Behind the Scenes: Haiti’s Gang War

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Me and my group watched the documentary: Haiti on Fire. It was a very powerful experience because it showed us another face to the story of the people living there and not just reporters from the outside. I learned a lot about how the people are dealing with their situation. the part where the people interviewed the man at the hospital really spoke to me because he had the courage to speak up about how he really felt about Jimmy Barbecue and how he doesnt care about the people’s lives, he just wants to be power.

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Interviews at Washington Square Park

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We interviewed people in Washington Square Park asking them the question of whether or not they think climate change is real and if so, do you think it’ll affect New York? We got about seven responses with the majority thinking that climate change is real and it will definitely affect New York whereas we had two people in the minority who believed that climate change was not something that humans could create and that the world was run by capitalism not science

We found this quite interesting because although we have heard from many people that climate change denial is fairly common to find people albeit in a small group that actually believed that it was not real, quite surprising. This let us to believe that despite the fact we found people who did not believe in climate change, we were happy to find that the majority still believed that it exists

However, despite the fact that we are disappointed that some people believe that climate change does not exist some calling it a hoax it is important that we are able to find people with a different perspective, and it was quite enlightening to see that that perspective does exist, and you can find it in the real world in abundance.

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Filling The Community Fridge on 6th street

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On Friday, Lucy, Aria, and I went to fill a community fridge on 6th street. We bought healthy food before the trip, including fruits, vegetables, and other good food that might be hard to find or too expensive to buy. The fridge was small and completely empty when we got there. This was very upsetting because there are lots of people that would benefit if that fridge had food in it. When we were filling the fridge, there was already someone to take some of the food. I learned that a lot of the time the fridges get shut down and relocated. It is really hard to not only keep a fridge open but also fully stocked. Most of the time the fridges are empty because people don’t usually consistently fill the fridge.

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Emily Thomas: A High-School Teacher

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Theo and I interviewed Emily Thomas, a high school teacher at LREI about our topic Humanitarian Aid. Emily has worked with a group called Engine quite a lot, Engine is a language-help organization that helps Ukrainians all around the world with help and supplies as well as helping them learn other languages so they can live in other countries. Something that I learned was about how certain people think about war in different ways, such as how a student of hers, as well as a buddy of hers in Poland from Engine, said that people actually in a war-famished country don’t think as strongly about war and how they said it’s not “world ending.”

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Interview With Ty Beauchamp

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On Wednesday, January 8th, we met with the LREI school counselor, Ty Beauchamp. Ty has been working at LREI for longer than 3 years, and is usually in the High School, working as the counselor there. One of the first things Ty mentioned to us was the aspect of Social Media. He talked about how Social Media is a double sided sword, meaning its a tool for connecting with community, but also a tool for people to cyberbully and say homophobic things. He also mentioned in school treatment. He touched on the fact that more traditional schools don’t give as much sanctuary or community for Queer teens. He mentioned how teens in general need to be brought up in a non toxic place. Many Queer teens who go to traditional schools don’t have this which causes more issues with their mental health in the long run.

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Paul Silverman: A Queer Therapist

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Alex, my citizen action project partner, and I interviewed Paul Silverman, a queer therapist. I got in contact with him from my dad. He facilitates the parent group of a teenage trans group therapy that I got to once a month. The program that he works for is called Gender Family Project, GFP for short, and that is part of the Ackerman Institute. As well as that group, he also has a private practice where he sees clients individually.

Alex and I decided that it would be better for us to set up for the interview ahead of time, so we didn’t have to rush and mess up. We went up into the learning lab at 9:40 to be prepared for the 10:00 meeting. As we logged on to the zoom meeting, I noticed that it was a bit glitchy, but I didn’t think too much of it, and when Paul finally showed up, he was too glitchy. We had to move into the other room of the learning lab to get help from Susannah and Mala. Susannah quickly gave us her computer to log in with so that it would work better, and right away, it stops glitching. When we got settled in, we restarted the meeting and calmed down.

The first few questions we asked Paul about were more focused on how he got into being a therapist. He told us that he always knew he wanted to help people in that way and that he was super passionate about it. He said that he specifically works with trans people because, as a gay person, he felt like his journey was very much so connected to other queer people, including trans people. We talked about the ways he can help his clients other than mental health support and he talked about how he can send letters to doctors, give recommendations to his clients for other types of therapy, and he can talk to parents. He told us about his opinion on how gender affirming care will be affected by the past election, and ways that he wants to help his clients with those new challenges. We also asked him if he had any people he knew that lived outside of NY and how gender affirming care would be different there then here; he told us that most of the people he knew in other states, moved or are planning on moving to NY for better support.

