2024-2025

Talking to the Billion Oyster Project

by Harvey F. Mollison

We talked to the Billion Oyster Project about their work to help the climate change crisis. The Billion Oyster Project is an organization that is committed to restoring reefs into New York City waters in conjunction with many members of the community and almost 1 million people to restore over 1 billion oysters to NYC by 2035. They are hoping to build more connections between the community and the environment to have a greater impact on the ecosystem we are a part of.

They talk about how although all climate change solutions are important and they can make a big difference, they try to build more long lasting connections that will affect the crisis long term. With oysters, they are attempting to restore and protect some of the shorelines that have been destroyed by high wave energy and winds that large storms bring. They not only improve water quality, but they also boost biodiversity and protect shorelines from erosion. In addition to this, their shell recycling program has successfully diverted over 2.4 million pounds of shell from going to the landfill, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

They finished off by talking about how climate change will absolutely change our lives in the future, but also the near future. They said that we have already seen the worst increase in natural disasters in New York City, such as unprecedented wildfires and incredible superstorms and they have definitely affected our city.

by Vivi

On December 7th, Esme and I went to Washington Square Park to interview random people to learn about their views on reproductive rights and healthcare in America. We asked a lot of people the same 6 questions: Do you think abortions should be legal in America?, Do you think abortions are killing a child?, Do you think women have enough access to safe reproductive healthcare in America?, Do you believe in birth control?, and Have you ever volunteered to support women’s reproductive rights? We got a lot of different answers but the two most interesting ones were from a older college professor who was very clearly pro choice and talked about how women should have more control over their bodies in general. He said, quote “A fetus is part of the woman’s body until it is born.” He also told us about how he had volunteered for women’s rights. The other interview that really stood out to us was an interview with a man who was very anti abortion and anti reproductive rights. When we asked, “Do you think that abortions should be legal?” he was silent and then said, quote “No, personally I don’t think they should be legal in my personal opinion.” He gave more similar responses to the other questions we asked. He had a really big reaction to our question about birth control. He said that “God wanted you to have a baby,” and other things about his religion. He said that he thought abortions were killing a child. We got mostly pro choice responses, and we even interviewed an anti cat calling organization. It was really interesting and cool to see different opinions on the topic, even if some were deeply disturbing or wrong. We got to learn about people’s perspectives and it was really informative.

by Luke Niziol

On Friday, our grade went to the Museum of the City of New York. The trip wasn’t very beneficial to my group. As Haiti is in the Caribbean and the museum was mostly about the history of activism in NY. Even though we didn’t learn anything about our topic, we still learned about some of the history of movements.

The museum really made me wonder what I can do at a young age. We’re doing this project for school, but some people chose to do this with their own will. The history of activism is way more than I thought it was.

by Klara Moss

On Friday, our grade visited the Museum of the City of New York. We had a tour guide who took us through an exhibit of activism in our city. There were about 10 different walls that focused on separate rights movements. For example, there was a disabled rights wall that showed artifacts like microphones that were used during marches and talked all about the steps to get the 504 law passed. Another wall zoomed in on trans rights and many of the hardships trans people face/faced and some of the activists who support the movement. Unfortunately there was no wall that really benefited my group which has the topic of food insecurity, although there were small facts around the room that stood out to me. I watched a video on food desserts in the city and how a group called Harlem Grown is trying to help with the homelessness and hunger issues. The man in the video was walking through Harlem one day and counted 53 fried chicken restaurants within 3 blocks and no healthy food options. He was blown away by this and it encouraged him to start a sustainability garden. He believes that “if a child plants it, they will eat it”, and that they are “planting seeds in the ground but also in kid’s heads”. In NYC there are a total of 35,000 homeless kids and 100% of the kids in the school they were focusing on in this video have families that rely on food stamps.

