Interview with Donna Dees

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On January 30th, my group interviewed Donna Dees. Donna Dees is an activist for gun control and she talked to us about her experience, fighting for stricter gun laws and starting the Million Mom March. The Million Mom March was a march on the Capitol that took place on Mother’s Day, 2000. The Million Mom March was a huge success and it helped bring attention to weak gun policies that needed to be reworked. Donna was one of the best interviewees due to her extensive knowledge of gun violence and the history of activism. She shared with us many statistics like how 76% of school shooters acquire a gun from their household or from a relative. Donna Dees now lives in New Orleans and she is still a huge activist for gun control. She is inspirational and we learned plenty.

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Interview with Beth Sousa, Senior Policy and Strategy Advisor at Planned Parenthood

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For this interview, we spoke to Beth Sousa, the senior policy and strategy advisor at Planned Parenthood. This organization’s main goal is to ensure all people have access to the care and resources they need to make informed decisions about their own bodies. Planned Parenthood advocates for women’s rights by providing funding, making ballot measures, and getting more people to vote. During our interview, Sousa explained how our democracy plays a huge role on the topic of abortion rights. “A lot of it is about our democracy right now. Ballots are important tools,” she said. “There’s a lot to do… making sure everyone votes.” When people fill out these ballot measures, it gives them a say on crucial issues and how we can solve them. These are very important because they give citizens a chance to advocate for their rights and justices.

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Interview with Ana Oliveria, CEO of New York Women’s Foundation

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For this interview, we spoke to Ana Oliveria, the CEO of the New York Women’s Foundation. The organization’s main goal is to ensure everyone their right to reproductive healthcare. The New York Women’s Foundation advocates for women’s rights by bringing together other advocates and providing funding for the women who need support. During our interview, Oliveria explained the importance of having control over our bodies. “Our body is our terrain,” she said. “We live in the world we create. When we don’t use that power, others shape the world for us.” Oliveria also spoke about how many people see the problem, and maybe even see the solution, but no one is really taking action.

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Meeting with former D1 Soccer player Carly Wetzel

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We met with a Former D1 Soccer player named Carly Wetzel. She went to University Of North Carolina and was a midfielder on the soccer team. She talked to us about a foundation she is in called Voice in Sport Foundation, they work on strengthening title 9 for young girls. We learned about experience with her and how they hand me down uniforms that are way too big for them. We learned about how lots of girls quit the sport they love because they were abused by their coach. Carly stressed to us how important it is that the sport you play gives you confidence and does not knock you down. She also played oversees and explaing that playing oversees also impacter her mentel health are her teamates as well, she also noticed that she was treadted much better overseas and in urope then in the U.S. This interview was very informative and helpful.

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The Teenage Perspective

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My group and I met with the LREI High School Feminist Club on February 16, 2024. The girls we met with discussed with us how social media has affected them, and how they grew up surrounded by it. We got to hear different perspectives on the matter, and generally, everyone agreed that they had felt insecure about themselves at one point in their lives. It was awesome to be able to relate and communicate with them and be able to gain so much first-hand information about how they have interacted with social media.
It was truly a pleasure, being able to collect data about what we’re really trying to prove. They were so welcoming and I felt comfortable asking what I needed to there. I appreciate them taking time out of their day for us, thank you.

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Learning About Local Climate Activism With Keanu Arpels-Josiah

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For our social justice project fieldwork, the two climate justice social justice groups interviewed Keanu Arpels-Josiah, a senior at the LREI high school, who participates in local climate justice protests. He is also in the Fridays For Future NYC group, and the Sunrise Movement NYC group. We met in the LREI high school library at the end of the day, when it was emptying out. He talked a lot about climate activism in NYC.

One of the things he said that I found most interesting was that climate change will only be solved at a political level, once we have cut 100% of fossil emissions, no matter how much recycling and raising awareness we do. I found this interesting because it opened my eyes to get more involved in the scene. For example, join large groups, sign petitions, and go to protests.

He also said that while climate change’s effects are not so apparent within the walls of major cities, poorer parts of the world are already feeling its effects in negative ways. If the owners of major fossil fuel companies keep greeding their money and monopoly, civilization could collapse faster than we could see coming. The global north is most responsible for emissions emitted, and the global south is feeling the consequences the most.

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Planning for Abortion Bans: Interview with Beth Sousa, Senior Policy and Strategy Advisor at PlannedParenthood

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On Wednesday, Mila, Gabriella, and I met with Beth Sousa, the Senior Policy and Strategy Advisor at PlannedParenthood’s international office in New York. Sousa told us about the actions PlannedParenthood is taking to make sure reproductive healthcare is accessible and available in New York and around the US. Sousa also explained how legislation plays a huge part in how PlannedParenthood challenges abortion bans.

