On March 1st, 2023, we visited the NBA offices. Upon arrival we were already star struck with the efficiency shown by the employees. Everything was so well thought of and executed, almost every detail and having a hidden meaning, it was like it was out of a movie. After we were kindly greeted we started…
On January 28th, 2017, my social justice group and I had Travis Baille from Pro-Choice America come in to speak to our grade about Reproductive Rights. We started off this fieldwork by introducing to our grade who Travis Baille is and what he does. Travis is a Reproductive Rights activist and has been for a…
In my groups interview the River Project, we learned a lot about research and educational side of water pollution, and marine biology. One of their projects are to study oysters in the hudson with the Billion Oyster Project. They also help the community by testing local water sources for any dangerous chemicals or diseases. Their main…
During my groups interview with Edward Stern we learned many ways that people are helping water pollution and fish stocks right now. This interview was a key part of our project and was the whole basis of our economic perspective on water pollution. Many people all over the world rely on fish as their main…
On January 21, 2017 hundreds of thousands of women gathered all over the United States to march for women’s rights. I got the privilege of attending the one in NY which was amazing. It was so great to see that so many people support women’s rights and are willing to take time out of their…
On December 8th, my Social Justice group and I went on a fieldwork to the Center of Reproductive Rights. We talked with Devon Hutchins who is a Human Resources & Administration Associate. Devon joined the Center’s U.S. Legal Program in 2013 and transitioned to the Human Resources and Administration team in 2015. Devon earned her…
On December 28th, 2016, my Social Justice group and I had an over the phone interview with a woman named Keli Goff. Keli Goff is an American journalist, playwright and screenwriter. She is currently making a documentary about women rights. As a writer she covers politics and more. She read a lot about politics and…
During my social justice fieldwork, I met with a man who makes documentaries. We mainly focussed on his work known as From Prison to Home, a documentary about the reintigratio system. We learned about how important and difficult reintegration is for some despite having a support system. For others, the ability to admit they made a mistake…
During our visit to the college, we met many people who were passionate about social justice as well as current issues with the government. When we went to the workshop, Caleb and I were very shy because we were the youngest ones there and it was very awkward. However, he and I both generated multiple…
This is my Op-Ed. It focuses on current social justice issues. The requirements were that it had to be at most 450 words long, there had to be at least one quote from the NY times and one other quote from any other reliable new source. It really was a big challenge to condense everything…
David Chang along with Taylor came to LREI to present what the meaning of environmental justice is, how we are affected by it, and what we can do. Cole had emailed them in advance to set up a time to come. Cole and I introduced them to the class, then they began their presentation. They…
For Social Justice, my topic is Women’s Reproductive Rights. I am in a group with Sadye, Georgia, and Cate. On September 16th, my group and I went on our first fieldwork to Every Mother Counts. Every Mother Counts is non-profit organization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother. They encourage people to…
On this fieldwork we went to the JCC on 75th and Amsterdam where we watched a documentary about Kitty Lunn and after she performed. Kitty Lunn is a woman who has been seriously dancing for a long time now. When she was younger she danced in classes all over the country because her teachers believed…
In late February of 2017 our social justice group met with a woman named Catherine Chatham from Everytown for Gun Safety. We Went to EveryTown’s headquarters and did some of their work. Everytown for Gun Safety is an organization working to help prevent gun violence. We sorted and got a count of their inventory. What…
We got the opportunity to teach a dance class with Deborah Damast. We taught a kindergarten class. The kids had a lot of energy and it looked like they needed to move around. When Aidhan, Lily and I were teaching, they were very enthusiastic about us being there. Deborah told us that in the lower school,…
For this fieldwork we went to work with Everytown to Prevent Gun Violence to help them with their work at their headquarters uptown. We did the work that would cost them time and money so they could use that time to work on something that would benefit the cause of gun control. For example we had to organize…
On Thursday, March 9th David Chang along with his colleague Taylor came in and talked to our grade about Environmental Justice and what We Act does. I had emailed them before asking if they were available to come in and finally, we organized a time when both we were available as well as them being available.…
