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PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44
The Campanile Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Vol. CVI, No. 3
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
BOARD ADOPTS RESOLUTIONS AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA, ANTI-SEMITISM 675",0)%8('9%#(%,55(2(3,#*:%)+&&('#%3*2,13)%;'(2%5(22+1"#"*)%"1%<,0(%=0#(
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n two unanimous 4-0 votes at a special meeting on Sept. 27, the Board of Education adopted a resolution condemning antisemitism and the recent attacks by Hamas against Israel. The Board also adopted a resolution condemning Islamophobia and anti-Middle Eastern North African hate. Board member Todd Collins was absent during both votes. The resolutions, 2023-24.06 and 2023-24.07, were spurred by demands of recognition from the Jewish community after attacks by a U.S.-designated terrorist group, Hamas, against Israel on Oct. 7. In addition, PAUSD recognized April as Arab American Heritage Month and May as National Jewish American Heritage Month. Bodner, President and CEO of the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, said the Palo Alto Jewish community felt especially threatened in light of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. "Right now, we have a handful of brave and incredible kids at this meeting, but sadly, most of our kids are not feeling safe on our campuses,” Bodner said. “They’re hiding their Jewish stars, and I know one woman, an Israeli woman, who is having her daughter wear a cross because she’s scared.” Senior Ori Cohen, who identifies as Jewish, said PAUSD has been slow to combat discrimination against Jewish students. “I've been targeted personally on the school campus –– I'm telling you my story, and I still see a failure to act,” Cohen said. “How much more needs to happen? What exactly needs to happen on school campuses for (the board) to act?”
However, several community members warned against a one-sided resolution. Junior and Paly Board Representative Karthi Gottipati said the board should recognize all parties involved in the conflict. “There may not be two sides to terrorism, but there is more than one group of students being hurt today in Paly and Gunn,” Gottipati said. In addition, Board Member Jesse Ladomirak said she had concerns about the role of a school board in approving these resolutions. “This board has occasionally touched on domestic politics, but this will be the first time ever, to my knowledge, that we have taken action through resolution or otherwise on an international event,” Ladomirak said. “War, terror and humanitarian crises unfortunately happen constantly across our globe. And this board stays silent, even when there are significant local impacts on PAUSD families, because it's not our job to insert ourselves in geopolitics.” Ladomirak said the board did not weigh in on the conflict in Ukraine, for instance, because there’s a difference between individual board members making statements and the board acting as a body. “Now, I don't know how we draw the line,” Ladomirak said. “Is it a numbers game? Do we only act as a board when a certain percentage of students and families are impacted? Do we judge how horrible the events are? We are opening ourselves up, I believe, to legitimate criticism in the future that we pick and choose which people to care about and whose lives to value. It is our
responsibility as a school district to create a school climate and culture where every student from every walk of life feels safe, supported, and valued. And I am extremely worried that we are making it much more difficult to do so by taking these actions today.” In regards to the resolutions, the Jewish community in Palo Alto is grateful for the actions taken by community leaders, according to Bodner, "The only difference between our current situation and 1930s Germany is (our leaders),” Bodner said. “Our leadership and our government are not aligning themselves with the anti-Semites.” Board President Jennifer Dibrienza said the resolutions represent a step in the right direction. “I want to acknowledge that passing resolutions will not fix things,” Dibrienza said. “But, I hope that by clearly condemning antisemitism and all hate will start to help our students, our community members, and our staff to start to feel better. This is the beginning, not the end, of the work." Despite her concerns about the precedent the resolutions might set, Ladomirak said she still supported them and asked the community for grace. “We are five imperfect humans,” Ladomirak said. “And in all our imperfections, we truly care deeply for your children, and we are doing our very best to support them all. I ask that you show us all some grace. I ask that we all show each other some grace so that we can leave here ready to forgive, heal, and come together as one community united in our commitment to our students and our children and the right to live in a world that’s free of hate, violence, and injustice."
Julian Hong
News/Opinion Editor
ART BY NIDHI THUMMALAPALLI
Palo Alto works with PAUSD to redevelop Cubberley !"#$%&'(&()*)%+&%#(%,%-./$*,'%0*,)*%(1%2('*%0,13%#(%'*1(4,#*%5+''*1#%5(22+1"#$%5*1#*'
Annika Chu Staff Writer
The city of Palo Alto is working on a proposal that would have it enter into a long-term ground lease with PAUSD to redevelop the 35acre Cubberley Community Center. The district currently owns 27 acres of the Cubberley Center, part of which it uses for educational programs. The city owns the remaining eight acres and leases the majority of Cubberley from the district. City Manager Ed Shikada said the city’s proposal is to negotiate a long-term lease with PAUSD for upwards of 50 years, giving the city time to restructure the entire center. “The city would want to have primary control over the property in order to plan the campus (layout), build (and) make investments with (it),” Shikada said. Board President Jennifer DiBrienza said PAUSD is willing to work with the city. She said the district indicated in a letter to the city in March that it might sell seven additional acres of Cubberley, and
the letter invited the city to make a proposal to the district. If the district did sell seven acres to the city, DiBrienza said PAUSD would consider a ground lease for the remaining 20 acres but would want to retain primary ownership. She said the stakes are high because while it is unlikely the district will need the 20 acres, officials want to have it if they need it. “I think the school board has been kind of conservative in making sure that if, in the future, a future school board and future district ever needed to build another school, we would be able to do that,” DiBrienza said. In order for the agreement to work, DiBrienza said the city needs to finalize a proposal that matches the needs of PAUSD. “Right now, the ball is in their court to come up with a few proposals and bring them back to us so that the school board can consider them,” DiBrienza said. Chair of the City Council Cubberley Ad Hoc Committee Julie Lythcott-Haims said her committee is working with city staff to discern
what the city's needs are for additional Cubberley acreage as well as figure out what the city wants to do with the land. “The community has varying opinions about what Cubberley can and should be,” Lythcott-Haims said. “I have the duty to gather, listen to, analyze and synthesize the opinions of a community, and so it's safe to say that there are myriad opinions, some of them quite complimentary … but there are also opinions that might conflict with others.” City Council Member Vicki Veenker said the city wants Cubberley to be a community center that welcomes everyone and improves wellness. “People love all the things that are offered there, and we want to build on that and continue to provide memories to people that are really positive about the community they grew up in,” Veenker said. “The variety of things people are interested in, to learn new skills and develop talents—we still want to see all of that. We want a place where people can come together.”
Veenker said a key part of the plan is listening to what Palo Alto residents want in order to ensure any changes are welcomed by the community. “This is a great opportunity for the city and the school district to really partner together and to show our
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residents that we understand that we have a common interest in serving the city,” Veenker said. “While the focus of the two bodies might be slightly different, the goal is to work together to make sure we have a healthy community for students and residents at large.”