Later we asked our tour guide about what the city was doing to combat food insecurity and she responded with some facts about the WIC Check which is the governments plan to get groceries to Women, Infants, and Children. They’ve been thinking about urban planning, urban farming, and community gardens, which are also places that would be interesting for us to volunteer or do fieldwork at.
Even though this museum wasn’t exactly specific to our topic, I got some helpful information and truths to our city, and also learned a lot about other activism in NYC.

by 29gioc

On January 26, 2025, we watched a documentary on water waste. This documentary taught us that water waste is a big problem in America and that we are slowly turning it into a desert. An example of water waste is how much we use in one day. Did you know that the average American uses 300 gallons per day?

We use a lot of water in our daily lives but there are many ways to cut back on water usage. First, let’s talk about cutting back on water waste in the kitchen. To not waste as much water when cleaning dishes don’t use the sink or rinse them before using a dishwasher because those methods waste the most amount of water, so I recommend to directly put the dishes into the dishwasher so you use the least amount of water. For showering I recommend using a flow reducer to reduce water used in a shower. For sinks, you can use an aerator to reduce water usage and finally, for toilets, some models use less water when flushed. These methods can help us cut down on water waste

by 29caryg

For this fieldwork me and my group watched a documentary about water waste and how we can cut down on using so much water. I learned a lot about how to cut down on water usage. For example, you can just put your dishes into the dishwasher instead of rinsing them first, you can also put in toilets that flush less water down. I learned that the average American uses 88 gallons inside and 112 gallons outside. I also learned a lot about how to much water usage can effect our planet and how we live. For example, in San Francisco, because they are taking all the fresh water from the San Francisco Bay 6 species of fish are going endangered, also one side of the Hove Dam has dropped 200 feet in the last 20 years because it is being used a lot of agriculture and other things. Over all, this documentary has taught me a lot about how we can cut down water usage and why we should.

by Alex Corwin

My citizen action project partner, Sylvie, and I attended the People’s March (formerly the Women’s March). We marched to show our support for all oppressed communities all over the United States who will be affected negatively by Donald Trump’s presidency and/or republican leaders in the US. We arrived in Foley Square at around 9:40 a.m.,…

by Alexander Donadic

My grade and I went to the Museum of the City of New York on Friday the 24th of January. We visited the activist exhibit and learned about so many different things about activism. We started the visit in a colorful room that talked about anti- asian hate and was a woman who did activism through artwork. That was my favorite part of the trip. Then we all got papers to make little activist circles. I made mine about homeless rights on where to live and stay, which ties to my CAP topic, “Homelessness in NYC”. Then we entered a different room that had many different sections for different things, like Transgender Activism, and Women’s Rights Movement, which were the main ones we talked about. Overall I think the trip was cool and interesting, and I am glad we went.

by Abigail (Gail) Pena

On Jan 24, 2025, on a field trip to the MCNY. Our main focus was on an exhibit about activism in New York. I saw and heard about a lot of different protests and movements, some that I’ve never even heard of before. My favorite was about a group called the Young Lords Organization. It was founded in the 1960’s by African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and other Latinx people in New York who demanded better equity and funding for neighborhoods like East Harlem and South Bronx. One of their most famous protests happened in 1969, when they blocked traffic on 110th street with piles of garbage to protest against inadequate sanitation. Overall, going to the MCNY was very educational, and it caused me to think more about my own CAP topic.

by Alexander Donadic

In this fieldwork me and my group members interviewed Marcia Flores, who is a part of the organization, Advocates for Children of New York. Me and my partners have roles in our interviews. I was the note taker so I was taking notes on her answers to our questions. My two partners, Stevie and Hudson were asking the questions and engaging in the conversation with Marcia Flores. I wrote very fast trying to catch words and examples she said, in total I wrote two pages of notes. The interview lasted about 45 minutes and the conversation was very friendly and informative.