On Thursday, March 2nd I headed up to a meeting with my fellow social justice group member Spencer to talk have an insightful conversation on Trump’s executive orders and what we can do about it. The meeting was held up on 125th street and was held by city councilman Mark Levine. I had gotten an…
On Wednesday, January 18th my social justice group and I started to watch the movie flow which talked about the world water crisis and how people didn’t have access to clean and safe water. I had found this movie for us to watch when I was talking to my teacher Sarah and I had brought…
On March 6th we had an interview with Jen Benson, who is an out reach coordinator for river keeper. Riverkeeper is an organization that protects no only the Hudson River but other bodies of water within the Hudson valley. Riverkeeper has been protecting this area for over 50 years. They protect the marine life…
On February 29th my group and I traveled uptown to visit Everytown’s headquarters, as soon as we arrived there we were greeted, brought up in a futuristic elevator and sprawled out in front of us were many rows of people who work for Everytown and fight gun violence every day. We walked through their office…
On Tuesday, February 7th, we had the fantastic to meet with Jen Foyle the Global Brand President of Aerie. We interviewed her about the #aeriereal campaign for American Eagle. The campaign is try to show that women are beautiful and every body is beautiful. All the models are diverse and none of them look the…
Drew Barrymore grew up in the media spotlight. She is best known for her roles in E.T., 50 First Dates, Never Been Kissed and many, many more. As a teen, she grew up living a hard life surrounded by drugs and alcohol. But, now as an adult she is an amazing woman. We had the…
Earlier in the year, our group interviewed Talmage the CEO of the Center to Prevent Youth Violence. He is one of the most important advocates for Gun Control. He told us about a current project called the “Give a Hug Project” which is where you send a card with drawings or decorations to show something good or happy…
For this fieldwork our group brought Lisa Miller a journalist and reporter from The New York Magazine to our school. Throughout the fieldwork we asked her a few questions about her views on gun control, but the focus of the meeting was for her to show her documentary called “Guns and Empathy” to our classmates.…
On the 26th of January, we went to the Housing Works thrift shop to volunteer and learn more about what they do. Housing works is an organizations that raises money through bookstores and thrift shops for HIV prevention. They also give free medical attention, a place to stay for LGBTQ people and more. We volunteered…
Today my group and I met with Deborah Damast. She teaches lower and middle school students dance and movement class. We started off by warming up with a class of kindergarteners. Deborah had us stretch, run, and play with the kids. They played a skipping game where they run in and tap someone to stand…
On March 6th, I had a phone call with Jen Benson who is the education and outreach coordinator for Riverkeeper. Riverkeeper has been educating and protecting the Hudson River for over 50 years. They protect our drinking water and anywhere you can go in the Hudson River with a boat is protected by them. They…
On March 3rd, my group and I went to Port Authority to hang up posters that raise awareness about human and sexual trafficking. We went to Port Authority because a lot of sex trafficking occurs there. We took the train from school and got off at 42nd street. As we were walking through the train…
On January 9th we had an interview with Randi Reynolds a transgender man that works in the after school programs at LREI. We used the same questions that we asked Chap because we wanted two different viewpoints. Randi had the same ideas at Chap about educating kids about these issues and more. Randi was also…
Monday, the 23rd we had an exclusive interview with Chap, the director of diversity at LREI. We asked her questions about the school’s opinions on LGBTQ issues and her own. She even showed us a video on an open community that has different genders. She also told us about her story being a lesbian, and…
On March 4th, Victor and I attend the Reel Abilities festival, which acknowledges activists in the disabilities community. Kitty Lunn was recognized as one of these activists, and was chosen out of many candidates. First a documentary was shown about Kitty Lunn and everything she does for people with disabilities. It focused on the organization…
At 10:55 Marcus and I met with Adam Blank in the lobby of LREI. We went to the Learning Lab to discuss with him what it was like making a movie about reentry or returning to the “outside world” from prison. His movie, From Prison to Home, follows four African American men who are released…
On Thursday the 19th, we went to an assembly at the high school about LGBTQ equality at our school, and others. There was a panel of LGBTQ students from our school and the assembly run by a lower school transgender teacher; Joel. There were two high schoolers from Elizabeth Irwin, and three high schoolers from…
