2014-2015

Speaker Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle

by 19campbellp

On Thursday, November 13th 2014, Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle visited and spoke to the whole class. We had interviewed her before and had asked her to revisit. Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle is a great person who has fought sex trafficking and modern day slavery for 8 years, and has made a very big difference. She…

by 19sarahc

On December 5, my group and…

by 19campbellp

On Friday, December 12th, my group and I met with the talented Peggy Kern to discuss her book Little Peach. Little Peach cleverly captures the life of a 14 year old girl named Michelle as she is forced to make the hard decision to leave her home and travel to New York, where she is tricked…

by 19beckettm

You’re 16. You’re alone. You’re afraid. You’re confined to a cold, wet six-by-eight cell with low lights. This is what former juvenile offender Ismael Nazario experienced during his stay at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility. For a petty theft, he received a lengthy sentence at Rikers. In addition to that, he was brought back…

by Monica Quirante

This past Thursday the 20th of November my group and I visited the Women in Need organization (WIN). This organization helps families, especially women. The organization helps women get housing, food and a job. The place that we visited had a children daycare for the kids that had to be. Taken care of if the…

by 19finnp

Steve Liss taught us that 200,000 youths are sentenced each year as adults in the United States. Those youths that are incarcerated cost the U.S. 6 billion dollars each year. Steve Liss goes to different prisons and takes pictures of how awful the prisons are to try to spread awareness to everyone. Steve Liss has…

by 19finnp

Ismael was formerly incarcerated as a youth at Riker’s Island. He talked to us about what it was like to be in prison and why some people would want to join gangs. He told us that it gives people a sense of security, because by themselves they normally get beaten up. Ismael also told how…

by 19celiab

Peggy Kern is the author of an amazing book called Little Peach. My group and I were lucky enough to read the book and then later on have an interview with Peggy. Before the interview my group and I read her book. It was absolutely amazing. The book is about a girl named Michelle who…

by 19celiab

After meeting with sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle for an interview, she agreed to come and speak with the class. She gave a great presentation about sexual trafficking. During the presentation she explained to the class what sexual trafficking is, who it affects, what it looks like, and where it takes place. Sister Mary was very…

by 19katherineb

On Wednesday, November 19th, my social justice group and I went to a film at the IFC Center called ‘Tough Love.’ The film is a documentary directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal, focusing on two parents in the midst of the Child Welfare System, Hannah from New York City, and Patrick from Seattle, who had been separated…

by Rose Merjos

On November 13, Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle joined the whole eighth grade at our school in a conversation about sexual trafficking. We had organized for Sister Mary to visit at our previous interview with her, but we had never discussed what she was going to talk about with our class. This made us a bit nervous, especially…

by Claire Greenburger

My group and I attended a lecture at New York University where people spoke about the issue of rape on college campuses. At the lecture a Columbia Graduate and rape survivor named Marybeth spoke, as well as Vanessa Grigoriadis, a New York magazine writer who wrote an article about Emma…

by 19avag

On Thursday November 20th, 2014, my group and I went to WIN (Women In Need) organizations East Harlem branch to do some volunteer work. WIN, started in 1983, is an organization that provides homes, education, and childcare for homeless or struggling women in New York City. WIN has 10 homeless family shelters, and one women’s…

by 19jareds

On Wednesday November 19th my group and I visited the New York Center for Children. This is a place where children who have been abused before can go and get therapy. They have many toys for the children to play with so they can feel right at home, while being asked difficult questions. As we…

by 19kateo

On Friday, November 21st, four of my group mates and I went to L’Oreal at 5th Avenue and 47th Street. We talked with Martha Brooks about the way that they changed women’s bodies using computers to make an “ideal beauty.” Martha spoke about how the models that were shooting for their products were already gorgeous,…

by 19destinyb

Our group took a trip to Colombia University, in which we attended a rally pertaining to our topic. It was about Emma Sulcowicz, and many other girls who were raped on campus, and not trusted about the retelling of their horrific stories. The rally that we attended was a protest against the idea that people…