Something that really caught my attention by what Marcia was saying is the way the shelter system works, the way the shelter system doesnt care about where people are living or going to school. Marcia gave a great example saying that, if a kid goes to school in Queens but can get put in a shelter in the Bronx or somewhere far from school or old housing. Marcia then shared a story about a 12 year old girl who was homeless with her mother, and was autistic and needed a special education. It was very interesting to hear about how hard it was to find them a shelter and the right education for their daughter. Overall I think this interview went very well and I learned so much new things about homelessness and how it affects education.

by Alex Corwin

Sylvie, my citizen action project partner, and I have been thinking about creating a safe space for trans and non-binary individuals since 7th grade. Although we are running a Gender and Sexuality Affinity group, we found that many trans people didn’t feel comfortable sharing their experiences to cisgender people. That idea made our current trans…

by Violet McNulty

I loved watching the documentary Wasted! The Story Of Food Waste and I learned so much from it. I learned that there are so many chefs that are trying to create unique dishes based on food that is leftover or uneaten to try and not waste it. For example cauliflower is a food that tends…

by Violet McNulty

It was inspiring to hear about Chef Eric’s experiences with food waste in the industry and at LREI. I didn’t know about how the school does so much to try and repurpose foods for all types of meals. He told us about how they really try to emphasize using bi products in meals and trying…

by Klara Moss

A couple weeks ago my partners and I watched the CBS 1968 documentary called “Hunger In America”. It was an old film but we learned a lot about food insecurity back then and got many sad but intriguing facts. One statistic really stood out to us and it stated that 10 million people were suffering from hunger in our country at the time. We then googled how many people hunger strikes now and there came to be a total of 47 million which is a crazy increase and shows that there needs to be a change soon or else the number will keep going up. Another sad fact was that many young girls and women became prostitutes to earn money to buy foods. This wasn’t unusual either.

There were a lot of clips on how babies are also greatly impacted by hunger and that many infants are constantly admitted to the hospital due to starvation and end up dying. They noted that babies with malnutrition are sometimes so weak that they can barely move or cry at all. Many people look 20 years older than their actual age because skin wrinkles when their bodies can’t produce fat from not eating. Several children live miles away from school with walking as their form of transportation and have to go at lengths with an empty stomach because the lunch price of 35 cents was too high for kids to afford. It’s hard for kids to concentrate in school from being so hungry which affects their grades and behavior and makes a dent in their long term future. A lot of these issues are big loopholes that people can’t seem to get out of without support since it’s hard to recover without money or food.

This film was very helpful for our project and gave us visuals that were partly upsetting to see but eye-opening to the topic.

by Mabel Fox

This museum was very interesting and I learned a lot. At the beginning of the tour there were lots of paintings on the walls. They were paintings of people but the interesting thing about them was that they had quotes in the art. There were things that read “We belong here” and “We too are american” I thought they were beautiful and I learned they were a form of activism. we also learned a lot about trans rights and trans activism. I thought it was really powerful how the movement started and how this community formed. There were many gay activist and people that supported the LGBTQ rights, but in the beginning a lot of trans people were left out of this. I also learned about women’s rights and how a lot of people expected women to just cook and clean and raise a family. It was really nice to see how women supported each other for equal rights. We also learned a little bit more about disability rights and how much better things have gotten. Buses and subways have both gotten much more accessible, especially for people in wheelchairs.

by 29rohanr

For our first fieldwork assignment, our group interviewed Kate Quadfordt, a co-founder and art teacher at the City School of the Arts, a charter school in Manhattan. We learned that charter schools receive only eighty percent of the funding that regular public schools receive, but they have more freedom in planning their curriculum. Kate Quadfordt is well-informed about the inequities in public schools and understands their root causes, which stem primarily from a lack of funding and resources.