Blog Post #6: Developing Curriculum Activities in-line with our Social Justice Mission Meeting with Seth Eastman, LREI February, 2017 Elizabeth and Sarah recommended that we talk to Seth about our project. It was a great idea because Seth shares the same passion for sports and getting kids involved in sports and physical education. He…
Krishna is a determined women who continues to dance despite her visual impairment. Krishna is a dancer, and started dancing when she was in lower school. She danced throughout high school, and continued to dance afterwards, as it slowly became a part of her. When Krishna became visually impaired this part of her was taken…
Last week, my group interviewed a woman named Krishna who has been visually impaired for most of her life. She was a serious dancer at a very young age when she started to experience vision loss. After she has lost her vision completely it was extremely difficult to start dancing again. It was a challenge…
On Thursday, January 26th, our LGBTQ Social Justice group took a trip to Housing Works. It is an organization that has fought to end AIDS and support LGBTQ people for many years. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to work there for four hours that day. Since we were required to go with an…
At 6:30 I met with Marcus, his mom, and my father’s friend Abby. We got there early and were joined by many people. One woman there, named Rage, was an attorney for Criminal Defence. We spent a two hours listening to the panel, made up of Rage and several other people who worked in Social Justice…
On Thursday, the 12th my Social Justice group went to Staten Island for an interview with a worker at the Staten Island Pride Center. First we made sure we would have plenty of time to get there, so we left early from school. We went to take the 1 train to the ferry station to…
On February 15th, Rachel, Rei and I headed out to a downtown elementary public school to watch CAPP’s child abuse prevention puppet show. We were going to be watching it with third and fourth graders, and I found how it was very interesting how the children interpreted the information. The puppet show was directed around…
Our group traveled to the New York Foundling building to meet with Marion White, the Senior Program Director, Trevor Raushi, Kylie, and Laura Isherwood of the Child Abuse Prevention Program. We learned about how CAPP taught children about intense topics like sexual and physical abuse without traumatizing them. They created a fun puppet show to teach…
On Thursday, January 19th, our LGBTQ Social Justice group went to a high school assembly to see students from LREI and other schools around the city talk about their experiences with gender. There were kids who were transgender and gender non-conforming. A few kids were also gay, bisexual, and pansexual. It was amazing to learn…
On Thursday, January 26th, my group volunteered at Housing Works. Housing Works is an organizations who’s proceeds go to AIDS/HIV prevention. They give free medical attention, housing to homeless LGBTQ people, just to name a few. We volunteered at their Thrift Store. Instead of just using the money that is donated, they have two store…
On Thursday, January 12th, our LGBTQ Social Justice group had an interview with Elysa Fein Cunningham at the Staten Island Pride Center. It is the only center for LGBTQ youth in Staten Island. In our interview we learned about the center and what they do. They have clubs for people of all ages, and anyone…
We visited the Jacob August Riis school. It is a school involved with Asphalt Green’s program to get kids active. A few years ago, Asphalt Green sent out information to schools in New York City about their program. What the program does is it sends coaches to schools to teach kindergarten through sixth grade. The…
For our second meeting with the NYSPCC, we helped them sort out presents that they would hand out during their Christmas party. They had hundreds and hundreds of presents and the three of us sorted them all by age (not gender). After we were done sorting, the clinicians for each kid came and picked out presents for…
David Rosenberg is the founder of Kicking The Spectrum, which is a karate studio offering children with disabilities the chance to stay active. David started Kicking The Spectrum from a childhood experience of his. David was diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder) at an early age which effected his ability to pay attention during school,…
On December 5th my group and the other water pollution group went back to visit Billion Oyster Project on Governors Island. This time we got a full tour of the oyster facilities and well as going to the Oyster restoration Stations. The tour was very cool because BOP is very much a school as it…
For this interview, Alexa, Rei and I traveled to The New York Foundling building on 6th avenue between 16th and 17th street. There we interviewed the Senior Program Director Marion White, and her team. Since its start 1986, the Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) has been successful in giving children the tools they need to prevent and report abuse…