By the end of the meeting, we had learned many things, including how to not panic when put in a stressful situation, and we felt very accomplished.

Finally, Alex and I thanked Paul and said goodbye.

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What Haiti on Fire tells us about Haiti’s current state

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Today, me and my group members watched the documentary, Haiti on Fire, and it taught us quite a bit about Haiti’s current state. The sad reason why the documentary is called ‘Haiti on Fire’ is because parts of Haiti, and some citizens of Haiti are lit on fire right now. One of the multiple things we learned was that your friends could die at any moment, Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier’s barber had died just randomly, it just shows how surprising and violent Haiti can really be. The documentary was very graphic and showed some people that were actually burned alive.

In Haiti, there are two ‘rival’ groups/gangs, the G9, and the G-Pep. Both of them hate each other and have different views on what they want Haiti to be. In Haiti, there are multiple views of how Jimmy Barbecue is as a person. People say that Jimmy Barbecue will ruin Haiti, he is a cannibal, murderer, and he burns people alive. On the other hand, Jimmy Cherizier and his gang think of him as an idol. He wants to be president and he says he will save Haiti. The documentary shows Jimmy Cherizier as a somewhat decent person. But people describe him as much worse things. Overall, we learned a lot more background on the gang violence in Haiti.

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A Marine Biologists Perspective On Microplastics

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On January 8th, 2025 we got on a zoom call with a marine biologist who works with Loggerhead Marine Life Center, Valerie Tovar. She is the conservation manager of the organization and answered a few questions about microplastics. Marine Biologists are ssciwentists who study life in the oceans. They research and observe marine organisms and ecosystems, such as oceans and saltwater lakes.

Valerie Tovar graduated with a degree in ocean biology and went to college in Florida. We found her on Instagram and messaged them asking if we could interview them about ocean life. One of the questions we asked was “How do microplastics affect the ocean, and more specifically marine life?” She told us that plastic will never go away, no matter how much we prevent it. Every animal is exposed to microplastics, and she found that fish at the bottom of the ocean had microplastics in them, which means fish closer to the land, are also going to have microplastics in them.

As apart of Valerie Tovar’s job, she goes scuba diving twice a month. While scuba diving, shes found lots of random stuff near the pier where she was diving. One of the items she has found was a traffic cone. Traffic cones are made out of thermoplastic, or rubber, which is bad for the environment. This traffic cone is going to add more microplastics into the ocean. People littering into the ocean are hurting maine life, is eventually going to hurt themselves.

Another question that we asked Valerie that is very important is, “What can microplastics do to our bodies?” Microplastics have carcinogens, which are substances that can develop cancer, and cause hormonal imbalance. Microplastics can do lots of toxic stuff to our bodies, that we should be avoiding. Avoiding microplastics in general will prevent you from getting sick from different diseases.

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Interview with Alex Vitale

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On Jan 9th we met with Alex Vitale, the Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College. He also works there as a professor. We interviewed him about the topic of gang violence.
Alex gave us a lot of good information about Gang affiliation, how the gang hierarchy works, how to get out of gangs, and many more things like how gangs are different in the movies than in real life. We often imagine gangs are a lot more organized which can be true from movies and TV shows but this isn’t always the case.

We learned that kids who are in poverty are most likely to join gangs as they are desperate to earn money. There are several other reasons why people join gangs though. Some join gangs for protection and some join because they can’t get a job. Some even join for amusement and to ”fit in.”
Vitale told us that it is easier to get out of gangs depending on the size of them. Some people age out of gangs or maybe just have kids and don’t want to get their kids involved. For larger gangs, it’s a whole different story. These types of gangs will try to encourage you to stay in the gang. They most likely would use many strategies like bribing or even threatening the member or even their family.

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Kate Quarfordt’s thoughts on the inequalities in education

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On December 19th our group interviewed the co-founder of charter school “city school of the arts”, my mother Kate Quarfordt. We learned that charter schools get 80% as much funding as public schools but aren’t forced to conform to some of the rules other schools have to give them more freedom for their curriculum. We also learned that to get out of the school in your zone, which depending on your income will vary in quality, you have to get into a specialized school which is hard to get into. You need tutors, extracurricular activities, tests and parents that have enough time and money to make this all happen which, for many in charter and public schools, are hard to come by.
All of these facts we learned just support our thought that zoning laws are meant to make public schools in certain zones low quality. And by doing that they make the students who go to that school not get the education of people with the time and money to go to specialized schools. Once they get through school they have less high quality college opportunities. And because of that they go on to most likely live in a zone where the rent is not as high so they don’t have to be stressed with the low paying job they most likely got after college. If they have kids their kids will grow up the same way they did and the cycle goes on.
These laws were made to keep the lower class out of power and the upper class on top. And the worst part is they work, only 62% of public school students in 2023 went to college. This is a real issue and one prominent in today’s society. In future field work we will discuss it more.