by 19finnp

The speakers talked to us about the U.S. having only 5% of the world’s population, yet we have 25% of the worlds incarcerated. The speakers talked about how we as a country need to try to help stop people from reoffending, for around 80% of the people who are released from prison go back. Many…

by 19sarahc

New York Center for Children is a place for healing and helping children who have experienced abuse. As we…

by Siena

On November 20th, my group had our second fieldwork. We had been conversing with a woman from the WIN (Women in need) organization. When we first showed up to the address we were given, I was confused. I guess I thought that it was more of an office and kids were somewhere upstairs. It took…

by 19katherineb

On Wednesday, November 19th, my social justice group and I went to NYCC, or The New York Center For Children. This is an organization that provides therapy, as well as mental and medical support for children of all ages that have gone through abuse. When we got there, a woman named Christine Crowther, the administrative…

by 19calebs

Interview with Ms. Stephanie Ubreall, NYC Crime Commission, 11/25/14 On Monday, November 24th, my group members and I went on our second fieldwork to go to the NYC Crime Commission. We met with the one of the program directors, Stephanie Uberall. We talked to Stephanie and one of her interns about youth and minors in…

by 19kait

On Thursday, November twentieth, we went to forty Barrow street to interview Dr. Maria Gutierrez, an expert on climate change. Even though we were about twenty minutes early, she still welcomed us into her dining room, where we conducted the interview. When we first arrived, she started off by showing us a plethora of websites…

by 19milesd

On Wednesday 11/19/14, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dan Lohaus, the director of documentary “When I Came Home” a film made in 2006 about veterans who return home and become homeless and live in poverty, as well as the struggles they go through in piecing their lives back together. The film ended up gaining lots…

by 19zebulons

On November 21, Caleb, Austin, and myself went to talk to the New York City Crime Commission. We met with Stephanie Ueberal, a physiology major, and her intern, Roberta. They told us what they did, and told us some stories about their work. They also spoke about the structure of their organization. They said that…

by 19austing

Austin A Brighter Future; Children In Gangs Interview with Stephanie Ueberall at Citizens Crime Commission of New York City Zebulon Stafford, Caleb Siltler, and I met with Stephanie Ueberall of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City to learn about what the organization does to help save children from gangs. Stephanie is the…

by 19jacobh

Jacob Hirsch Fighters For Fighters 2nd Social Justice Blog Post Interview With Dan Lohas (Director of When Can I Come Home) On The Movie He Made, 11/19/14 On Wednesday November 19, our group was able to schedule a skype call with Dan Lohas, the director of a movie that we all felt connected with. We…

by 19milesd

Here is a picture taken outside of the entrance to the NYC VA Hospital

On October 28, my group and I visited the New York VA Hospital thanks to the help of the wonderful Claudia Benjamin, the Executive Chief of staff at the institute. Walking up towards the building, I got a sad feeling. Before you even got to the front steps, you could see old and young veterans…

by 19renzoo

On Wednesday 11/19/14 we were luckily enough to interview Dan Lohaus the director, producer, and cinematographer of the movie “When I Came Home” The movie won the Tribeca Film award Best New York Documentary. In his movie it showed a many different homeless veterans and what happened to them. You realized from the movie and…

by 19beckettm

Presentation at the PACThis is our second field work. Last Tuesday was spent in the LREI High School PAC, listening to a panel of incarceration experts discuss incarceration in america. This was our second field work and we learned a lot. The main speaker was Mr. Green burger, an LREI parent and a person who…

by 19wilderc

On tuesday my group had the pleasure of attending a speaker event hosted by our school on mass incarceration. There was a rather distinguished panel at the event; Francis Greenburger, founder of the Greenburger Center and numerous other non-profit organizations. Ann Jacobs, director, Prison Reentry Institute at John Jay College, JoAnne Page, president and CEO, The…

by 19avag

On Thursday, October 16th, my group and I went to 51st st. between Park and Lexington, to volunteer at a soup kitchen, run by Coalition for the Homeless. When we first arrived at St. Bartholomew’s Church, there was a line of hungry people waiting to eat although the kitchen didn’t open for another hour or…