On Saturday, January 14th part of my social justice group, Willem, Jack and I attended We Act’s annual monthly membership meeting. We Act is a group made up of scientists, lawyers and devoted workers to help make not-as-privileged communities environmentally safe. The meeting was a great opportunity to hear first-hand people’s stories of environmental injustice…
During school last week we had an interview over facetime with Michelle Gomez. Michelle lost her leg in a motorcycle accident while working for the Peace Corps in Africa. While recalling the day she got in the motorcycle accident she spoke about how beautiful the day was, that day quickly became anything but beautiful for…
On January 19th, my group had a really great oppertunity. We got to go to an assembly being held at the high school called The Transgender and Non-Gender Conforming Assembly. We knew there would be high schoolers who fit in that category speaking, but we didn’t know much else to expect other than that. When…
Blog Post #5: CITC, PS1, Alfred E. Smith School, in Chinatown 8 Henry Street Assisting Coach Eric Suarez Wednesday, February 8th, 2017 On Wednesday February 8th, 2017, Lily and I went to PS1 in Chinatown. We met Eric Suarez, a professional soccer coach, who works for City In The Community (CITC) and Downtown United Soccer…
Blog Post #4: Asphalt Green PS 126, Jacob August Riis School 80 Catherine Street Thursday, January 26th, 2017 On Thursday January 26th, 2017, Jack and I went to the Jacob August Riis school. We went there to meet Thomas Bickerton (also known as TG) from Asphalt Green and help supervise the kids’ recess. Our…
On January 9th, my group met with Randi Reynolds, some of our past 2nd grade teacher. Randi is a transgender man, which means after transitioning, he identifies as a man. We interviewed him using similar questions to our interview with Chap. We wanted to get two different perspectives on these topics. We learned from comparing…
On our fieldwork we traveled to kicking the spectrum where we met and spoke with David Rosenberg the founder of Kicking the Spectrum. While this was not meant to be an interview, it turned into a educational experience where he told us a lot about disabilities and himself. He told us about when he was…
Blog Post #3: Watching Hoop Dreams, 1994 American Documentary Film Directed By: Steve James Written By: Steve James and Frederick Marx Produced By: Kartemquin Films Winter Break Some say that “Hoop Dreams” is the most powerful movie about sports ever made, (The Washington Post). It is one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries,…
On January 8th, we interviewed Chap, the director of diversity. We asked her mostly about what her views on some modern topics were, as well as what the school is doing to incorporate LGBTQ issues into curriculum, and how we are teaching kids about LGBTQ rights and issues. We asked her want she thought about…
On our fieldwork we went to Rocco’s pastry shop and interviewed Rebecca Elbogen from Ballet for All Kids. Rebecca Elbogen lived in Los Angeles, California, when she was younger and took intense ballet classes. On one of the days when she was taking her normal class, she happened to glance upon a…
On Thursday, January 12th, we went to the Pride Center of Staten Island. This is the only community center in Staten Island that is completely for the LGBTQ community and allies. This center is a really important place to many people on Staten Island. It is really important that kids and teens of the LGBTQ…
On Monday, January 9th after interviewing Jacqueline Patterson head of Environmental Justice for the NAACP, my social justice group along with Suzanne and I head out to protest Donald Trump’s cabinet picks at Chuck Schumer’s office. Trump’s picks would be horrible looking through the environmental justice perspective. Most of his picks were climate deniers who…
Jaqueline Wu works at the River Project in Manhattan. During our interview we learned all about how the River Project doesn’t directly prevent but they instead inform the community so that the community will pollute less. The River Project has a Wet-lab in lower Manhattan which they use to test the water quality in the…
On Wednesday, January 25th, our social justice group met with Aravella Simotas. Aravella is an assemblywoman in Astoria. We met with her because she passed a bill encouraging hanging a poster in public places that raised awareness about sexual trafficking. We talked to her about what inspired her to write the bill, why she didn’t…
In February 2017 our group invited Lisa Miller to come into our classroom to have a screening of her documentary and to answer some questions. Lisa Miller is a journalist who works for New York Magazine. She created a documentary called “Guns and Empathy”. This documentary paired 16 people up who were on different sides…
Yesterday my Social Justice group and i met with Lisa Miller. Lisa Miller is a writer and journalist. She was a big part of the documentary, “Guns and Empathy.” We brought her in to our classroom to talk to her and for her to share who she is and the meaning behind her documentary. We…
Recently, my group mates and I met with Eric, a coach that works for DUSC, and at City in The Community (CITC). CITC partners with NYCFC, and sends coaches to public schools to keep young kids active during P.E. Eric is one of those coaches. We had the awesome opportunity to join Eric, and play…