Kate explained the concept of “The American Dream,” which is often achieved through the education system in America. This journey typically involves progressing through the levels of education — elementary, middle, and high school. After that, one must attend a good college to be well-positioned for applying for jobs and moving up the ranks to establish financial stability. However, this pathway is not as straightforward as it seems. Many individuals lack the time or resources to attend college and may prioritize supporting their families over pursuing further education. Additionally, attending schools with limited resources often means encountering lower-quality teachers, textbooks, and classrooms. This illustrates the importance of quality education for future success.

Public schools located in neighborhoods with higher property values receive more funding because they benefit from higher property taxes. Since schools largely derive their funding from these taxes, wealthier neighborhoods are able to allocate more money to their schools. Another significant source of funding comes from parents. Wealthier schools often have strong Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), and affluent parents strive to ensure that their children receive the best education possible.

by Hannah Huang

On January 10th, 2025, Eliza, our science teacher who was our chaperone, Audrey, Xander, Fox, Taiyo, and I went to Washington Square Park to interview people about their knowledge of recycling and composting. Lots of people aren’t very aware of composting. It helps improve our soil, and how plants grow. Composting is good for our environment because it protects the climate by reducing methane emissions from landfills. So everybody should be composting because it will help our environment. After we got the data that we needed, we then made a Pi chart showing how many people know about composting and how many don’t.

We walked around Washington Square Park, asking random people what they knew about composting. In total, we asked 16 people. 60% did know about composting, and 40% didn’t. A few of the people we interviewed were college students at NYU, and they told us about how they composted at home. One of the people told us how she composted back in Seattle, would collect all of her food that she didn’t eat, and she would go to markets, or local composting areas and drop off her compost there. And a few of them were older and told us composting stories back in their days. We were denied by lots of people, but all we needed were just a few yes’ and no’s. We got 10 people who knew about composting, and 6 people who didn’t. So 62.5% know about composting, and 37.5% do not.
We came back with a lot of data, and since it was Xander’s birthday, we decided to take a pit stop at Molly’s Cupcakes and have a little birthday celebration for him with the 6 of us. Happy birthday Xander!

by 29walterh

The interview went amazing. Although we changed our topic a bit beforehand Victoria took charge of questions. We drafted a couple questions in the cafeteria then headed over to her office and waited outside. We asked her if we could record and she said yes than we asked her our questions.

She never answered our questions with a simple yes or no always going into detail. 8 questions took 20 minutes! In which she also showed us this book about mental health and 30 minutes later we emailed him. Thank you Allison.

by Mabel Fox

My group watched a documentary called Food Inc. This was all about processed food, how animals live, and food waste. In this movie we learned a lot. Animals are treated so much worse than we could imagine, People do everything that they can to profit the most of all of the animals. By doing this the animals have terrible living conditions but also the food that seems organic and good for you is really not. People usually go for the organic or less expensive brands of meat, but the brands that are less expensive are usually not good for your health. Food insecurity is not just access to food but to access to healthy food. When we watched this we learned just how hard finding good food can be. When you look in the supermarket you will see many different kinds of food but in reality they all trace back to three main places. Those three main places are big brands that sell unhealthy processed meats.

by 29walterh

We walked into Ever’s office and he greeted us warmly. Immediately we were greeted with open arms and we jumped right in asking “What is your experience with individuals living with mental illnesses?” he answered and his answer segwayed into our next question and the flow of the interview.

One big takeaway I had was that change comes from the person. Almost like the saying “you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” I think that is a very life lesson because people can’t do everything for you all the time and they can help but you need to help yourself as well.

In the end, he made a topic very challenging to talk about, not as sad as I was prepared for even cracking some jokes now and again and made the interview really engaging. I can’t thank him enough. I would recommend as an interview!

by Hudson Lewis

On January 14, our group went to NEST+m High School to study the inequities within public schools. When we were there we interviewed an English teacher named Ms. Swann-Pye. After that, we interviewed the school business manager of NEST+m, Julie Longmuir. Across both interviews, we learned about many things. For example, we learned about where funds come from. Or about how amazing it is to have public education because nobody has to pay.

