On Wednesday, Feb 15th we talked with one of the leaders of the Basketball Program, The City. This program in particular has impacted so many children worldwide. Dave said to us he has had so many people from different countries come to their facilities to bounce a ball and enjoy themselves. The countries he said…
he came to our school and talked. He was a wondeful speaker and he really got to me. I was truly happy hearing his words. The whole middle school loved him.
we went uptown to Columbia. We walked around and saw the wonderful campus. I saw some great sports writers talk about sports and taking action. Ray hogan is a true insperation
Jay Williams who was a former NBA player went to our school and spoke to us at a large gathering with the whole school.
We went to the Downtown Criminal Courthouse. We met with Robert and we sat with him through six trials. Five of the people on trial were people of color. He gave us paper and we recorder their names, race, gender, why they were on trial and if they were released or not. We were looking for patterns.
We went to the Vera Institute of Justice building where Mawia Khogali works as a research associate in Vera’s policing program. We interviewed her about how the Vera Institute works to make sure the justice system actually gives justice. We also asked her questions about what it’s like to be a Black woman in America.
We called him and asked him some questions about what he does. We asked him what PROP is, what they do, and how they work. We wanted to understand how they connect with our topic.
We interviewed him and asked him a lot of questions related to our topic.
Our group interviewed Michael Hiscock.
We left around 2:00 to travel up to the Bronx where an organization called Homes for the Homeless is. We brought many children’s books to read to some pre K children. We brought many of our favorite books from when we were younger. We got to take turns having read aloud and also played with the kids.
We volunteered at the organization Homes for the Homeless (HFH). We read books and played with small kids who were staying at their center and learned about what the organization is doing.
We read to 3 year olds!
We went to Le Pain Quotidien across the street from school and interviewed Hilary Meltzer, who provides legal work related to the water supply of the city. We asked her about her job and whether she thinks the government is doing enough to call attention to environmental issues concerning water.
We talked with Hillary Meltzer who is the Chief of the Environmental Law division of New York City. She talked to us about all the things that NYC is doing to help marine life and to stop pollution.
We had a Skype Interview with Ashley Graham!
We interviewed supermodel, Ashley Graham.
I watched a documentary about plastic pollution.
We had an interview with Mina White, the director of IMG Models.
We had a phone interview with IMG Modeling director, Mina White.
We talked with Doug about how his Ice Cream company got started, why he started it, and why it became so successful.
We went to visit the Democracy Now! building. There, we watched the filming of the show and got a tour of the building. we were also lucky enough to meet with Amy Goodman and a few other people who worked on the show.
During this fieldwork our group interviewed Michael Hiscock over the phone.
Our group went on a tour of the Sims Recycling facility in Brooklyn, NY. We got to see where the majority of NYC’s plastic goes, and how it is recycled.
We visited Democracy Now! Which is a news broadcast created to cover the 1996 election but, because of popularity stayed on air. We took a tour of the entire place and saw what everyone’s jobs were. We also met with Amy Goodman who has been with Democracy Now! for as long as it’s been active
Our group went on a tout of the recycling center. We got to see where all the plastic get sorted, and we got more info on our topic.
Last Friday we went to visit Democracy Now! Democracy Now is a private news organization that reports on news that is not being focused on in mainstream media. They do not take funding from private companies and there are no advertisements. They are funded by their listeners and viewers.
First, we watched a live taping of the show from 8-9. Then we got to interview the host Amy Goodman about what she does and we talked to her a little bit about how fake news affects her and her company. We also got a special interview with Journalist Kate Arnoff who was a guest on the episode that we watched. She is currently reporting on the Green New Deal and focusing on climate change around the world. After we discussed how Democracy Now was different than other mainstream media.
We talked with Samantha Busa, a psychologist who specializes in LGBTQ+ children. We talked about the mental health issues surrounding LGBTQ+ youth and she actually sent us a ton of statistics regarding the number of LGBTQ+ youth suffering with mental health issues.
We had a phone call with her and she was telling us about her job and the NFL’s mission.
This weekend I watched a movie called, The Post. It is about The Washington Post’s involvement in the Pentagon Papers case of 1971. These events would eventually lead to the national scandal that set the ball rolling for former President Nixon’s resignation.
We interviewed Hillary to talk about NYC and their waters. This includes drinking water and our bodies of water.
we interviewed Tracie Keesee, the former Denver police chief, over the phone.