For our 4th field work my group met with Aravella Simotas. Simotas is an assemblywoman for the district of Astoria. She passed a bill that made sex trafficking posters strongly recommended at gas stations and bus stops. She said she wants them there because we’re traffickers are transporting girls they stop and let the girl…
Our seventh fieldwork was getting the opportunity to meet and talk with Jennifer Foyle who is the president of Aerie, American Eagle. We went to their offices and we were greeted by her assistant who took us up to Jennifer’s office. We asked her about their #aeriereal campaign where they use a variety of models…
My social justice group watched a documentary called FLOW which was about the world water crisis. In the documentary itself, several topics came up like dangerous bottled water, and poor communities who didn’t have access to clean water due to big companies polluting their water supply. An example of water contamination was in Florida, when…
On January 9th, the same day we had interviewed Jacqueline Patterson we went to a rally in front of Chuck Schumer’s office to speak against Trump’s cabinet. I hate Trump and his cabinet picks. Every one of them would personally see to it that every tree would be burned down to scorching ashes if it financially benefits…
Recently, my social justice group had the pleasure of meeting with Rebecca Elbogen, a dance mentor at Ballet for All Kids. Ballet for All Kids is a program designed to teach kids of all ages and ability how to dance. Rebecca grew up dancing seriously but knew early on that she didn’t want to be a…
On that day we talked to Jacqueline Patterson who is the head of the Environmental Justice branch of the NAACP. The NAACP stands for: National Association for Advancement of Colored People. This was a good association to talk to because most of the communities suffering from environmental injustice are African American ones. We took turns asking…
At 11:30 on February sixth, my social justice group and I walked into the lobby of the Aerie design office on 37th street. After signing in, Abbey Ruggiero, the kind lady in which I was able to schedule the interview with, came downstairs on the elevator to pick us up. We take the elevator three…
My group recently had the amazing opportunity to interview Michelle Gomez over facetime. Michelle is a BK (below the knee) amputee who has three kids and a caring husband. While working in South Africa in the Peace core, she got into a severe motorcycle accident and was unconscious for most of her emergency helicopter journey to…
For our 3rd field work we brought someone in to talk to our class. Her name was Peggy Kern and she wrote a book called Little Peach. Little Peach was about a girl who was trafficking in Coney Island. Peggy talked about her research and how she met and stuck with a woman named Gina.…
As our last fieldwork ended with Travis Ballie. Travis works for NARAL or Pro-Choice America. Pro-Choice America is NARAL Pro-Choice America is a 501 organization in the United States that engages in political action and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion and expand access to abortion, in other words, fights for women’s reproductive rights…
On November 14th my group and I watched the documentary Flow by Irena Salina. In this movie, there were interviews with scientists about the lack of freshwater and where and who’s already getting affected. In the movie, they were interviewing people not just in the United States but in some other countries like Bolivia, Mexico, and countries…
We met with Phil Kassen on January 23rd. We interviewed about the school’s water filtration system and we learned a lot. Recently the school had people come and check the water filtration. They checked the pipes for the water fountains and for all the classroom sinks. The water was tested and they found small trace…
Recently, my group and I got the amazing opportunity to interview Drew Barrymore. Drew Barrymore is a very well known actress who has been in the spotlight for almost her entire life. We could not interview her in person, so we spoke with her over the phone. Drew was very informative and detailed in her…
On January 20th my group interviewed a man named Mike McGarry. He is an Environmental Consultant and a Ecologist. He does environmental work for a living. During our interview with him we talked about the affects that mercury has on the environment. He told us that when it is released into the atmosphere when it…
(My group standing with Kaitlyn Parkins) On the 19th of January we went to the Lower East Side Ecology Center to interview Kaitlyn Parkins. She is an educational director for the Lower East Side Ecology Center. We interviewed her about what she knows about water pollution and how water pollution affects the river and the…
(Picture of the Gowanus Canal Sponge Park) (Picture of the Gowanus Canal) On November 28th, my Group took the subway train to Brooklyn, to visit the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. On our trip, we go a tour of the Gowanus Canal site. When we first got there Our guide Michael Wasserman showed us a diagram of…