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Gang Violence Interview with Professor Alex Vitale

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On Wednesday, January 8th my group interviewed Professor Alex Vitale. Professor Vitale works at Brooklyn College and coordinates the Policing and Social Justice Project. We learned that Mr. Vitale’s project works with community-based organizations that address violence problems in high-crime communities. He has spent 30 years in this field. We talked about how he works with gang-involved people to mediate gang disputes. Alex would travel around the country to speak with people in that area about what they do to mitigate Gang Violence.

He told us that there are several meanings to gangs. He said gangs could range from friend groups that go everywhere together vs. 4-5 people that sell drugs and firearms or do illegal operations. Professor Vitale told us that people join gangs for several reasons. They join because of employment, protection, and entertainment. That mutual protection is very valuable to some people so that is a big reason young adults join gangs. He also mentioned that Gangs stay relevant because of these ideas.

We asked Professor Vitale more in-depth questions. One of the questions we asked him was about gang violence’s supply of drugs and firearms. He simply tells us that Gang turf is usually in places where guns and drugs are very easily accessible. That is why Gangs have these supplies. He also tells us that even though Texas is an easier place to get guns than New York, guns are still available easily in any high-violence area. Typically leaving gangs is easier than portrayed in the media. Some people just grow out of gang life. But it’s hard for gang members to leave gangs because they struggle to get a job and they cannot financially support themselves. However, on the West Coast, people struggle to leave gangs because they are “betraying the gangs”.

At the end of the interview, he told us we could get involved by contacting some youth organization that he would send us. He also tells us that Gangs are portrayed way differently than in movies and overall he taught us a lot of facts.

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Interview with Donna Ross on Her Views of NYC As a Person with a Disability.

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In December we interviewed Donna Ross who is a member of the LREI community. Ms Ross has a physical disability and has little sensation in her legs. She previously was able to walk but now she uses a wheelchair. During our interview we asked about her experiences of being in a wheelchair.
We asked her about how she got around New York, Ms Ross said that she uses an uber and tried going on the train once before but has not been on one since. When we asked her about places she thought that were not accessible she said “I could be anywhere. Some sidewalks are difficult to navigate.“ and “On a very travel heavy holiday, it is hard to find accommodations”. She also has to plan to be able to go places and do a lot of research to make sure when she gets there it won’t be a problem. She said this is because A lot of places can say they are accessible but aren’t what she is looking for. When we asked if having a physical disability makes her life more expensive she said yes, because in terms of transportation an uber is more expensive than taking public transportation. She also talked about how grocery shopping is hard because “I (Ms Ross) can’t run out and having groceries delivered is more expensive”. For her it was small things that she was able to do before but can no longer do those now.
My group asked her stories about her experiences. She shared about how sometimes she feels unsafe when riding in an uber because; “They give you the service they want to give you, not the service you need”. She also talked about her worst experience. She was going through Newark airport, the TSA agent searching her continued to ask and search. She felt violated because she did not show any kindness and made her feel bad. Ms Ross felt as though the agent “(was) just not trained or sensitive enough to do their job”. She wished there was another individual who was more experienced or wishes the agent was self aware enough to realize that she was uncomfortable. She treated her (Ms Ross) as if it was a personal offence when Ms Ross seemed uncomfortable and upset.
At the end of our interview it felt as though we learned more about NY in the lens of someone in a wheelchair. I also noticed how some people were discriminating because they thought they were doing what was best. These invisible acts of discrimination are what isn’t accessible. Ms Ross constantly said how she wished people were more self aware or just had more sympathy or understanding instead of assuming.

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Interview with Eliza Zygmuntowicz

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On December 19, 2024, we had an in-house interview with our science teacher, Eliza Zygmuntowicz. We asked about what Eliza has done as a scientist relating to water and ocean pollution, and important information about our topic.

Eliza has taught about water pollution, and also has taught about green infrastructure and planting near water. She talked about how it is important to know about this topic because only a small percentage of water is drinkable, and all the fresh water is frozen in glaciers, and is not accessible.

Something we learned is that water and ocean pollution affects us by plastic breaking down and entering our bodies, which can affect our health. We also learned that loose dirt can get into fish gills, which can kill fish. A major cause of water and ocean pollution is fertilizer getting into the ocean.