We interviewed Anna Isaacson, who is the Vice President of Social Responsibility in the NFL, which means that she focuses on helping the NFL to make socially responsible decisions and policies. She was very helpful.
We went to PeriodCon. PeriodCon is an annual two-day convention where there are different panels and workshops focusing on menstrual equity. It is run by PERIOD-an organization who’s mission is to celebrate periods and provide products to those in need. PERIOD was started by Nadya Okomoto when she was 16 years old with her friend Vincent Forand. We went to the first day which was all of the panels and talks. The first speaker was Lynn Seely who works with Myovant Sciences who talked a lot about period diseases and how not much is being done about them. Then there was a panel of Period Poverty which was about how people who don’t have access to period products go about their cycle. Then we had time to walk around the “vendor hall” where there were about 6 vendor stands where different companies could promote their period products and a lot of them were available for free. We learned a lot about how the products work and how they were designed to work the best for every person who menstruates. Then, my favorite panel that I saw was the Period Policy panel. This panel was about the laws around periods and the politics around them. It was a super interesting panel and I learned a lot. We then had lunch and had time to talk to everyone that was there. We talked with Nadya-who is super kind and fun, and some other people who have their own companies that supply period products to schools. There was then a gender inclusivity panel where they talked about how not all menstruators are women, and not all women menstruate. (I had to leave at this time). Next was a panel on period in pop culture which I heard was very interesting, and then to close off the day, Wendy Davis-a former Texas state senator spoke.
we had a call with her. we got to know who she was the type of work she does. She sets up events for the NFL such as charities and events.
We did a presentation in front of the middle school about no name calling week, which is a week organized by GLESN that is a week deticated to no name calling, mostly focused around homophobic slurs. After our presentation we showed a video by GLESN about bringing people up instead of putting them down.
We presented a slideshow to middle school meeting about no-name calling week.
My group and I went to MindWell NYC and Interviewed Dr. Rebecca Skolnick, Dr Rachel Hutt. and Dr. Jessica Ran. They are all therapist for teenagers, one thing we asked about was if teenagers ever had issue with social media. They said that there were many issue with teenagers their bodies because of social media. We asked about what they would tell them to do that would help them with the issue. Someone that they said they make the teenager look in the mirror and say what each part of their body is for and what its meaning. This helps them think more about what their body is for more than what their body looks like.
We went to lpq and met with Tate, they showed us different forms and they taught us about what GLSEN does.
We interviewed Brazilian model Fabiana Saba Sutton, and talked about her experiences in the fashion industry.
we took a trip to the new york county criminal court with Robert Gangi to observe some cases held in the court.
Our group traveled to Brooklyn to PS 446 21 percent of their students are housing unstable. We interviewed Amir Brann and the school’s principle Mrs Dunn. There have been articles about the school and some people were kind enough to donate items so the school can help support families and make them feel safe.
My group and I had a phone call interview with Megan A. Moreno and few people from her team. They are all on the SMAHRT at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We came up with many questions to ask them and they all gave us their thoughts on what they thought the answer would be.
We watched a movie called The Post, which depicts events related to the Pentagon Papers that eventually lead to Watergate.
We wrote letters to imprisoned journalists in Iran, Myanmar, and Russia. The letters let them know that there are people who support them outside of prison and that they are others who fight for their cause.
For this fieldwork, we met with Chris Ott, a lawyer for the ACLU based in Wisconsin. We asked him about past cases and his thoughts on them, and how he thinks the country can improve the current state of the First Amendment.
My group and I had a phone call with Jenny McQuaile, the director of the film “Straight/Curve.” She made a documentary about how media has affected women and teens and how they feel about it.
We interviewed Fabiana Saba Sutton a “plus-size” model/television host/body positivity activist
We met with and interviewed Amy Smilovic, the founder of Tibi. We also took a brief tour of the Tibi offices.
We went to Tibi’s New York office to interview their founder, Amy Smilovic.
We had a skype interview with Becca Mccharen-Tran, founder of Chromat (https://chromat.co/) and designer. Chromat is devoted to celebrating everyone’s differences and providing clothing for all women.
We had a skype interview with Becca Mccharen-Tran, founder of Chromat (https://chromat.co/) and designer. Chromat is devoted to celebrating everyone’s differences and providing clothing for all women.
We interviewed Amir Brann and Meghan Dunn on what they’ve done to help Housing Unstable children receive the best education possible, and make families lives easier!
