Hug High School - History

History

Hug High's first principal, Bud Garfinkle, opened the school for the 1968-69 academic year with only sophomores and juniors; the first senior class graduated in 1970. Hug was a three year high school until the 1972-73 academic year when freshmen were admitted as all Washoe County High Schools transitioned to four year schools. As Hug was founded in the late 1960s when the U.S. was undergoing intense social change and political turmoil (especially in relation to guaranteeing equal rights to all of its citizens and fighting an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam), the events of this period contributed to the idealism of the school's first years. In a recent letter, Garfinkle reiterates these sentiments: "I feel as if I gave birth to a child... A child born at a time when our nation was wrestling with many new ideas: that all people should be treated equally, regardless of race, color or creed." As one of the most ethnically diverse high schools in the district, it could be said that shifts in Hug's fortunes have often provided a litmus lest to the community at large as to how far it has come to achieving these ideals.

Enrollment peaked in the early 1970s, and again in the early 1980s. Hug High currently has an enrollment of approximately 1,274 students in grades 9-12.

Recent statistics on the ethnic origin of the student body of Hug High School (2007-2008 school year, with district-wide statistics in parentheses): American Indian/Native American: 1.7% (2.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander: 10.2% (6.4%), Hispanic/Latino: 57.9% (32.8%), Black/African American: 9.9% (3.8%), White/Caucasian: 20.3% (54.4%).

Its nine buildings (Academic Buildings A, B, C, and D, the Industrial Arts building, the Gymnasium, the Little Theater and Cafeteria building, the Library, the Administration building, and JROTC rifle range) are set on a multilevel series of terraces, and most are connected by covered outdoor walkways. The facades of most of the buildings are covered in dark green serpentine stone panels, and the equally green campus has been landscaped with a wide variety of trees and plants over the years. Reno's first "school on the hill," the campus offers a beautiful panoramic view of the Truckee Meadows to the south, and of the Sierra Nevada to the southwest. The campus has been decorated over the years with numerous murals and mosaics depicting the mascot, school colors and the letter "H" for Hug.