PlannedParenthood is an organization that works to expand access to reproductive and gender affirming healthcare across America and internationally. The organization consists of international offices, where Sousa works, and affiliate programs that provide resources in individual communities. The affiliate programs run health centers to provide care around America. The international offices work to challenge legislation, as well as support affiliates in any way they can. The organization has been preparing for the overturning of Roe v. Wade since 2017. PlannedParenthood always knew that abortion laws were very fragile and that Roe would one day be overturned. In an effort to ease the damage of abortion bans they tried to predict which states would most likely ban abortion. PlannedParenthood got ready for the abortion bans and restrictions that might one day appear in those states by creating patient navigation services. Patient navigation services help people find the closest reproductive healthcare center outside of their state, and help them with travel expenses.

In our interview Sousa, who studied law, told us about the huge part democracy plays in achieving reproductive justice. We learned that ballot measures are a great way to change state abortion laws. Ballot measures are questions at the end of a state ballot where you can vote on important issues. Ballot measures can be submitted by citizens, so PlannedParenthood tries to take advantage of ballot measures to take down abortion bans. Ballot measures make it possible to change state amendments, and are one of the many ways people can fight for reproductive rights. Sousa told us that some of the other ways people can be part of the fight for abortion rights include joining affiliate programs, political work, and just being aware of the issue.

Some of the most important stories are the ones that are not being brought to light. PlannedParenthood is giving voices to those who do not have a voice. Our interview with Beth Sousa was extremely informative. It was very interesting to learn about Planned Parenthood’s trailblazing work.

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Interview with former LREI student Naomi Picayo

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On Janruary 31st, 2024, we met with LREI alumni Naomi Picayo. Naomi shared many experiences and struggles through her journey playing high school volleyball and basketball and college basketball. While she shared many significant struggles, one really stood out to me. From a young age, Naomi played basketball on a co-ed youth club team, but she was the only girl; and when she was around 8 years old, she experienced her first exposure to direct discrimination. Her and her guy friends were playing basketball in the park one day, and there were two people left to get picked for teams. Naomi happened to get picked last and was told: “sorry, we picked him because your a girl, and girls aren’t as good as boys at basketball.” This came as a shock to both me and her at that age. From then on, Naomi continued to push herself and work hard to be better than all the boys at basketball; and now, she has an award sitting in the Thomson Gym trophy case for most points scored in basketball in LREI history.

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Cleaning Up Waste at Rock-away Beach

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Elias and I decided to do a beach cleanup for one of our fieldwork. We thought it was a good hands on fieldwork that would support our cause, and we would also learn a lot from. When figuring out where we should go for the beach cleanup, we ended up deciding to go to a nearby beach called Rock-away beach. Rock-away beach is a local beach that is only an hour away from Manhattan on a boat. We also decided to go on Sunday for a few hours, to get the best experience.

When it was finally time for the trip, I met Elias and his mother (Lizzy) at 10:00 am at pier 11 and we took the boat to Rock-away beach. This boat ride took us about an hour before we got to Rock-away. We exited the boat and started walking to the beach. It wasn’t a long walk, it was about 5 minutes, but it was enough for us to get in the spirit of walking and picking up trash. When we got to the beach we started picking up trash with grabbers. We were finding a lot of trash most of them being plastic bags, but there were many other things. There were many objects but there were a few that I found to be insane: a tire, a toilet, a tampon applicator, a plastic glove, a hand warmer, and many more. These just prove that we are wasting a great amount of plastic that we should not be wasting. We even inspired two people to clean up and pick up trash which felt heartwarming. We did this for about two hours then had a snack break and went back to the boat. We rode back and went our separate ways.

This experience was eye opening and led me to learn a few things. I learned that my topic of plastic pollution is often ignored. For example everyone sees a piece of trash, but only a small few actually pick it up. People are ignoring plastic pollution and just hoping that it will solve itself, but it won’t, it will just keep getting worse and worse. During the process Elias said “It feels like we are barely making a dent” which really got me thinking. He was right that we were barely pitching in but it’s still good that we are even doing this in the first place. When we all only make a small dent then we will have all done so much. This applies to activism and how we need to come together to actually make a DENT in society’s problems. This can be achieved by just helping out a little, because when you help out a little, you will inspire others, who will inspire others, who will inspire others, this keeps going on and on which makes a great difference. To conclude we need to come together and fix what we have done with the plastics

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Interview with Stefanie Singer

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On February 14th, 2024, me and my partner Misha Shtender met with Stefanie Singer, The head educational director of the Anti-Defamation League

During our interview with Stefanie, We were fortunate to learn more about the Anti-Defamation League and what they do. We were also lucky enough to learn specifically about what Stefanie specializes in and how she contributes to her company. Stefanie specializes in providing educational plans and curriculums for schools. These curriculums are inspired by her team’s mission, to create a more just society by incorporating anti-bias and Anti-Semitism into their programs. By bringing in anti-bias programs to schools, It not only teaches children that acts of Anti-Semitism are wrong, but also educates them to not engage in acts of Anti-Semitism.