(Crabs that we found while taking inventory of the oysters.) (Me holding a crab that we found in one of the oyster cages.) (Our group at the dock taking inventory of the oysters.) (Indoor tanks for the Billion Oyster project.) On December 5th, 2016, my group visited the Billion Oyster Project. This…
Our sixth fieldwork was having the amazing opportunity of talking to Drew Barrymore. As you may know, she has been in the media since an early age and she has made her own production company to portray women in a realistic way. Thanks to my father who works with her, we got to call her…
My group had the honor to interview a courageous, kind, and inspiring women named Michele Gomez. Michelle lost her leg on a trip in Africa. She was in Central Africa as a peace corps volunteer, and had recently graduated from college, so she was in her early 20s. One morning during her trip Michele was…
On Thursday, January 26th, Travis Ballie, the Lead Organizer in the Field Department of NARAL, came to speak to us and our grade. NARAL is a women’s reproductive rights organization that is also known as Pro Choice America. NARAL lobbies Congress to convince elected representatives to support the right to choose, they also organize women…
My social justice group and I were so lucky and honored to be given the chance to interview Ms. Drew Barrymore. Even though the interview was in a phone call instead of a FaceTime or in person, the call was very informative and overall a really great experience. We started off the interview with Lily’s…
For our fourth fieldwork, Kiki had arranged for us to interview with plus-sized model for Jennie Runk. Jennie Runk began modeling when she was 14. She was discovered at a show, and she was the only plus sized model in the room. “I was a size 14 in a room filled of size 0s and…
We went to the Lower East Side Ecology Center and met with Kaitlyn Parkins. We interviewed her on what she knew about water pollution and what she does. She works as the educational director and helps children learn more about recycling and composting and why they need to do it. We learned that a lot of…
On Tuesday, January 10th we had an interview with Suzanne Cohen about her experience being a gay woman, and about LGBTQ topics today. We asked her the questions about her life, and her opinion on LGBTQ issues in our school. Suzanne answered all of our questions diligently and she gave us a lot of very useful…
Our fifth fieldwork was FaceTiming the plus-size model, Jennie Runk. We asked her about her experiences doing what she does and how she thinks women are being portrayed in media and magazines. It was very interesting because she has been working in the modeling industry since she was fourteen and so she was very experienced.…
On January 18th my Social Justice group watched a documentary called FLOW For Love of Water, which was about the world water crisis. I learned many interesting things about this huge problem, for example, many Americans only buy bottled water, which pushes the bottled water industry into low-income communities, it may cost double but they…
For our fourth fieldwork, we scheduled an interview with Jennie Runk, who is a plus sized model, who is also a member of the LGBTQ community. At the time she started modeling, she was a size ten or twelve. When she was discovered, she was given the option to lose or gain weight to become…
Hidden Figures is about three African American women who work at NASA as mathematicians and how they fight for equal rights in the workplace. Since they are both women and African American, they face a lot of discrimination such as passive comments, people not wanting to touch objects that they, in particular, have used, and…
On 1/23/17 my group and I had an interview with Phil Kassen. He works at LREI and is the director. Our question was why the water filtration systems were changed in the lower, middle, and high school. He said that he changed the water filtration systems because of what had been happening with Flint in Michigan.…
On January 23rd, my group and I had an interview with Phil Kassen. Phil Kassen is LREI’s school director and helped us understand the school’s water filtration system. He started off by saying how most of New York City’s water is relatively clean, however some of the pipe that the water is run through are…
After reading the book, Being Jazz: My Life as a Transgender Teen, we emailed the organization that Jazz co-founded; Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation. In return Jazz’s mom emailed us back asking if we had any specific questions for Jazz. She would then email Jazz our questions for her to answer and get back to us.…
Our group interviewed Jacquelyn Patterson, who is the head of environmental Racism for the NAACP. We learned about the work that they do, and how much the government does not care about the poor neighborhoods in NYC. She taught us about superfund sites. A superfund site is an area where there has been a hazardous waste…
During this fieldwork we attended a protest against Trump’s cabinet and how they do not believe in global warming. Something that I thought was interesting was the huge age range of the crowd. There were some really old people and some middle-aged people and some young people. I thought it would mainly be younger people because…