On our fieldwork we interviewed Tate Benson from GLSEN. Tate gave us a bunch of resources like lesson plans and tips for how to come out safely. We interview them about their daily life at GLSEN, and what it’s like for them being an LGBTQ+ person outside of GLSEN. We also asked them what the mission of GLSEN is and what their personal mission is by working at GLSEN.
We Skype-called Becca Mccharen-Tran to talk about her fashion company, Chromat, and her experience as a fashion designer.
We met at Le Pain Quotidien, the one across the street from school. We sat down down stairs and they showed us a folder they had brought for us to look at. We then talked about GLSEN and what they do their and their coming out story until Zariel left to take her Spanish quiz. We then went upstairs and bought them a drink and Stella and I learned more about them as a person and had more of a casual conversation with them, while also staying on topic and talking about LGBTQ+ kids in school and how to deal with homophobic slurs.
We wrote letters to imprisoned journalists in Russia, Iran, and Myanmar. All three of them were imprisoned due to unfair behavior from the law. I think it’s important that we do things like that because it gives hope to journalists, and it could help their situation.
We went on a tour of the NYC Aquarium, with the oceans group. We got to see the inside and outs of the of the aquarium, and along the way got facts about the ocean and pollution.
For this fieldwork, we sent messages to imprisoned journalists in other countries to comfort and support them. We also let them know that lots of people support them and care about the cause they are fighting for.
We interviewed Andrea Taetle, A civil rights attorney. She showed us a documentary that covers a story where James Risen (a New York Times journalist) released government secrets to the press which then led to him going to court with the government. The film covers whistleblowers and the difference between letting the people know the things the government does in secret and committing treason.
For this interview, we got in touch with Farah Brelvi. A lawyer for the ACLU and CJA via Skype. We asked her questions about her work and opinions about Freedom of the Press in the United States recently as well as past cases that the ACLU has worked on.
We went to a courthouse called the County Criminal Court on 100 centre street NY, NY to meet with Robert Gangi to do some court monitorings. Robert Gangi told us that if someone with power supporting minorities observes a case, the judge is less likely to give a harsh punishment to the person being prosecuted. we monitored 6 court cases and 5 out of 6 of the prosecuted people were of colour.
Our group went to a court house called the County Criminal Court. There we met Bob Gangi do some court monitoring. We observed six different court cases, and 5 out of six of the prosecuted people were of color.
We skyped a family friend of Tatsuya’s named Farah Brelvi. She taught us about the 1st amendment and cases that she have done which involve it. She used to work for the ACLU and she told us about cases she worked. It helped us because she was clearly smart and knew what she was doing.
We were invited to LIFT’s holiday fiesta in november. We offered to host a gift drive to help get gifts for all the kids that would be going to the fiesta. We ended up getting over 80 gifts and donating them to LIFT for the party. We went to the party which was at their office and we helped set up and we each had different stations for arts and crafts. (Ana was on popcicle stick snowflakes, Leah was on paper ornaments and I was helping give gifts out.) The party was really nice there was food and a picture station and we took turns helping the kids at different stations.
Our group traveled to the Woolworth Building to interview Mawia Khogali who works at Vera as a research associate in Vera’s Policing Program.
We had a facetime with Hillary Meltzer and Nathan Taylor where we talked about bans on plastics and discussed why stopping plastic pollution is so complex.
We went to the New York Aquarium to have a tour of one of the most recent exhibits, the shark exhibit, and go behind the scenes of the aquarium to see all the life support and filtration systems for the aquarium.
We visited the New York Aquarium and had a private tour of the new exhibit on sharks, and a tour of the filtration system as well.
During this fieldwork, out group got a full detail, in-depth summary of what happened during Danielles birthing experience, and how it effects her today.
We went on a tour of the NY Aquarium.
We face timed and interviewed Alexis Segal who works with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.
We interviewed Mike Kowalski who is the former CEO of Tiffany.
We took a tour of the aquarium, and we learned about the messages behind the shark exhibit. We also took a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium’s mechanisms.
We received a tour of the new exhibit about sharks in the New York Aquarium on January 7, 2019. The exhibit discussed the differences between different species of sharks, their relationship with humans, and some threats they face. We also got to see the part of the aquarium where they filter water and sand using large tubes. At the end, we watched a seal perform tricks, which was a fun ending to the trip.
We went to the New York Aquarium and had a private tour of the new shark exhibit as well as the filtration system. They talked to us extensively about these two things.