Something that I personally thought important was that water and ocean pollution affects communities of color and low-income communities because of environmental racism. The resources go to high-income communities, while the negative impact goes to low-income communities. A problem relating to low-income communities and water pollution is that people made reservoirs and pushed out the people who live there.

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Quality of NYC Schools and The American Dream

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On December 19 our group interviewed Kate Quarfordt who co-founded a charter school called “City School of the Arts.” We learned about how hard it is to run a school with limited resources. We learned that you can go to specialized schools that are out of your zone, but they are hard to get into. You will need tutors and extracurricular activities which cost money. Another shocking fact is that charter schools have more freedom than public schools, but they have 80% of the funds. This helped us get a basic understanding of our topic.

Kate told us about “the American dream,” which means you go to college and get a good job with a stable life. However, it is hard to get into a good college when you don’t go to a good school. Of course, with no college degree, or a degree from a community college will make it hard to find a high-paying job. Being in a low-quality school also means that you have lower-quality teachers, textbooks, classrooms, etc. This explains why good quality education is important later in life.

One thing that affects school funding, and quality is zoning laws. Zoning laws are when land is divided into “zones.” Some zones are not as rich as the others. That means houses are nicer in some zones, and property taxes go to school funding. Schools in poorer zones will receive less funding from property taxes. It is unfortunate that a lot of schools don’t get to buy higher quality things just because of where they are located.

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Ava Dawson: A Trans Ally

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Alex, my Citizen Action Project partner, and I interviewed Ava Dawson, the current high school nurse of LREI. At first I was very anxious about messing up and asking the wrong questions, but after we started, Ava showed that she was very easygoing and caring. As I started to stop worrying, we continued on in the interview.

We first asked her about her own experience with gender affirming care, and she told us that she has a transgender sister who had gotten gender affirming care. Ava said that she had helped support her sister with her transition. She also told us that, before she came to LREI, she had worked at a very run down public school. The issues at the school were much worse compared to LREI and she said that there were many bullying instances. As the nurse, many people came to her for helpo and she tried to help them to her fullest extent. The main gender issues there were that all of the bathrooms were gendered and most of the trans kids that went to her said that they felt physically unsafe using them. She helped them by giving them a key to the teacher restroom, but even that didn’t fully solve the problems because some teachers would question the kids and ask them why they were using their restroom.

When Ava came to LREI, she said that the whole school felt much more inclusive and supportive. We asked her if she, specifically, had helped anyone get care, and she said that, because it’s fully up to the parent(s), the only thing she could do was talk to them. If the parent(s) were in full support, she would talk with the student and their parent(s) about options and solutions. if the parent(s) were not in support, she and Ty, the school councilor, would have a very thorough and informational conversation with just the parent(s) and tell them why it’s important to help their child and support them through their journey.

Finally, Ava referred Alex and I to a few more resources and said goodbye.

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Queer Minds: Navigating the Youth’s Mental Health

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On Wednesday, January 8th, we met with the LREI school counselor, Ty Beauchamp. Ty has been working at LREI for longer than 3 years, and is usually in the High School, working as the counselor there. One of the first things Ty mentioned to us was the aspect of Social Media. He talked about how Social Media is a double sided sword, meaning its a tool for connecting with community, but also a tool for people to cyberbully and say homophobic things. He also mentioned in school treatment. He touched on the fact that more traditional schools don’t give as much sanctuary or community for Queer teens. He brought up how teens in general need to be brought up in a non toxic place. Many Queer teens who go to traditional schools don’t have this which causes more issues with their mental health in the long run.

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Queer Minds: Navigating the Youth’s Mental Health

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On Wednesday, January 8th, we met with the LREI school counselor, Ty Beauchamp. Ty has been working at LREI for longer than 3 years, and is usually in the High School, working as the counselor there. One of the first things Ty mentioned to us was the aspect of Social Media. He talked about how Social Media is a double sided sword, meaning its a tool for connecting with community, but also a tool for people to cyberbully and say homophobic things. He also mentioned in school treatment. He touched on the fact that more traditional schools don’t give as much sanctuary or community for Queer teens. He brought up how teens in general need to be brought up in a non toxic place. Many Queer teens who go to traditional schools don’t have this which causes more issues with their mental health in the long run.