When we interviewed the English teacher Ms. Swann-Pye we learned about how good public education is, and all of the flaws within it. For example, she told us that some public schools aren’t the best quality, while others have very good quality materials, staff, and just overall quality. We also learned about how important it is to have meal plans because 30% of students at NEST+m qualify for the free meals program. This means that 30% of students at NEST are not financially stable enough to afford 3 meals a day. NEST is a specialized school, meaning it has helpful AP classes and a better PTA. To summarize, we learned about the flaws of public education, free meals, and the advantages of being a specialized school.

When we interviewed the business manager Julie Longmuir we learned some valuable, and useful information. We learned that NEST has a strong PTA because most families there are financially stable. We also learned that 97% of funds from the city go towards employee salaries. So PTA money is very important to pay for things like facilities or extracurricular activities. NEST was also given 265,000$ to install air conditioners in the auditorium. So it is very important to get as much money as possible to be the best school that they can be. To summarize, we learned about how valuable PTA money is to NEST.

by Xavi Solish

My partner Harvey and I visited Washington Square Park and asked people the questions, do you believe climate change is real, and do you think it will affect New York. We got around seven responses that said climate change was definitely real and it will affect New York. Two people although, believed that climate change was not real and said that the world was run on capitalism and not science.

This was interesting because even though we had heard from so many people that climate change was real, it was surprising to listen to people who believed that it was not. Even though some people did not think that climate change was real, it was still important to listen to a different perspective than what we had heard earlier.

by Harvey F. Mollison

Harvey
Before the Flood

We watched a documentary called Before the Flood directed by Fisher Stevens and Starring Leonardo DiCaprio which talks you through the climate change crisis in an interesting and entertaining way. This documentary talks you through the effects and solutions of the climate change crisis. He travels around the world, talking to people from the Great Canadian Oil Sands, the Arctic Circle, Florida, China, and many others.

He explores the effects of climate change hands on, and discusses the topic with many local residents and business owners who call that place home. This gives the documentary a very personal and open perspective, allowing you to not only see the effects but actually experience what it is like to live there. The visuals are incredible to view, simply because it is so shocking to see some of the results that take place. For example, seeing a 30 foot cord of wire, that used to be under ice, all laid out is quite extraordinary. From that, to the scene of the barron oil sands and destroyed landscapes one compared to Mordor from Lord of The Rings, puts an incredibly strong view in your mind of where we are going.

However, later in the documentary, he visits Elon Musk and his Tesla Gigafactory, where they talk about the possibility of major solutions to climate change. He follows this with a visit to the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who discusses the Paris Climate Agreement, and how that can show the major initiatives shown by the U.S. and China are largely positive. This shows how there are solutions out there and people do care a lot about this issue.

by 29stevieh

On Friday the 17th me and my group interviewed Marcia Flores. Marcia Flores works for AFC (Advocates for Children of New York) and for Project LIT. At AFC she focuses on educational rights for children as well as partnering with homeless shelters and doing press interviews regarding her knowledge and expertise in her field. Our interview with her was over zoom and it took 31 minutes and 46 seconds.
We mainly asked Marcia about the causes/effects of homelessness and what NYC government should do to help decrease homelessness. She said that one of the main reasons people are living on the streets is because they cannot afford housing, especially with young children. She also said that a lot of homeless children that she works with are immigrants or migrants who do not speak English, therefore making the process of trying to find affordable housing ten times harder. She said that, yes mental health can cause homelessness but not as much as you think. Most homeless people suffering from mental illness are the people you see walking to school or on the train, the people making themselves known, who people like Eva Pinkley, who we did an earlier interview on, are trying to get out of the streets and into shelters with good mental health services. But the people Marcia works with are the people you don’t see. People couch surfing and living in shelters. Those people make up the majority of NYCS homeless community. Marcia also told us that being homeless as a child is almost a lifelong sentence of struggle. If you were homeless as a child but have just rented an apartment with your savings it seems like you will not have to worry about not having a home anymore, right? However, no one will hire you if you were homeless, even if that was 10+ years ago, therefore you cannot get a job, will not be able to pay rent, and will end up homeless once more. Marcia believes that NYCS government should hire more bilingual teachers as well as assigning children to schools that are close to their shelters or living location. She thinks that if that gets done New York’s 146,000 homeless children will have a better chance at a successful education, and hopefully future.