Overall, It was an absolutely wonderful experience to meet with Stefanie and we were able to learn so much new information about Anti-Semitism in schools and in social media.

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Helping refugees shop and organizing food and clothes.

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On February 8th me and my social justice group went to the Little Shop of Kindness which is a volunteer organization that helps provide all kinds of things for refugees. While we were there we started off by organizing and sorting out different articles of clothing. After that we then washed fruit and placed them in baskets for the refugees and or migrants who came in to just take whenever. The majority of people who came in while we were there only spoke Spanish so there were translators there to help out. Ilze, the head of the Little Shop of Kindness mentioned to us how one of the customers that used to come in all the time recently got asylum after a year. That really put into perspective for us how hard it can be for people to gain asylum.

We were able to help out one person, she was a mother of 2 shopping for her children and husband. She only spoke Spanish so we occasionally had to get help from other volunteers who spoke Spanish. It felt very fulfilling to help out someone else and we all plan to go back again to help others.

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An Interview with Ninaj Raoul at Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees

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On the 30th of January, me and my group went to Brooklyn with our chaperone Susannah to the Haitian Women for Haitian Refugee organization. We went to meet with Ninaj Raoul the Executive Director and her team to discuss and ask questions about what their organization provides and the stories of these refugees she works with. She was very welcoming and we learned lots about our topic. Here’s what we learned.

According to Ninaj, many refugees are being put into hotels, churches, and homeless shelters. A lot of them are forced to also stay in poor conditions, such as camps in undesignated areas. They unfortunately do not have lots of transportation as well, sometimes only one bus being the source of getting from one place to another. Asylum seekers also do not have high chances in achieving asylum, which if they are denied it might lead to deportation. Thankfully, Ninaj and her team work hard to help out refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants all alike, struggling to enter and live in the United States.

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An Interview With Daniel Prins

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Me and my piers in the Nuclear Proliferation justice group recently had an interview with Daniel Prins. Daniel Prins is a former member of the United Nations and represented the Netherlands. He gave us a lot of insight as to how countries are being asked to stop using weapons and how we could end them. One of the biggest points he made was that it’s hard for countries to drop their weapons because of the fact that other countries have them. This fear of other nations is what holds back the disarmament of nuclear weapons. We also learned that some countries have agreed to disarm but there has never been a date and thus, no progress. Overall our interview was very informative and we are glad to have spoken with Daniel Prins.

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Interviewing Erica LaManga

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On Friday, February 2rd 2024, My social justice group interviewed Erica LaManga. She is one of the middle school Math Teachers and one of the leaders of the Jewish Affinity Group (JAG). We asked if she had ever experienced
Anti-Semitism in the workplace. She went on to say that she hasn’t experienced direct Anti-Semitism in the workplace but told a story about how in the old school that she taught, some students drew Swastikas (卐) in the school bathrooms. A Swastika (卐) was the emblem of the German Nazi Party. Even though this wasn’t direct Anti-Semitism towards Erica, she went on to talk about how it affected her and her Jewish colleagues. She fortunately has not experienced Anti-Semitism at LREI or had any kid come to her about an Anti-Semetic issue.

-Misha Shtender

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Interview With Erica Lamagna

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On February 2nd, 2024, me and my partner Misha Shtender met with Erica Lamagna, A math teacher and a leader of the Jewish affinity group at LREI.

During our meeting with her, we learned about her experiences with Anti-Semitism in the workplace and with her students. We also discussed with her, her opinion about how and if Anti-Semitism specifically on social media affects her students and how they react and understand these serious attacks. In our interview, we were able to learn more about Erica’s experiences at different schools. She shared a story of a young child in elementary school drawing a Swastika, an Emblem that was used for the German Nazi group in an attempt to attack and harm the Jewish students.

Fortunately, Erica herself has never experienced acts of antisemitism in the workplace or with her students, But it was still important and educational to hear her story.

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Beach Cleanup in the Rockaways!

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Yesterday, my group member Juju came with me and my mom on an adventure to the Rockaways in an attempt to do our own beach cleanup. Armed with long metal grabbers, heavy-duty gloves, and garbage bags, we stepped onto the Rockaway Ferry at Pier 11 in Wall Street.