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Queer Minds: Navigating the Youth’s Mental Health

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On Wednesday, January 8th, we met with the LREI school counselor, Ty Beauchamp. Ty has been working at LREI for longer than 3 years, and is usually in the High School, working as the counselor there. One of the first things Ty mentioned to us was the aspect of Social Media. He talked about how Social Media is a double sided sword, meaning its a tool for connecting with community, but also a tool for people to cyberbully and say homophobic things. He also mentioned in school treatment. He touched on the fact that more traditional schools don’t give as much sanctuary or community for Queer teens. He brought up how teens in general need to be brought up in a non toxic place. Many Queer teens who go to traditional schools don’t have this which causes more issues with their mental health in the long run.

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A Talk With Jenna DiMarino

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On January 8th Paige and I met with Jenna DiMarino, the school nurse for the lower and middle school at LREI. We asked her about her previous experiences in nursing. She shared with us that she used to work at a hospital in the pediatric ICU. She would work with children from as early as right when they were born, all the way until they were eighteen years old. We asked her if she had witnessed or heard about patients facing discrimination while she was working at the hospital. Jenna told us “I have been lucky that I haven’t worked with anyone that I feel has been discriminatory…I think that’s something that as we’re progressing, we get a lot better at…but I have heard stories, for sure”. She also mentioned that older teenage patients and mothers, specifically from minorities, have shared with her that previously their pain had not been handled properly or that this was the first time they felt comfortable and attended to. Jenna shared so much knowledge with us. Something that resonated with me is the fact that some adolescents and adults have never felt comfortable and heard from doctors or the people who were taking care of them. Based on the things Jenna told us, I am interested in talking to organizations that can share even deeper information with us. This interview was extremely beneficial.

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Microplastics: How it Affects Animals and Humans

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On December 13th 2024 we interviewed Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine, who works in the food industry, to help us fill in the blanks about microplastics and how its affects the human body. She taught us about how microplastics are also involved in the food industry, and how its bad for our bodies.

One of the things that we learned is that microplastics end up in the ocean and fish are affected by it. A lot of people eat seafood, whether its cod, tuna, eel, herring, crab, shrimp, lobster, or any food that you can catch in the ocean. If you eat seafood, this means that you are eating microplastics too. Microplastics are bad for your body, because most microplastics are toxic. Microplastics can be disruptive to your hormone balance, and cross barriers in your body.

Although seafood isint the only thing that contains microplastics, but what are ways that we can avoid eating microplastics? How can we avoid putting plastic in the ocean? You should always make sure that you are drinking filtered or bottled water because they are much cleaner than tap water. Especially in NYC, water that comes out of the faucet is very bad for you to drink because it contains a lot of bacteria. You should limit the amount of seafood that you eat, and you should eat farm raised seafood instead, because it is healthier and more safe for you to eat. Another way to reduce the amount of microplastics you eat is by eating in glass containers, or ceramic bowls etc, because in plastic containers, tiny pieces of microplastics are going to enter your food, and then the microplastics will be inside of your system. Preventing microplastics from ending up in our ocean will help the earth, our waters, animals, and humans. But we have to act quickly because there is no turning back.

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Interview With Eliza

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Eliza believes that Climate Change can affect New Yorkers. An example of this is the flooding in Jamcia Bay. She talked about a way that houses become inhabitable is because of there not being enough green infrastructure. Not having enough green infrastructure can cause places to heat up. She mentioned that we can stop the spread by adding green to neighborhoods. She talked about how most neighborhoods that suffer from flooding are low-income areas.

We asked if she tries to stop Climate change, and Eliza said she does what she can, like using energy-efficient cars. She mentioned that not only one person can stop climate change and that we all must do our part. She added that we can help this electing people that want to stop climate problem.

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Migration Then, Migration Now; What Differs? A Lot, Actually! With Manija Mayel

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On December 19th, I interviewed Manija Mayel. She works with Welcome Home New Jersey, an organization that works with migrants who have found refuge in New Jersey. They help migrants with legal tasks and paperwork such as applying for healthcare benefits, or daycare for their children. Mayel is a child of Immigrants herself, with her mother being a refugee from India. However, many new migrant experiences are much different than her parents’.

Her parents said it was difficult for them in America at first, speaking little English, which made it hard for them to find a job. However, with much work ethic they found successful careers as a nurse (her mother), and an entrepreneur (her father). This experience is out of reach for new migrants coming in. With the cost of living going up, and job opportunities being sparse, all aspects of starting a new life in America are substantially harder. Although, New York and New Jersey are considered “sanctuary cities” for migrants and refugees which means that their rights here are far more equitable than in rural areas, or red states. Mayel’s goal for Welcome Home is for her to be able to teach migrants how to be able to be self-reliant. She believes that if they are dependent on people like her, they’ll never learn how to face these situations on their own. She’d rather lead the way, so that they can take on similar challenges in their future.