We had an interview with Chris Ott who works for the ACLU. Chris Ott along with the ACLU help journalists all around the world, with their right to freedom of the press. We spoke to Chris about current and pass cases with the ACLU, including a controversial case where the ACLU defended a Nazi march through Skokie.
our group traveled downtown to the Woolworth building to interview Mawia Khogali, a research associate in Vera’s Policing Program.
We talked about a case where a New York times reporter known as James Risen was forced to leak his sources, and the threat of Jail loomed over him for years because of it. He had come into knowledge that an NSA program that had been used to spy on foreign terrorists was being used against the american people.
We interviewed Happy Walters. We talked to him about his agency, clients, and his company. We went to his hotel room and we interviewed him there.
we met him and had a conversation about the obligation of taking action. he explained the charities his clients do and how they take action.
we met him and had a conversation about the obligation of taking action. he explained the charities his clients do and how they take action.
Name: Social Justice Group: 2018-2019, Sports, Activism & Race Date of Fieldwork: December 20, 2019 Name of Organization: Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Type of Fieldwork: What I did: What I learned: What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
We called Alexis Segal to talk about the damages of different water pollution and what she does in her government position to bring attention to that.
Our group was presented with many different clips from t.v shows, commercials, movies etc. We had a very informative conversation after every few clips where played, we talked about what we thought about them, and how we might have connected to them.
We met Happy Walters in his hotel to interview him.
We interviewed Alexis Segal, a friend of my mother’s who is the Legislative Assistant for Water and the Environment for Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. Since she is based in Washington, D.C., we were not able to meet with her in person but did set up of a FaceTime call/interview.
I wrote letters to imprisoned writers in Iran, Myanmar and Russia. The letters were wishing them happy holidays and let them know that people all around the world support them in their fight for freedom of the press.
We spoke with Andrea Taetle, she is a civil rights attorney (and also max’s mom). We watched a documentary about James Risen, a journalist for the New York Times, discussed whistleblowing and the blurred line between freedom of the press and treason.
We spoke with Chris Ott, a lawyer for the ACLU Wisconsin (American Civil Liberties Union) who provides legal representation for journalists around the country. We inquired about his job and personal opinions about the current status of Freedom of the Press in the United States. We also discussed famous cases involving our countries laws and regulations about freedom of the press.
We went to the MindWell offices in NYC. MindWell is a group psychologist office and they meet with all kinds of people to help them with different issues. We interviewed Dr. Skolnick, Dr. Hutt, and Dr. Renz. They gave us some great insight on some techniques that they give to their clients.
We had a phone call with Jenny McQuaile, the director of the film “Straight/Curve.” The documentary is about how media has affected women and teens and how they feel about it.
We interviewed Danielle over face time about her pregnancy experience. Danielle explained to us the struggle she had during delivery and taught us lots more about our topic.
We called Chris Ott and talked about what the ACLU is and does and why it is important to the US. We also discussed famous cases where the 1st amendment was tested.
We had a facetime with Hilary Meltzer about the different bans and laws that either protect plastic factories or help the Environment. She and her assistant were there. We talked about the different laws that effect plastic in the US.
In this field work, our group visited the house of Andrea Taetle, a Civil rights attorney as well as the mother of one of our group mates. When we got there, we watched a video about James Risen and talked about how he was related to freedom of the press and whistleblowing. She shared facts as well as opinions on problems related to freedom of the press and how our country is dealing with it currently.
We met Orayne Williams who was abandoned by his mother when he was 14 and was kicked out of his house. He ended up living in a homeless shelter alone and going to high school and then later went to college and started a program to help kids who experienced similar things that he did and helps them get back in school. We toured him around the school and then brought him to LPQ across the street for an interview.
We interviewed MJ Day and her team of women who work on Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition. We talked about modeling and how Sports Illustrated tries to give every woman an equal chance to model. They try to make sure it is not just the outward appearance that gets casted but also the model’s personality.
Orayne Williams traveled to our school for an interview. Orayne has experienced homelessness when he was 14. He was lucky enough to go to school even though he was in the homeless shelter. After touring him around the school, we crossed the street to Le Pain for the interview.
We interviewed Chris about his work at the LGBTQ+ center at NYU and asked him some questions about his day to day work and what he thinks the future is for other LGBTQ+ centers at other schools.
We interviewed Orayne Williams who was in a homeless shelter alone as a teen. We interviewed him about his experience and story and his organization.
