On Monday, February 1st, our Social Justice group returned to School Visual Arts to attend a symposium on health issues. We heard from important activists on this topic: community leader and public servant, Clyde Williams; Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Junior; Director of the Arnhold Global Health Institute, Doctor Prabhjot Singh; Rob Carmona, Co-founder of Strive, an employment agency in East Harlem; and Harlem resident and activist, Carmen Quinones. Each speaker talked about their connection to health issues, and how each of them are taking action on this topic in New York City. Rob Carmona, who is dedicated to making living in New York City healthier and easier for people of all ethnicities, was an inspiring speaker who said, “health should be a basic right, not a privilege.” I agreed with his statement, and therefore I was motivated to include it in my opinion editorial. The overall message that these speakers conveyed was that healthcare is a necessity for all American citizens regardless of economic or social status. These speakers believe that health should not have a cost. Clyde Williams said “Stop penalizing people for being poor.” I found this statement to be very powerful and unfortunately, this is a problem that is not getting enough attention in America. Overall, this was a fantastic learning experience for our group.