by 19celiab

On November 12, my group and I visited Sanctuary for Families. Sanctuary for Families is a non profit organization that offers facilities for victims of human trafficking. Sanctuary for Families offers facilities in over thirty languages. My group and I were lucky enough to meet with one of their staff members, Lauren Hindle. Lauren was…

by 19katherineb

On Wednesday, November 19th, my social justice group and I went to Manhattan Family Court to volunteer at their Adoption Day event. At this particular event, around a third of the children being adopted had been abused with their former families/guardians. When we got there, thirty minutes early, there was already a huge line leading up…

by 19danielap

Interview with Dr. Maria Guttierez, 11/20/14 Today we met with climate change expert Maria Guttierez. Unfortunately, one member of our group, Kiyomi, could not attend this interview. Dr. Guttierez had a lot of insight into the topics she was asked about, and was also very friendly. Kai and I walked to her house, just a…

by Rose Merjos

On November 12, my three groupmates and I visited and volunteered at Sanctuary For Families. Sanctuary For Families is a clinic that houses women and girls who have suffered from commercially sexually exploitation or domestic violence. Sanctuary is also made up of many attorneys who help the victims in a more legal aspect. For example, if a victim…

by 19ninat

On November 19th, our group travelled downtown the the New York Court, located on Lafayette Street, where we volunteered at Adoption Day. Adoption Day is a joyous day where several adoption cases are legally finalized in court, and then celebrated. Diane and Roy, two adoption clerks that work at the Court, invited us to…

by 19sarahc

On Wednesday November 19, my group and I volunteered at The New York Court located at 60 Lafayette. It was an amazing experience and we felt very welcomed. As we walked in to the part of the sixth floor, we were all surprised by the intimacy and comfortable feeling that lasted through the room. The…

by 19maxiner

On November 17th, my group and I completed our second field work and took a visit to Sanctuary for Families in downtown Manhattan. We were extremely excited about going to meet with them because of the positivity we heard about last years group visit and that we finally found an organization that would work with…

by 19maxiner

On November 4th, we experienced our first field work. We spoke on the phone with a nun named Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle. A group member had already met her because she is a nun at his church so that’s how we initially met her. We spoke to her about meeting and conversing the topic of…

by Ella Wexler

For this fieldwork, my group and I conducted an interview with New York Times Magazine, Vanessa Grigoriadis, a writer who wrote last month’s cover story on rape on college campuses. The article was centered around students from Columbia, UPenn, and other U.S. colleges. The article primarily revolved around Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz who was raped…

by 19jareds

On Wednesday November 19th my group and I went to the New York Family Court. We helped out Diana and Roy with adoption day. This is a day where families who have gone through the long and tenuous process where they adopt a kid. The kid could have been placed into a Foster House, taken…

by Claire Greenburger

At the end of October, my group and I attended a rally protest at Columbia University. This was a great experience because we got to get involved by supporting students who were victims of campus rape and people who just like us, think this is an important cause that needs to be acted on. There…

by 19wilderc

Today we got to meet with Saadiq Bey, a member of the Fortune Society, and an LREI parent. Before our interview we had watched a video he linked us to called “The Box” by a colleague of his, Ishmael Nazarro, who was incarcerated as a teenager. The video depicts his time in a place in…

by Florence Finkelstein

Our first fieldwork consisted of a wonderful interview with a journalist from New York Magazine named Vanessa Grigoriadis. She kindly met us at our school where we led her to a lower school class room which we transformed into a makeshift conference room. We started off with a conversation…

by 19danielap

Interview: Dr. Yelda Balkir, Director of Environmental Science at Manhattan College, 10/29/14 We are a group of three eighth grade students at LREI: Daniela, Kiyomi, and Kai. We were scheduled to meet with Dr. Yelda Balkir, who is the Director of Environmental Science at Manhattan College. She is originally from Istanbul, Turkey, and is the…

by 19celiab

The meeting with Sister Mary O’Boyle was my group’s first social justice fieldwork. My group didn’t have any experience on how to interview someone so she helped us learn the ropes on how to be respectful and attentive during an interview. Sister Mary was lovely and made my group and I feel comfortable. Not only…

