opinion Harvard-Westlake School
Volume XIX
Issue 8
May 26, 2010
A9
The
C hronicle
3700 Coldwater Canyon, North Hollywood, CA 91604 Editors in Chief: Sam Adams, Hana Al-Henaid Managing Editors: Sammy Roth, Allegra Tepper Executive Editor: Michelle Nosratian Presentations Editor: Candice Navi Multimedia Editor: Jamie Kim Business Manager: Neha Nimmagadda Ads Manager: David Burton Assistants: Jordan Gavens, Victor Yoon Chief Copy Editor: Ellina Chulpaeff Copy Editors: Spencer Gisser, Ester Khachatryan, Catherine Wang
“It just takes one.” Jamie Kim and Vivien mao/CHRONICLE
Faced with a faceless crime
H
ate lives in all of our backpacks. Our history textbooks and English novels are filled with that great, loathsome force that drives one human to reject another. However, when one student found in his backpack a homophobic threat two weeks ago, our community was assaulted by the fact that hatred exists even in our own hallways.
Perhaps even worse than the unvarnished bigotry that lies in the note is the fact that it was written and delivered anonymously. Though the threatening nature of the note should be indefensible to even the most fervent defender of free speech, we live in a free society in which everyone is entitled to speak his or her opinions. But if the speaker cannot stand by his or her words and actions and does so anonymously, he or she is a coward who deserves no such liberty. The act of placing a death threat in a backpack is no better than members of the Ku Klux Klan who burned crosses on lawns only under the protection and anonymity of white robes. When we first heard of the disgraceful note, our reaction was a visceral one of near disbelief. Of course stories of hateful acts appear from time to time, but never this close to home. Even the despicable online comments from a few years ago that led to lawsuits against the school and perpetrators could be rationalized to some degree as a misguided practical joke that spiraled into something twisted in the span of a few keystrokes. This note, however, was something premeditated and
planned out. It is truly disturbing to think about one of our own taking a piece of paper and writing such a message, perhaps during science class or maybe after finishing an English reading. We applaud the way the community reacted. The first meeting of the reinvigorated Gay-Straight Alliance drew a huge crowd. Members of the administration talked to each class about it during meetings. The response mechanisms of our school worked the way they should have. We encourage even more dialogue in the coming weeks. But there is only one way to truly restore our faith in the general goodness of our little community; the writer of the note must come forward. Just as the Honor Board operates in relative transparency to restore the student-teacher trust after academic transgressions, we need to clear the air in the community with a public disciplinary process, though it is hard to imagine justice in any form other than expulsion. However, the cowardice shown by the writer up to this point all but ensures he or she will stay ignominiously in the shadows. We have a right to free speech, but not to consequence-free speech.
Failure to complete service
W
hen the Community Council was conceived two years ago, its purpose was to create a student-run service-oriented community. The purely hours-based requirement was abolished in favor of a more collaborative system in which students could work together to help the community.
However, as the year comes to a close and about 200 students, says Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church, have yet to fulfill their requirement, it is clear that the experiment has failed. The current system discourages students from becoming involved in charitable causes by themselves. In its place is a culture that encourages getting the requirement over with by doing a one-time afternoon project like a beach cleanup. Depth and meaning in service is sacrificed in favor of togetherness. The lack of faculty sponsorship is one of the main reasons the Community Council has failed in its purpose. Students who want to organize a group event are required to find a faculty sponsor. However, it is the same small cadre of adults who agree to supervise time and again, resulting in a dearth of support for these events. If service is compulsory for students, it should also be for all staff and faculty. If it is to live up to its name, the Community Council must involve our entire community, not just students. We do not blame the members of the Community Council for the large number of students who have not completed their requirement. Frequent e-mails were sent out advertising upcoming opportunities, using humor to entice potential volunteers. It’s like the proverbial horse to water: you can lead a student
to service, but you can’t make him serve. Furthermore, the senior class is in the middle of a throwaway month. APs are over and we are attending very few, if any, real classes. Why not use the month in between the conclusion of APs and graduation as a chance for students to become involved full-time in a charitable cause? We would learn far more from such real-world experience outside the Harvard-Westlake bubble than from the current skeleton academic schedule. As much as we cringe to give sports rival Loyola credit for anything, they have a more enlightened community service program similar to what we are proposing. Students should be encouraged to find a program they love early in their time here and stick with it all the way through. The spirit of service the school so staunchly seeks can be instilled through a commitment to a charity over a long period of time, not one afternoon once a year. The Community Council was formed to get rid of the culture of finishing the community service requirement in as little time as possible, but has in fact exacerbated the problem. The council need not necessarily be abolished, but the way our school approaches community service needs a fundamental rethinking.
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