With the Trump-Vance administration coming in very soon, it has made futures for migrants and refugees very uncertain, but Manija and her team are making sure that every migrats knows their rights, or finalizing their paperwork for VISAs or asylum. She told us that if everyone just took a second look at the migrants and refugees coming in, our perspective would change tremendously. Many of us can see ourselves in them, so we need to make sure we treat migrants and refugees just as we would any other person.

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Outsiders: Our Unnecessary Fear of Others

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The interview I had with the high school teacher, Emily, was really interesting. Our conversation was great and we discussed what it was like for people who had to experience tragedy. She told us how about her experience with Ukrainians and what that meant to her. Emily said we need to do more for people not from our countries. She also told us how her opposition to this topic stemmed from an almost poisonous fear of outsiders. We all have an almost subconscious bias towards people like us. In the media almost every day we see stories of crimes committed by people who look nothing like us. This constant stream of negative media creates a fear of outsiders whether we like it or not. What I took away from this meeting with Emily is that we should trust people from different countries, races, or sexes.

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A Discussion With Helena B.:Lawyer for Justice

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During the fieldwork, we zoomed into the criminal justice system with Helena B. During our meeting, we talked about her experiences as a lawyer along with the people she met, the facts about the New York criminal justice system including the numbers and the difference between America and the rest of the world, and what other things can change a judges mind about a person. Personally, I learned how far a first impression goes when you are in a courtroom, and how big of an effect it can have on the judge/ jury. “You’re more inclined to smile back at him. And so, it’s just, when we talk about bias” were some of her remarks on the topic.

In general, I learned about the big effect cost has on many different systems provided by the government. During the interview, we asked Helena what changes she would make to the justice system, and she told us that she would take the cost out of the picture. She stated that because so many people use legal aid societies, it lessens the resources or the amount of time they can put into your case. If somebody gets arrested often, it compounds and decreases the impact of those resources. She said that if the resource funding for a case was even, or on the front end of defense itself. To sum up, this informational interview has helped my group and me better understand the justice system in New York.

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A Discussion With Helena B.:Lawyer for Justice

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During the fieldwork, we zoomed into the criminal justice system with Helena B. During our meeting, we talked about her experiences as a lawyer along with the people she met, the facts about the New York criminal justice system including the numbers and the difference between America and the rest of the world, and what other things can change a judges mind about a person. Personally, I learned how far a first impression goes when you are in a courtroom, and how big of an effect it can have on the judge/ jury. “You’re more inclined to smile back at him. And so, it’s just, when we talk about bias” were some of her remarks on the topic.

In general, I learned about the big effect cost has on many different systems provided by the government. During the interview, we asked Helena what changes she would make to the justice system, and she told us that she would take the cost out of the picture. She stated that because so many people use legal aid societies, it lessens the resources or the amount of time they can put into your case. If somebody gets arrested often, it compounds and decreases the impact of those resources. She said that if the resource funding for a case was even, or on the front end of defense itself. To sum up, this informational interview has helped my group and me better understand the justice system in New York.

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The truth about Haiti’s history

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We interviewed my father, Emmanuel Alexandre on December 19. We asked him questions about his experiences in Haiti and what he thought we as students could do to help. I got suggestions about how to help this cause even as a student in a nother country. Him sharing his experiences with us helped us unerstand really what we as a group are dealing with and that the problem isnt just the gangs, but how people are treated in general. It was very helpfull to have someone to share that has had these experiences firsthand. overall, this meeting was a good way to open the path to understanding haiti’s history without only focusing on the downsides.

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Interview with Allison Isbell

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Walter and I first walked into the room, which felt very welcoming. We first sat down and pressed record. Using the prepared questions it felt easier to be able to listen to Allison and gather information. I found it really interesting how social media came up a lot during the conversation. It made me think on my own how social media may actually be a rising factor in mental illnesses such as depression. It has already been shown how seeing a friend on the phone versus in person is very different.

When we asked Allison about how COVID impacted our topic it started making a lot of sense how mental illnesses uprised during that time. To the fact a lot of people felt lonely, which was understandable because at that point children didn’t even have the chance to be social at school. I really enjoyed and appreciated this interview as it was very helpful and Allison even recommended another person to the interview! He’s a professor and author named Jonathan Haidt which will hopefully be another interview coming soon!

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What NYCS Homeless Community Needs.

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I interviewed Eva Pinkley in order to learn more about homelessness in NYC. Eva Pinkley works for a non profit organization who help homeless people over the course of many years. The organization focuses on building trust with the homeless community and mostly helps people with addiction or mental/physical trauma.