by Rose Merjos

On November 4th 2014, Celia, Campbell, Maxine and I met Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle, a sexual trafficking specialist. We were slightly nervous at the beginning of our meeting for we had never conducted an interview before. However, Mary Ellen was very warm, welcoming and very appreciative that eighth graders were taking on such a heavy issue. Currently,…

by Troy

For our fieldwork, we decided to interview someone who was to familiar with racial profiling. We interviewed Jaron Evelyn, a seventeen year old Carribian-American high schooler who has been racially profiled over 8 times! Jaron recalls a time when he was stopped by police. His rights ware violated and the police officers used racial slurs.…

by 19finnp

My group and I interviewed Saadiq Bey. Mr. Bey works for the Fortune Society. He is a really nice guy, and he helped our group a lot. Saadiq offered to get us a tour of the company he works for. Saadiq told us about what the company he worked for was about and why it…

by 19katerinat

On Thursday, October 30, we met with and interviewed feminist author Libba Bray . Walking into the library, we had not read her book, or knew much about her, but after meeting her, we learned so much about her opinions, and goals and could not wait to read her book, Beauty Queens. Libba told us…

by 19beckettm

On Wednesday our group met with an activist and LREI parent Saadiq Bey. After exchanging a few emails, our group, met with him in the Learning Lab to discuss his social justice work, and how we can help. He told us about juvenile incarceration, the impact it has on families and how it can be…

by 19kateo

After talking to Libba Bray about how sexism occurs in books and how we may portray a certain book specifically for a girl or boy, we asked her some questions about how her book Beauty Queens, a novel about teenage beauty pageant girls who get stranded on an island and have to learn to fight…

by Monica Quirante

My group and I had scheduled a fieldwork visit with this organization that fed the homeless. After a couple of calls and voicemails we were told to go to Bartholomew’s church on 51st street. As we walked in, we were told to put on aprons, gloves and hair nets. Me and my group started putting…

by 19austing

Far left: Caleb - Middle Left: Zebulon - Middle right: Dr Ores - Far Right: Austin

Austin Interview with David Ores, Fresh Start tattoo removal, 11/6/14 Our group, me, Zeb and Caleb, met with Dr. Ores to discuss what his job involved and what his normal day was like. We spoke with him about how tattoos are removed and what is very common. We learned that more than 1.4 million…

by 19zebulons

On October 11th, Austin Getz, Caleb Siltler and myself went to visit a man named Dr. David J. Ores. Dr. Dave and his organization, called Fresh Start Tattoo Removal, work helps former gang members towards employment by removing their tattoos. Those tattoos often hamper one’s ability to find a job because when people think of gang…

by 19danielj

On November sixth, my group had the pleasure of being able to interview Mr. Jaron Evelyn. At approximately 2:15 pm, he visited the middle school for an interview. We were able to get an open room in the Admissions office in order to conduct our interview. We had chosen him specifically because he is, unfortunately,…

by 19destinyb

My group and I are embarking on a social justice project to end rape on college campuses. We have recently been trying to get in touch with organizations such as EROC, and have been trying to contact victims of campus rape. Recently, the four of us conducted and interview with a writer that worked at…

by 19justinb

My social justice group and I were very lucky to have the chance to have an interview with Jaron Evelyn, a student at our very own high school. Unfortunately, Jaron has been unjustly stopped and frisked by NYPD police officers over 8 times. We were able to get a first-hand recollection of these terrible experiences…

by Claire Greenburger

For this field work my group and I conducted an interview with Vanessa Grigoriadis. She is a writer for New York Magazine and wrote an article about Emma Sulkowicz. Emma was raped on her school campus (Columbia University) by a classmate, in her dorm room her sophomore year. After we read Vanessa’s Article we were…

by 19sarahc

On November 5, our Social Justice group met with the founder and director of an organization called Child Abuse Prevention Program, located in Greenwich Village. This was our first fieldwork and was set up as an interview with Marian White, who is very involved with making a change for children who are faced with abuse.…

by 19campbellp

On Sunday, October 26th, I attended a speech from Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle at St. Francis Xavier High School. Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle has been working to fight the problem of Human Trafficking for 10 years, and has made a great impact. There are only 2,173 beds available for Sexual Trafficking Survivors in the United…