I have to say, the ferry ride may have been my favorite part of the trip. We had gorgeous conditions and the water was extremely calm. It was amazing to see so much of New York by ferry! We passed between the Statue of Liberty and Governors Island on the way out and spotted some oil tankers and a garbage barge that was loaded with trash. I could totally see how this is such a major cause of pollution: there was a lot of trash just barely hanging onto the boat and it seemed like plenty of garbage could fall into the water on a windy day.

We stopped briefly at Brooklyn Army Terminal to pick up more passengers and enjoyed amazing views as we passed under the Verrazano Bridge and, eventually, Coney Island. When we finally reached the Rockaways and got off the boat, we made our way to the beach and, along the way, walked right by a sewage treatment plant! It was so close to the water and it made me curious about how thoroughly the water was being cleaned and what was being done with the waste (and how that affects the community), especially since it was so close to the water’s edge. This is definitely something I’m interested in doing more research on (and possibly visiting a plant?).

When we reached the beach, it didn’t take us long to begin finding trash. The vast majority seemed to be plastic bags (many of which were shredded and appeared to have been in the ocean for an extremely long time) and smaller fragments, but we found a huge amount of variety as we went. We ended up walking along the wrack line of the beach, which seemed to have a lot of plastic, picking up garbage as we went. We didn’t cover too much territory (and I’m sure we only found a small amount of the total garbage in the area we covered), but we managed to completely fill two whole garbage bags (and part of a third) with trash in two hours. It was a great feeling to know that we were making a difference (and two people we ran into said we inspired them to come back and do their own beach cleanups), however small and insignificant it may seem.

This trip definitely made me think a lot about how worthwhile a beach cleanup is. The truth is that, however hard we try, our own individual actions will not make much of a difference, but they can inspire more people to do the same and our combined actions can make a greater difference. In any case, by picking up this trash, we probably saved at least a few animals and made a community’s space just a bit cleaner and safer. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the cleanup and how simple it was. I definitely want to do one again and it was empowering to know I can do something about pollution, even if the sheer amount of trash was depressing and heartbreaking.

After our cleanup, we properly disposed of the trash and enjoyed another lovely ferry ride home, spotting a variety of birds and a Harbor Seal (as well as a massive cruise ship).

Below is a (somewhat) complete list of the trash we found:
Bit of a sandcastle cup, Bottle caps, plastic bags, BIC lighters, ribbon (fabric), surgical masks, Welch’s candy, tampon applicators, straw, top of heroin syringe, snickers wrapper, napkins, wrappers, soda cans, aluminum foil, water bottles, towels, fishing line, water bottle with barnacles growing on it, winter hats, foam insulation, graham cracker wrapper, plastic syringe, bits of plastic fencing, McDonald’s cup, Payday wrapper, Gatorade bottles, inside of pen, Bakers Delight wrapper, heavy-duty plastic glove, Arizona iced tea wrapper, Lam’s Snacks plantain chips, Lean Body power drink, orange toy shovel head, plastic dolphin toy, plastic tube/hose with valve, hand warmer, Modelo beer can, Kinder Joy egg, Reese’s wrappers, Lay’s chip bag, sunglasses, Mini brand, Heineken bottles, lip balm, turd bags, Doritos wrapper, blue raspberry Jolly Rancher wrapper, tattered blue balloon, sunglasses without arms, plastic bullet casing (2 of them!), Ice Breakers cap, oversized plastic drill, mini-alcohol bottle—Pink Whitney, Bottle Pop, plastic sand bucket, tennis ball, part of a tire, plastic toilet, crab trap, tire, vitamin cap.

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Carrie Wofsy Interview on eating Disorders

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My group met with Carrie Wofsy on Facetime, a therapist for adolescents with eating disorders or body dysmorphia. We discussed the causes of eating disorders and the effect social media has on our self-image. We discussed how editing the photos we put out into the media enforces an impossible standard that requires altering our appearance in some way, like an eating disorder. It’s not only the media that pushes this on people, it’s the people around you, that affect your opinions so strongly. If you hear someone talking about your food intake, or theirs, or talking poorly about someone’s appearance, that can really change your self-perception.
Carrie told us limiting the amount of time we spend consuming media can help us mentally, and stop us from spiraling into body dysmorphia. Everywhere you look beauty standards are pushed onto you, but it’s up to you to allow them to affect you. Eating disorders are a huge problem, and you might know someone struggling with one. We should all take time out of our day to think about what we say and how it could negatively affect someone. I know it sounds cliche but it’s what you can do to save lives.
Thank you Carrie for your time.