Eva does field work every single day across all the boroughs and she believes that racial discrimination definitely plays a large role in who lives on the streets. She believes that 99% of New York City’s homeless are non white (not a backed up fact.) She also believes that the main cause for homelessness is mental and physical trauma, and the fact that most communities do not have access to good mental health care. She thinks that if New York City’s government made mental healthcare free and advertised it more New York’s homeless population would decrease rapidly.

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Ava Dawson: Health Director at LREI’s View on Reproductive Rights

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I interviewed Ava Dawson with My partener Vivi. We asked her a series of questions. One of the main questions we asked her was what is your views on women needing Abortions or getting them. She said that she believed all women should have the choice and option because you never know what they are going through. A lot of women get Abortions for many reasons including, Rape or assault, unplanned, or underage, and income. Women all over the United Staes are being told what they can do with their own bodies and that is not fair.

In addition to asking her thoughts on the general abortion we asked her why do people in power think they have the right to a different womens body. Ava told us that a lot of it is off of religious belief. A lot of people believe that even if the baby isn’t born yet it is cruel to kill them. Ava also touched on the fact that women believe that because they are also women they should be able to choose for other people. In the end it all ends up tying back to the religious beliefs that it is killing the child. Ava Dawson was a massive help to our studies for our project. We learned so much and it is shocking the more facts we learn.

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Interview with Eliza, our science teacher

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At 9:00 me and my group (that consists of Me, Gio, and Masami) met with our science teacher in the principles office. We all sat down and we took turns asking her questions and writing down her answers like how much you know about water/ocean pollution and what organizations are helping stop it. We learned that water is being pulled from farther and farther away so eventually we will run out of places to get clean water. I also learned that we are consuming a lor of microplastics from the water we drink every day that can affect our health. After the interview we walked out the room with new information on who to talk to for our topic and just more knowledge of our water/ocean pollution all together.

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Water polutions and how they affect us and what we can do to help

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On December 19th, 2024, we Had an interview with Eliza on water pollution how it affects us, and what can we do to help. Water Pollution affects us because we do not have many ways of accessing drinking water this is due to only a small amount of water being drinkable and fresh most of the other sources of water are frozen in glaciers making it inaccessible.

In our time with Eliza, we also learned how pollution effects us and water animals like fish. Fish get affected by pollution due to loose dirt that gets into fish gills and makes it diffuclt for them to breathe. Water pollution affects the humans due to microplastics that can get into the water or food. Microplastics are bad becuase it can get broken down in our bodies and make us sick.

During this interview Eliza talked about envoirmental racism. Enviormental racism is when Low income comunities have worse reasourses becuase of the better reasourses going to more high income comunities.

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Microplastics: The Truth Behind Fast Fashion

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On December 11th our group met with Eliza Zygmutowicz, our science teacher and an expert on our environment. We talked to her about various issues related to microplastics and their effect on the world. It was so interesting to learn about how big of an impact microplastics have on our environment and everyday life.

We talked about the impact that fast fashion has on our environment and learned that when we buy clothes, we should aim to wear them more than once to reduce waste. Fast fashion is a big contributor to pollution and uses up natural resources, which has very bad long-term effects on our planet.

We also learned a lot about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a huge area in the ocean filled with trash and plastic debris. Eliza told us that microplastics from this patch can get into the food chain not only affecting animals but also people who eat seafood. We talked about ways to take action to help solve these problems. She encouraged us to use less plastic, support eco-friendly clothing brands, and participate in beach cleanups to make a positive difference.

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Informative Discussion With Caroline Walker

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Before break, my group met with the 5th grade humanities teacher Caroline Walker. We came to the library prepared with questions we had about where food insecurity is the worst in New York City, how food deserts result in unhealthy eating outcomes, and hunger’s effect on children. Here’s how parts of our interview went with Caroline’s answers:

Can you explain more about how food insecurity specifically affects children in education and how they learn?
– A lot of anxiety about when the next meal is
– Impacts the child’s life to wonder when they will eat
– Many children are food insecure and rely on school meals to be fed
– Ashamed of living in a country where people can’t feel secure

How do food deserts result in unhealthy eating outcomes?
– Delis are the next best option
– One banana is more expensive than a bundle which you would get at a grocery store
– Parts of town that don’t have access to a grocery store with fresh veggies or produce are food deserts

Why do you think prices of food have changed drastically and why is packaged food becoming the alternative?
– Big business taken over the food industry
– Hard for small farms and businesses to stay alive
– Hard to make profit

What NYC/what neighborhoods do you know to be struggling the most?
– In the Bronx
– Low income meaning poverty

I’m looking forward into digging into this topic more. This interview was a good start.