by Sylvie Malamet

Alex, my citizen action project partner, and I went to the People’s March on January 18th. This march was a march for the rights of all people. It was created by the same people who made the Women’s March, on January 21st, 2017, and it had the same purpose; protest for the rights that will be taken over by Donald Trump.

When we first got there, I could see the “stage” where the speeches would take place, and I could see a crowd slowly start to form. We were within the first 100 or so people to arrive at first, but as soon as the speeches started, many people came and watched. All of the speeches came from a “representative” of most minorities, and they would talk about their experience being who they are. Many of them also talked about their worries and fears about what Trump will do, but if they spoke their fears, they also spoke their hopes and dreams. Some speeches were more “kid friendly” then others, but each one made it’s own impact on the crowd. As a viewer, I felt especially empowered from hearing how all of the people who went up on the stage were just regular people who had opinions that they wanted to share. I had a dream, that I would be able to be up on that stage, talking about my own life, and how fucked up this world is, but what each individual person can do to make it just a little bit better; how each person who showed up for that march put just a little bit of hope into the air.

When we started walking, everyone was super cold and motivated, so it moved at a quick, steady pace. We walked and walked, and it felt like it was going on for so long, but it felt incredible and powerful. People started chants and we just kept on walking. A big part of the march for me was when we got to the intersection of 6th avenue and West Broadway, and we stopped. Me and my dad were sure that we’d go right, down West Broadway, because of how busy 6th avenue is, but nope, instead, we kept on marching, straight down 6th avenue. The cars honked their horns and the people yelled, but we kept walking. It felt so good to be acknowledged, even if it was negative, and I loved how we got to create traffic. I wasn’t worried that the cars would keep driving, because we were all united, but if we got split up, or there weren’t as many people, it would’ve been much less safe. This speaks to the fact that we’re always safer if we stick together. That was one of the main points of the march; even though all of the minorities don’t have much in common, we are all being targeted by one common enemy; Donald Trump. So we all have to stand united, together, to fight back.

by Klara Moss

On Friday my group and I zoomed with BJ Neal, the director of guest services at City Relief. BJ shares the two main ways his organization helps with food insecurity: Number 1 – by directly offering food which is the immediate solution but not long term. He compared this to grabbing buckets to scoop water out of a house during a flood, it’s your first instinct but it won’t fix the problem. Number 2 – by connecting people with services like employment or shelters that will help them long term. He explains that City Relief is a safe space for people to come and get help but their main job is to help navigate and connect guests to get back on their feet.

We also asked BJ about the main reasons guests haven’t been able to turn their lives around after interacting with City Relief and he responded with the following in our notes:

-People aren’t willing to try the whole time
-Quitting halfway through
-Mental health problems
-When people struggle, they find out how they handling diversity
-We live in a society where we teach people to be successful before human
-Going through hard things is the time when you find out your abilities to survive
-They don’t know how to navigate trauma and hardship
-Most people aren’t equipped for hardship
-So much to work through that it’s hard to process all the aspects
-#1 issue is mental health
-Trying to solve mental health is getting more counselors
-System that is therapeutic
-It is very difficult to even get to clinics when somebody is extremely traumatized

BJ is so devoted and willing to help with hunger partly from his own experiences, too. BJ openly spoke about his childhood and how he grew up homeless with his two sisters and mom. He said that at the time he came from a background where not enough help was given and that is what drove him to be the support of those struggling today. His personal memories helped him form acceptance and see everyone as humans regardless of what they are going through.

by Klara Moss

On Thursday, we went to the East Village to interview the executive director of EVCC (East Village Community Coalition), Laura Sewell. We met in her apartment building, which also happened to be Caroline Walker’s home and the person who connected us. Laura was very helpful and helped us learn all about her organization’s work in the neighborhood, other volunteer work she’s collaborated with, and some of the effects and outcomes of hunger in NYC.