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Lunch and Lobby with Newtown Action Alliance

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On January 29th, my group mates and I joined Newtown Action Alliance Foundation (NAAF) during their meeting. The NAAF is a group that takes action against gun violence by supporting new laws for firearm restrictions. My group, along with another group researching gun violence, met with members of the NAAF to learn about gun violence. One of the things we learned is that there are new laws being proposed that aim to hinder the amount of gun deaths. During this time, we also assisted the NAAF in their lobbying efforts. Lobbying is when people call the offices of government officials to ask for their support for new laws and legislation. We were lobbying for Ethan’s Law, a new law that will make it illegal to keep an unsecured firearm if there is a chance that someone who cannot lawfully possess a firearm may gain access to that weapon.

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Meeting with an Pediatric Eating Disorder Therapist

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Carrie Wofsy is a pediatric therapist for adolescents around ages 10 – 20 who have or have had an eating disorder and/or severe body dysmorphia. We were going to video call her on Zoom, but unfortunately it was unable to work so we ended up facetiming her. Although there was a miscommunication, I think we were able to get all the information we needed even with a struggle at the beginning.
At first, we talked about eating disorders, and we dug deeper into what the main roots of an eating disorder are, and if there are any ways to prevent it. Next, we talked about social media and the effect it has on everyone who uses it. We talked about how if you are struggling with your mental health, a way to take a break is to get offline for a little bit and recharge yourself. We also spoke a lot about how when you scroll on social media, everything you see has an effect on you. Even if you only see something for a split second, it’s still engraved in your brain, and it can still affect the way you see yourself. Carrie said a lot about how if we post more positive things and think about the media in a more positive way, it can better the way we perceive ourselves and lead to a more healthy life. I really enjoyed this interview and got a lot of information from it, and I am so glad we were able to speak with Carrie about this topic.

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Fixing the prison system.

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Since Ramel has worked at Rikers Island Jail for 19 years, he gave us lots of information on the prison system and what goes on inside of the jail daily for kids and adults. Ramel has been a guard for all types of ages who are in different circumstances. He has to take over an important role by monitoring people and their safety. Yet at the same time he has a relationship with inmates in times they don’t have anyone to talk to. Ramel also guards people 16-18 and sees a range of emotions between teens that could have caused them to end up in jail. Many teens in jail have depression and need things they aren’t accessible to in a jail cell at times such as programs or even role models. “Most of the kids don’t have a positive role model in their life which might have created their hard-headed, dangerous mentality.

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Interviewing Michael Schaefer

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We went to the bed stuy campaign against hunger campus and interviewed Michael Schaefer as he gave us a tour of their campus. We learned that they have multiple greenhouses to grow crops. Also one of their biggest greenhouse is about six tenths of in acre in far rockaway. Their largest greenhouse is about an acre and a quarter. We also learned that they began the campaign against hunger started about 25 years ago.

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Fixing the Juvenile Prison System

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We met with Ramel Small. Ramel is a guard for Rikers and other prisons. Ramel worked with all ages from 16 all the way to senior citizens he also worked with mentally troubled prisoners. Being guard for Rikers prison is hard because there are three officers for 50 prisoners and they all have to make rounds to make sure no one commits suicide or there are no fights that are happening. One time he saved a kid from committing suicide because he talked to him and he told him to “control the controllables”. Ramel tore his labram while breaking up a fight. Rikers has a school program for youth to try to set them up for the future.

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Fixing The Juvenile Prison System

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We met with Ramel Small who is a prison guard at ritkers island and other prisons. Ramel has been a guard with many different ages of people, ranging from 16 years old to senior citizens. The younger prisoners would stay in the “bubble” which is where they stayed. The bubble was one of the main places where fights would occur because there was only 3 guards compared to the 50 prisoners. There have been instances when Ramel was in danger of being attacked, one time all 50 of the prisoners wanted to fight him but he ended up being fine.

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Our meeting with Ceyenne Doroshow

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On February 1st, 2024,, Ezra Stand, and Lincoln DePietro had our interview with Ceyenne Doroshow, leader and founder of G.L.I.T.S. (Gays and Lesbians In a Transgender Society). G.L.I.T.S. works for transgender youth who are heavily oppressed and discriminated against. Ceyenne talked about how when she was a kid, she had to run away from home. She did this because she was worried her parents were going to hurt or kill her for being trans. growing up she had no resources and started G.L.I.T.S. to change that for transgender youth in the modern day. Ceyenne talked about going to the covenant house and they sent her back out the front door because she was trans. G.L.I.T.S. has worked with organizations like StandDev and project Abigail. G.L.I.T.S. worked with project Abigail to make a building run by G.L.I.T.S. with emergency housing, affordable housing, basic medical, and food. 

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Interview with Ceyenne Doroshow director of glits

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during our interview with the director of Glits we talked about the affordable housing issues and how it affect the lgbtq+ community and how glits is trying to help the issue and I don’t think I’m really cut out for this whole jernilsam thing so I’m just dropping the interview for the image section

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Fixing the prison system.

