and there was softness about him as he tried to calm his brother down so we could continue the meeting. It was a side of Alex that I had not seen [before]. It was very touching," special education teacher Kathy Sulaver said. Alex’s friends agreed that most people didn’t see Alex’s caring personality. However, those closest to him did.
"He was my best friend for seven years. He was good guy, and school was helping him change. He was bettering his ways," senior Gael Arreguin said.
According to junior Jaime Antonio, he would always stand up for people.
"Once my friends all tried to get me to cut my hair really short even though I really didn’t want to. They were almost going to force me to, until Alex stood up for me and said, ‘Everyone has their own style, you shouldn’t make him cut his hair’," Jaime said.
According to Alex’s mother, her son had recently started working at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto through a program at school. The work experience there had influenced him so much that he was planning to find himself a real job and start working.
"He was bettering his ways, but he didn’t get the chance," Gael said.
Most of the students hold white balloons in their hands as they walk towards the back of the large gym. After murmured prayers, a cloud of white rises slowly into the sky.