by 19jareds

On Wednesday November 5th my group and I went on a trip to the Child Abuse Prevention Program or know as CAPP. When we went we had no idea about what we were going to see. We had spoken to Marion White who is the Founder of the organization but we didn’t know what we…

by 19ninat

On November 5th, my social justice group and I payed a visit to the New York Center for Children, or CAPP, in the Greenwich Village. CAPP is an independent, non-profit organization that aims to educate children on child and sexual abuse and how to stay safe. CAPP does so by putting on unique puppet shows…

by 19kait

On Wednesday, October 29, my group and I scheduled to interview Dr. Yelda Balkir. Dr. Balkir is the Director of Environmental Science at Manhattan College, in Riverdale. Her office is in one of the buildings in the Manhattan College complex. We asked her about 15 questions related to the topics of coral reef bleaching and destruction,…

by 19kiyomij

Daniela, Kai and I left school at about 2:30 to head out to Riverdale on the #1 train. The train ride was an hour long, so we had enough time to review all of our questions on that rickety #1 train. When we finally got out of the train, and figured out where we were,…

by 19calebs

by 19jacobh

Jacob Hirsch Fighters For Fighters 1st Social Justice Blog Post Veterans Affairs Hospital on Veteran Homelessness and Veteran Struggles, Interview with Dr. Craig Tenner on 10/28/14 On Tuesday October 28th, our Veteran Homelessness group visited the New York Veterans Affairs Hospital. The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system with over…

by Siena

On Thursday October 16th, Monica, Ava, Nancy (Ava’s stepmom), and I went to Bartholomew’s Church which is where an Organization called Coalition for the Homeless hands out food to people every night starting at 6pm. We were told to wait by the side entrance and ask for James. Next to a truck parked outside, a…

by 19renzoo

On Tuesday the 28 of October 2014, our group went to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in New York City at 423 on East 23 Street, New York, and New York. We were honored to meet with Ms. Benjamin, the Executive Chief of Staff, Mr. Tanner, a doctor for the VA, and a…

by 19katherineb

On Wednesday, November 5th, my group and I went on our first fieldwork to the Child Abuse Prevention Program (or CAPP)’s headquarters in Manhattan. We were all fairly nervous when wegot to the building on Christopher street with the very official-looking golden-plated metal letters on the front, reading: “Center for Child Protection.” When we entered…

by Clair

We are a group of three passionate eighth graders devoted to ending wrongful stop and frisk as well as racial profiling. To read our group’s work, click here.

by Clair

We are a group of four Eighth Graders that are working to end rape on college campuses. 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted in their college time; this needs to be acted on. Women are being silenced as college authorities refuse to take action, trying to protect their reputations. To see all of…

by Clair

We are a group of three eighth graders who are trying to prevent children from joining gangs. These children are forced to murder and steal at such a young age and we believe that the more people know about it, the more we can help. If we help only one child escape from a gang,…

by Clair

We are a group of four 8th graders who are interested in helping Veterans, especially those who return home and become unable to work and live in poverty and even homelessness. These Veterans are a group of people who really need our help and it’s unfair for them to return home from war and be…

by Clair

We are four eighth graders who feel strongly against the ways in which child abuse robs innocent youth of the pleasant, carefree childhood that they are entitled to. 80% of child abuse cases go unreported, and we believe that no child should live in a situation where they feel unsafe in their very own homes.…

by Clair

More than 46 million people live below the poverty line in the United States. That’s 15% of the American population. To see our work so far, click here.

by Clair

We are a group of four eighth graders trying to stop sexual trafficking. In New York City alone, 11,268 females (6,280 of them minors) were trafficking victims between 2000 and 2010. This means approximately 4 people in Manhattan are sold into slavery each day, their average age being 13. Our mission is to take the…

by Clair

We are a group of three eighth graders who are passionate about water conservation. We are especially interested in the topics of water pollution, overfishing, and coral reef bleaching and destruction. To see all of our work so far, click here.

by Clair

We are a group of three passionate eighth graders devoted to ending wrongful stop and frisk as well as racial profiling. Click here to see all of our work so far.

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