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We met with Jarrell Daniels and heard his oppionon on ways to kids getting involved in gang violence and ending up in jail. Justice embasseder is a 12 week seminar that helps young people who have been incarated. Jarrell spoke about his expriences growing up in a gang setting and being incarated at a young age. Daniels changed as a person advocating for kids rights and countuining to be a role model to many kids. He belives that kids in low income communties should be given more recoruces and oppurtunity.

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Interview with the head of GLITS

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Me, Ezra, and Jules met with Ceyenne Doroshow, the head of GLITS (Gays and Lesbians In a Transgender Society). She started out by saying that Glits is a human rights agency; it helps everyone in the spectrum. It looks like affordable housing, it looks like education. Everything should be equal for everyone. People need a college education no matter their sexuality. We asked her about other organisations for LGBTQ+ people that she recommends. She recommended Project Abigail (aka Stand Dev), Swop Behind Bars (which I had a very hard time trying to spell), Black Trans Liberation Kitchen, and Bridges for Life.

She said that while there are some good organisations, she doesn’t like too many of them because they really don’t help! I asked her about why this is a lesser known issue, and she responded by saying this isn’t something the government prioritises at all! However, the thing I found the most interesting about GLITS, is when Ceyenne talked about how she got to GLITS. As a kid, she ran away from home to save her life because she was afraid her parents would kill her when they found out she was identified as female. She hurt herself to prevent them from hurting her, and back when she was a kid, there were lots of organisations for gays and lesbians, but none for transgenders.

She introduced Ezra, Jules, and I to her dog, saying, “I think someone else thinks they’re being interviewed!” with a laugh. She then said in certain states, if a trans woman’s ID is female, they would be refused a house there until their ID is male. Other stories she mentioned included finding a woman a house when hers was on fire. She found it crazy that there were so many housing organisations out there and so few were for “our people.”

When doing a speech that raised a couple of million dollars, she bought a building for someone to live in. When working with Stand Dev, she found Tara and Jeremy (Ezra’s parents) to be very authentic. She found Jeremy to be very chatty and very smart. She looked at all parts of Project Abigail and loved it. She’s doing all this without the infrastructure. Project Abigail gave her that infrastructure. Ceyenne needed guidance, in which Tara gave her, and not only that, she found Tara to have a great fashion sense, continuing to say that if you want to be friends with her, you need to have a great fashion sense. She said that Ezra’s grandmother made the best cookie, and she felt like she had a family.

Overall, it was a great experience to work with GLITS

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Lunch and lobby with Newtown Alliance

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Our fieldwork with the Newtown Alliance was the most work we have put in yet to really stop gun violence. As we called senators from various states talking about Ethans law, which is when gun owners would be required to secure their firearms in a secure gun storage or safety device, and giving example on how it would help. The host of the zoom meetings son and 3 other family members have been victims of gun violence, Newtown Alliance started after the sandy hook school shooting.

We each called ten senators I was sent to voicemail seven times, a real person answered twice, and there was one with no response. We had a script we use for each senator and we would convey our message that Ethan’s law shall be passed, and it would stop many deaths that would have not happened with Ethan’s law enforced. All in all it was a wondeerful expierence and hopefully we made a difference in the U.S.A to make it a safer place!

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Eighth Grade Zoom Meeting With Donna Dees

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The gun control group at LREI had an amazing offer to interview Donna Dees over zoom on 1/29/24. There was so much information that we learned that we might have never found without the help of her. Donna was extremely nice and very open to answering all of our questions, even when we asked what type of dog she had!

While interviewing her, we were able to find out why she started the Million Mom’s March and why she cares so much about this topic. It turns out that there was a shooting at a summer camp by a white supremacist who was trying to kill Jewish kids, and Donna’s daughters were the same age at the time as the kids shot, but they survived. She made it primarily for moms, high school students, college students, dads, single people, and so on. Donna also had a family member commit suicide with a gun that was left unlocked. Overall this meeting/interview really opened mine and our groups eyes to look at as many ways as we can to help and prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands.

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Millions Moms March

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Yesterday my group was able to get in touch with a former LREI parent from years ago. Donna Dees, Donna Dees got in the Gun Violence movement after years ago their was a summer camp shooting where they were trying to kill the Jewish children. Donna’s daughters were around the same age as the children but they had survived. This made Donna get into the Gun Violence movement and start Millions Mom March. Which was an organization primarily made for moms who also wanted to stop gun violence. During the interview we got a lot more information, learned a lot, and heard her opinion on stuff. New York City and California actually have pretty good gun laws. And if the rest of the country had gun laws like theirs, there would be far less gun violence then their are now. Over all this interview was very informational.

