PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 37 NO 22 MAY 26 – JUN 1, 2018
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36 YEARS YOUR VOICE
The key to Summit Sierra’s success By Carolyn Bick NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Photo by Carolyn Bick
One of the things Edgiemeh De La Cruz appreciates most about Summit Sierra High School is the way the faculty make the school feel like a second home. “[The teachers] always greet you at the door, saying hello, or just checking up with you for a couple seconds, before the class starts, and that’s always every single morning with my classes,” De La Cruz said. The 11th grader enrolled in the charter school when it opened in August 2016. The school, based in the International District and founded in 2015, is part of the Summit Public Schools charter system, which currently has schools in both Washington and California. It serves grades
Edgiemeh De La Cruz (left)
Seasoned Olympia lobbyist running for state senate in the 34th
9 through 12, and prides itself on personalized instruction, a diverse student population, and the number of students who go on to higher education. As of the 2017 school year, there are 305 students and 24 teachers at Summit Sierra High School. Because the school is a public school, Executive Director and Principal Malia Burns said it is completely free. Anyone may enroll, she said, as the school is non-selective, in terms of its admissions criteria. The way Summit approaches learning and teaching is a bit different from traditional schools, Burns said. Instead of having a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching, each student’s curriculum is personalized. For instance, students in the same grade may see SUMMIT SIERRA on 16
DEADPOOL 2 » 8
TAIGHAN CHEA » 9
RICK YODER » 10
HELP EDUCATE DREAMERS » 11
Scammers impersonate Chinese consulate staff By Sophia Stephens NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
In recent weeks, members of the Seattle Chinese and Chinese American communities have reported receiving scam phone calls from a 253 area code number. According to an email sent by a concerned Northwest Asian Weekly reader, the robocaller speaks in Chinese, claims to be from the Chinese consulate, and states that the recipient’s immigration/visa status is in jeopardy before requesting that
By Jessica Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
see PHONE SCAM on 6
Asian Americans turn angst for Trump into political activism By JANIE HAR ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sofia Aragon
Observe. Plan. Act. These are steps that serve Sofia Aragon well, and led her to where she is today: a hopeful in the state senate race for the 34th district, which comprises West Seattle, Burien, White Center, and Maury and Vashon Islands. The decision to run is the next step for Aragon in a career in healthcare and government. She would not be the first woman to obtain the seat
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see ARAGON on 15
Members of the country’s fastest growing minority group are running for federal office, dozens of them as Democratic candidates deliberately playing up their Asian roots against a president they say demonizes the immigrants that make America great. The candidates include
former refugees from Vietnam and children of immigrants from South Korea and India. They live in places where Asian Pacific Americans make up a large chunk of the electorate and in places where they do not. Their chances of winning vary. But the candidates’ unabashed celebration of their foreign ties is notable for a group of people who have had to prove their “Amer-
ican-ness,’’ no matter how long their families have been in the country. “I think partly it is a reaction to the current administration which has in its policies and statements sent out a very xenophobic message,’’ says Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who is campaigning for a third term in the House. see POLITICAL ACTIVISM on 13
Rep. Ted Lieu
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