Laura specifically talked about the community fridge that her organization put in across the street during COVID when so many individuals and families were struggling. She said that the pandemic was one of the lowest points and struck multiple people who would never expect to be insecure about when their next meal would be, due to loss of jobs and low access to food. This interview also opened my eyes to all the good people contributing in their free time towards this issue. It was amazing to hear about all the food scraps from restaurants and bakeries that get donated to the fridge and how churches open their doors to serve a warm space on cold days. I love this strong community and how they all came together during this hard time to help out fellow neighbors. Hearing about all this mutual aid work made me feel so grateful for my meals and encouraged me to give back more.

by Sylvie Malamet

Alex, my citizen action project partner, and I wanted to have a safe space for trans individuals to go and talk. We knew that it would be impossible to create an actual affinity group, so we thought the next best thing would be a lunch period once a week. To be able to start a club, you need the permission and help of a teacher, so we went to Suzanne and Mo, the GSA teachers, and told them about our idea. They both seemed very excited about it, and we discussed the idea here and there, until we came up with a plan. Since there are no openly trans faculty that work at the school, we had to get a teacher that we felt comfortable enough with being in the room. We chose both Suzanne and Mo to facilitate the meetings. On Monday the 6th, they made an announcement during middle school meeting, telling everyone that the meeting would take place at 11:30 every Monday and that anyone who identifies as trans can come.

Later that day, we had the first meeting, and when people started to show up, we talked a bit about our relationship with being trans. The group’s purpose is to, not only have a safe space, but to just be able to hang out with other people who have similar experiences to you. The next week, on the 13th, we had another meeting, and it was more about just hanging out and feeling comfortable.

I hope that other schools can be able to create trans affinity groups to help support the student at the school, who don’t feel comfortable talking with cis people about their trans experience.

by 29massambaa

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.

by Harvey F. Mollison

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.

by Alex Corwin

My CAP partner, Sylvie, and I walked into the learning lab nervously. As we started the meeting, we saw Paul’s face on our screen. When we realized that the Zoom meeting’s audio and video were barely working, we had to log onto a different computer and restart the interview. Once we finally got started, the…

by Mabel Fox

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.

by Will Mankins

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.”

by 29niros

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.

by Sylvie Malamet

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.

by Luke Niziol

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.

by Hannah Huang

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.

by 29milesg

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.

by 29lyleq

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.

by Sam Korn

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.

by Laila Henry

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.

by Masami Umehara

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.

by Hudson Lewis

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.

by Sylvie Malamet

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.

by May Edelstein

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.

by Agatha Uglesich

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.

by Hannah Huang

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.

by Xavi Solish

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.

by Logan Chen

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.

by Theo Squadron

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.

by Alex Corwin

An interview with Ava Dawson, one of LREI’s school nurses. Sylvie, my Citizen Action Project partner, and I walked into the learning lab and prepared ourselves for an interview with Ava Dawson, a school nurse working at LREI. As we got onto the Zoom meeting, I started to relax. Ava was kind and welcoming, which…

by Jack Rosen

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.

by 29massambaa

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.

by 29victorias

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!

by 29stevieh

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.

by Esme

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.

by 29caryg

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.

by 29gioc

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.

by Audrey Martin

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.

by Klara Moss

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.

by Luke Niziol

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.

by Vivi

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.

by J. Xander Lefleur

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.

by Hannah Huang

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.

by Harvey F. Mollison

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.