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Fieldwork with Donna Dees

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Our fieldwork with Donna Dees, is definetly going to be really helpful. She has a very cool story, and a warming personality. She started the million mom march, which is a protest against gun violence affecting kids. She made it primarily for moms but high schoolers, college students, dads, single people, and so on were also welcome. She started it because at the time in 1999 a white supremacist shot kids at a daycare that were around her kids age. She said the gun industry tried finding ways to market guns to people who aren’t normally the type of person you would expect to have a gun, for example she said she went to a gun store and to “appeal a gun to her” they offered her a pink one.

She also shared with us some horrific stats like, 76% percent of school shooters get their guns from unlocked guns in their homes or from a relative. Gun death statistics have risen since covid. Guns are now the #1 cause of death for kids and teens.. She also mentioned how New York has pretty good gun laws, and if the rest of the country brought their gun laws up to California’s and New York’s level, it would greatly reduce our country’s gun deaths. She is not against ownership of gun though. Another crazy stat she shared was that UK banned guns in the 1990s and the law passed with not too much backlash. The only Scot killed by a gun last year was not in Scotland but he was killed in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also gave us some strategies to help fight against gun violence like, organizing, bold ideas, and persistence. And all of this is just a little bit of what she said, all in all, she taught us a lot.

Questions and answers:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jDLyKGG-0hy3pJMgItjq7BnIjbpuCSYBn5g1TVqATZ8/edit

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Our Interview With Carrie Wofsy

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On January 31, Amelia, Bee, and I had an interview with social worker Carrie Wofsy, who works with patients who deal with eating disorders. She answered all of our questions and talked about people’s impacts on posting on social media and how that leads children to develop and consume standards that they have to follow. Wofsy made it clear to us that when we post these photos and videos about how we look, act, and speak, they will mold into our brains and automatically grow to the next generation. She also said that people need to find a way to talk about media more positively and balance out the unhappy thoughts, and that can lead to a healthy mindset and life. Wofsy says that in her work, she sees patients between the ages of 10 to early 20’s. According to research, most of the insecurities and eating disorders usually spark from that age range. We learned a lot, thank you Carrie!

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Fixing The Juvenile Prison System

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My group and I met with Jordyn Wilson from the sentencing project. I learned how harsh the conditions are for the children in prison they are pretty much abused and this needs to change. Young people in Maryland can be charged as an adult in 30 plus ways and she says young people should not be charged as an adult. Jordyn thinks that these young kids should fight for there rights and make there voice heard.

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Phone call with intake coordinator at Balance Eating Disorder Rehab Center

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For our first piece of field work we met with Emily Pirro, an intake coordinator for Balance Eating Disorder Rehab Center. Her Job is to take incoming calls from people seeking help from the center and helps set them up with a program as well give them additional recommendations. The center provides body image support groups, mood groups and food safety groups. Many people that attend balance are younger however Emily mentioned there are many older women who come in who just recently realize they had been struggling with an eating disorder their whole life. The goal of balance is to ensure everybody has a health relationship with food and their body.

In the interview we discussed the effect that the media can have on women. We discussed how, with the age of social media, how many photos utilize lighting, angles, and photo-shopping to create the image of the “ideal body”. We talked about how the environment the you grow up in plays a large part in the way that you view your body and food.

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Interview with the Paley Center for Media

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When our group went to The Paley Center for Media, we talked to Rebekah Fisk who is a teacher for groups like us. Rebekah teaches about different ways women are represented in the media, and how some depictions of what a woman “should” be like or act like, can be hurtful to women’s self esteem and confidence.

When we were at the center, we discussed different ways women are represented in ads, movies, and TV shows. We also watched some old ads and clips from movies, and deliberated about which ones could be hurtful to girls watching from home. Watching these clips was incredibly interesting because I watched such different shows when I was little. Overall, it was a very interesting and informative visit, and I would love to go again.

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We met with someone named Rebekah Fisk who teaches a class about how women are seen in the media.

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At first we sat down and talked to Rebekah Fisk who does many amazing things at Paley, but one thing that she does there that stood out to us was teach a class about how women are seen in the media. At the start of our interview we asked her many questions that we had such as, “what do you think is a big cause to insecurities for women.” Which she answer with, “Social media and how women are shown in movies and tv-shows.” Rebekah gave us many great responses, and we had many great back and forth conversations, and then she wanted to show us some videos of her own that she typically presents in her class about how women are seen in the media.

First Rebekah started off by showing us a clip from the 1950’s in which someone puts on a fat suit to not have a man like her. After watching this clip we talked as a group and with Rebekah about how this clip was saying that if you are bigger your ugly, when that is not the reality. This was a very mainstream show, so for content like this to be put into the world sets a lot of untrue standards. After that we saw a bunch of other clips such as Wonder Women from the 1980’s which over-sexuilzed her in physical appearance. Lastly we saw a video montage of shows from the 1950’s to now, and the beauty standards, and unfair media standards are still sadly in place.

