Students
- Scott Barringer
Scott is a smart 16-year-old football star who plays the piano and excels in athletics. Scott is the child of divorced parents. When Scott was 15, his father married a young woman who was closer to his age than her husband's. This new stepmother began sexually abusing Scott. Scared of what his father's reaction might be if the abuse was revealed, Scott turned to drugs and his life fell into a downward spiral. His school work suffered and he was thrown off the football team. As a last resort, his father decided to send him to Horizon. At first, Scott had a short relationship with Juliette Waybourne, but later he became romantically involved with Shelby Merrick.
Scott Barringer is played by Hayden Christensen.
- Shelby Merrick
At age 14, Shelby ran away from home because of her stepfather who sexually abused her for years. Her mother was in denial, but Shelby believed that if she ran away and kept his secret, her stepfather would leave her little sister Jess alone. On the streets, Shelby became a prostitute and started using drugs. After a year, Shelby located her natural father in Los Angeles, but despite his good intentions, he could neither control his daughter nor help her with her emotional problems. Thus he made a deal with juvenile authorities that allowed her to go Horizon rather than Juvenile Hall. During the course of the show she falls deeply in love with Scott Barringer. Later, Shelby returns home after her stepfather has had a heart attack. She discovers that her stepfather had broken his promise and abused her teenage sister Jess. When Shelby calls the cops, her mother, not wanting her daughters taken from her, finally reveals the truth, and the stepfather is taken into custody. Shelby is return to Horizon.
Shelby Merrick is played by A. J. Cook.
- Katherine "Kat" Ann Cabot
Katherine is an African American, adopted child of white parents. Even though she always knew she was adopted, a sense of alienation set in as she grew older, and Katherine felt she didn't fit in. That confusion caused her grades to slip and to withdraw from her talents as a gifted athlete. The accidental death of Katherine's sister, the biological daughter of her adoptive parents, contributed to her lapse into depression. She was finally sent to Horizon by her parents.
Katherine Ann Cabot is played by Kandyse McClure.
- Augusto "Auggie" Ciceros
Auggie came to Horizon to avoid a Youth Authority lockup. The youngest of five children, Auggie grew up in a middle class home on the fringe of the barrio. Although not a gang member, he was a tagger and had gained an impressive reputation. Eventually he was busted, but the court took mercy on Auggie who, at 15, can barely read or write. All through school, he was placed in educable mentally handicapped classes even though he was actually very intelligent. Horizon's teachers realized the real problem: profound dyslexia. He became romantically involved with Juliette Waybourne.
Augusto Ciceros is played by Jorgito Vargas, Jr.
- Juliette "Jules" Waybourne
She's often referred to as "Princess" or "Queenie" by Shelby, which is derived from her appearance and behavior. She continually assaulted and abused herself with such means as bulimia and self-mutilation. Being influenced by her perfectionist mother, who has had many husbands in the last nine years, Juliette has grown up in three different households with eight siblings of three different fathers. Exacerbating her unstable surroundings, almost all of the children are extremely successful overachievers. Unable to compete with their accomplishments, she chose physically destructive measures to get the love and attention she craved. Her biological father, an airline pilot who was often away, finally brought Juliette to Horizon. She has a relationship with Augusto Ciceros and a short relationship with Scott Barringer.
Juliette Waybourne is played by Meghan Ory.
- Ezra Friedkin
He was adopted at birth by parents who were looking more for a solution to their marital difficulties than for a child to love. When the marriage ended up in divorce, Ezra was caught in the middle of his parents' arguments. The experience forced him to be a pleaser, a mediator, a peacemaker, and a rule-follower. To comfort himself, Ezra turned to drugs and started using ketamine, with which he nearly overdosed himself. After Ezra was revived in the ER and spent 10 days recovering, he was sent to Horizon. He maintains close relation with Daisy Lipenowski.
Ezra Friedkin is played by Kyle Downes.
- Daisy Lipenowski
Also known as Daisy Graves, she has hid herself beneath a mask of gothic make-up, clothes, and piercings. When years of emotional abuse at home began to threaten her physically, she assaulted her father with a seven-iron golf club, and was quickly sent to Horizon hence. Insightful and harshly honest, Daisy carefully hides her own inner pain and rage behind arrogance and morbid sense of humour. She has a strong friendship with Ezra Friedkin and later also with Shelby Merrick. Her mother dies in a drunk driving accident toward the end of season one. Shelby and Sophie accompany Daisy to the funeral, where she attempts to reconcile with her father.
Daisy Lipenowski is played by Jewel Staite.
Read more about this topic: Higher Ground (TV Series), Characters
Famous quotes containing the word students:
“We must continually remind students in the classroom that expression of different opinions and dissenting ideas affirms the intellectual process. We should forcefully explain that our role is not to teach them to think as we do but rather to teach them, by example, the importance of taking a stance that is rooted in rigorous engagement with the full range of ideas about a topic.”
—bell hooks (b. 1955)
“The fetish of the great university, of expensive colleges for young women, is too often simply a fetish. It is not based on a genuine desire for learning. Education today need not be sought at any great distance. It is largely compounded of two things, of a certain snobbishness on the part of parents, and of escape from home on the part of youth. And to those who must earn quickly it is often sheer waste of time. Very few colleges prepare their students for any special work.”
—Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958)
“Teaching Black Studies, I find that students are quick to label a black person who has grown up in a predominantly white setting and attended similar schools as “not black enough.” ...Our concept of black experience has been too narrow and constricting.”
—bell hooks (b. c. 1955)