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Emmanuel Alexandre Jr. and his thoughts on Haiti’s current state.

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On Thursday, December 19th, me and my group members had an interview with Emmanuel Alexandre Jr, Massamba’s father. We talked about the gang violence and how they’re taking over areas in the country. We learned that there isn’t just physical violence, but there is sex trafficking and many other issues. Emmanuel also shared a few stories. Including one where he talked about how one day he was woken up, and there was marching outside about an issue there.

There isn’t much we can do about helping for the issue, all we can really do is donate to organizations that will help make schools higher quality for the kids. Emmanuel also suggested that we reach out people that immigrated from Haiti or experience violence in the area. The infamous gang leader, Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherizier’, him and his gang had killed the old prime minister of Haiti. One of the main messages we got is that, even though were students, we should try as much as we can. I’m looking forward to learning more about this.

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Views on Abortion Laws

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For our first Fieldwork, Esme and me met with Jenna DiMarino, our school nurse. We interviewed her about her opinions on abortion laws and women’s reproductive rights and health care. We got to hear about her view and we learned a lot. She said that women should have choice over their own bodies, and that the government deciding about abortions and reproductive health care was not fair. It was really interesting to learn about her views and about how we can take action to make sure women in America had safe access to reproductive health care.
She talked about how religion sometimes restricts what is considered appropriate, and in some communities abortion and birth control are not okay. Abortion, reproductive health care, and birth control should all be accessible to every woman. We also talked about r*pe and how it really affects survivors who are pregnant and can’t get a safe abortion because of where they live or their religion or other reasons. States should not be able to choose whether or not a woman has control over her reproductive health, especially because a lot of the people in power are men. Women deserve safe reproductive health care no matter what.

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Microplastics And Their Affect On The Human Body

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We learned many things from our interview with Eliza. Microplastics have been pushed to the side, even though they have shocking consequences on the human body. Microplastics contain carcinogens, which means they cause cancer. Multiple studies have shown a direct correlation between exposure to microplastics and cancer in the human body. Microplastics have also been linked to the rise in colon and lung cancer.

Microplastics have a drastic effect on the microbiome. The microbiome is located in our gut. It is a place where bacteria thrive. These bacteria help maintain a balance in our bodies. Microplastics disrupt this balance, and the result is a unbalanced human body, which usually causes sickness. Lastly, Microplastics also disrupt the immune system, preventing our body from defending itself from sickness. Overall, microplastics pose a large threat to the human populace, which can only be remedied with change.

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Digging Deep Into The Dangers of Microplastics

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On December 11th 2024, we interviewed Eliza Zygmuntowicz, who is our science teacher to ask her about microplastics, the garbage patch, and a bit about fast fashion. One of the things that we learned is that you can prevent microplastics by using a specific laundry bag that prevents all of the fibers from going through the laundry machine, and eventually ending up in the ocean.

Another thing that we learned is that If you purchase a piece of fast-fashion clothing, make sure you wear it more than once and that it gets its full use. Or even handing it down to someone else for them to wear. Instead of wearing it one time and throwing it away. Because that piece of clothing will end up in the ocean.

The last thing we talked about was the garbage patch. The garbage patch is located in the Pacific Ocean in between Hawaii and California. The garbage patch is a huge patch with a bunch of garbage attached together, slowly building up. The garbage patch is as big as Texas. Which is 268,597 miles long. Imagine seeing a patch of garbage floating in the ocean that was bigger than you, and probably the state you live in.

Eliza gave us lots of details of how we can help prevent microplastics from ending up in the ocean, and gave us new information that will help us in the future.

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Talking About Climate Change

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Eliza thinks that New York will change a lot due to the climate change crisis. Furthermore, Eliza also believes that climate change will affect a lot of New Yorkers’ lives for several reasons. These reasons include flooding in areas around Jamacia Bay and lower Manhattan. However, she also mentions that many projects are going on to help combat climate change issues such as green infrastructure, and how that can really help the entire environment.

She mentions the heat island effect and the thinking that depending on the amount of tree cover in a certain area, affects the temperature and living conditions of the inhabitants. She furthers this point by saying that these areas are almost always more low-income areas and that that is something to look into. She then again uses the example of Jamacia Bay to compare that level of income there, to areas that are much less flood-prone. She then mentions the east-river park rising to accommodate sea level rise.

When we asked her if she was making a difference in the climate change crisis, she replied that she does things like composting and using energy-efficient cars. However, she also mentions that although she makes her efforts, only her is not enough and it is more important to make sure that the people that we are electing into office are more trustowthy on this issue.

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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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