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Fixing the Juvenile Prison System

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We met with Jarrell Daniels. Jarrell Daniels works for Center For Justice. Jarrell was a gang member and was indicted. Jarrel and his foundation want to reduce gang violence in low to moderate income neighborhoods. In New York City Brownsville Brooklyn, Bedford Stuyvesant South Bronx and South Jamaica Queens are most affected by gang violence. I learned that there are 40,000 things you can’t do once you get a felony. When youth go into the prison system they start to become sinical of the government. The biggest issue that the Center For Justice Foundation does is to help kids get back on their feet once they get injured.

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One-on-one with Balance Eating Disorder Treatment Center.

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In this fieldwork, we met with the intake coordinator for the Balance eating disorder treatment center, Emily Pirro. Emily picks up calls for people who seek rehab, sets up the care system, as well as give them recommendations. In the interview we discussed ways in which young people can support people struggling with disordered eating. We also discussed which groups get the most affected by eating disorders, and how to maintain a healthy relationship with your body and food.

When we spoke, the subject of support groups came up. Balance Eating Disorder Treatment center has two main support groups, the food and mood group and the body image support group. in the food support group, they make sure the people are eating and feel good. while in the body image support group, is for making people feel comfortable in their body and feel good about themselves.

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Lunch & Lobby

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For our fieldwork, we were able to get in touch for a Lunch & Lobby. Where we went on zoom and then were able to call 12 senators to convince them to pass Ethan’s Law. Ethan’s Law is a law which is trying to protect children and others from unsecured firearms. The name was named when Ethan a boy was tragically killed by an unsecured gun in 2018. The law would prevent things like this from happening again, by requiring safe gun storage. the Lunch and Lobby was run by a woman named Angela Weber who chose to get into the gun violence movement after her son survived a school shooting. As we called all the senators, we realized that not all of them would pick up. and typically we would just leave a voicemail. Some of the people in my group actually did get a hold of a senator on the phone! But sadly I was not one of those people. Overall this Lunch & Lobby was a pretty cool experience that I enjoyed doing a lot.

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Visiting the UN

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On January 12, our LREI 8th grade had the amazing opportunity to visit the United Nations building. During our time spent there, we got to see art exhibitions, conference rooms, and much more. Something I found really interesting is that all the countries that are a part of the UN contribute to the design of the conference rooms or offices, and more or less give a gift to contribute to the decorations and design. Another thing that I found intriguing was the exhibit on nuclear weapons and the destroyed statue found after the nuclear bomb Hiroshima hit. The statue looked somewhat intact on the front, but the back looked melted and destroyed from the nuclear power. I really enjoyed our time here and hope to visit again so I can experience even more!

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The Lunch and Lobbying with Eighth Grade

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On 1/29/24 Jack, Carolina, Ryder, Noah, Wally, Luca and I all attended the Newtown Action Alliance Lunch and Lobbying zoom call. In this short time, we were able to learn about how to lobby senators all around the world. Sadly most calls ended up going to voice mail, we were able to speak with a few assistants that work alongside these senators.

This opportunity really opened mine and my group’s eyes because it showed us that even if we are a small group, every action we take is one towards helping an important cause. I personally really enjoyed working alongside with the Newtown Action Alliance because I felt that each call me and the fellow people in our group made, it is one small step to helping the government make stricter gun laws.

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Our Meeting with Keanu Arpels-Josiah – Climate Activist and LREI Senior

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On Friday, January 26th, me and my group, along with the plastic pollution group, had an interview at the high school with Keanu Arpels-Josiah. Keanu is a climate activist and member of many climate groups, such as Fridays for Future which was founded by Greta Thunberg.

Our meeting started off in the high school library. During the interview, we talked about many climate issues needing to be addressed in not only the US, but around the world. He told us about how the climate crisis doesn’t only affect our planet, but also people. We learned that people in poorer communities are highly affected by pollution, leading to unsafe drinking water.

One major thing that stuck with me from our interview is how much major companies contribute to the climate crisis. Around the world, companies are apart of systems of capitalism, which leads to major levels of CO2 being released into the air. This is super important to know, because as the CO2 levels rise, our planet slowly gets destroyed. Keanu informed us how at this rate, climate change is going to take years of work and dedication from everyone to reverse, and that is if people start making an effort. Major oil companies also contribute to climate change, putting oil into the oceans and killing off major ecosystems and putting many animals in danger.

To conclude, after this interview i feel like I now know a lot more about the climate crisis and Keanu’s experience in working with climate activists has motivated me to become more passionate in our topic.

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