Opinion/News
The Bolt March 2023 Sage Hill School
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Say Their Names: Migrant Children Are Exploited By Isabella Palacio
In 2022, nearly 130,000 unaccompanied migrant children aimed to enter the U.S., CBS News reports. Across Latin America, the number of economic opportunities is limited, a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The threat of cartel and domestic violence, as well as other debilitating factors, serve as driving forces for migration to the U.S. In 2020, the Trump Administration enacted a public health order called Title 42, which aimed to reduce the overcrowding of border facilities amidst the pandemic. Administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, the health code allows border patrol agents to reject entry to any asylum seekers who have recently been in a country where a communicable disease is present. Over a year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention repealed Title 42’s control of unaccompanied minors, escalating the number of children leaving their families in search of better opportunities. A main factor contributing
to unaccompanied treks is that adults know that they are more likely to be turned away at the border. However, when a child crosses the border, the system is completely different. First, a government agent will identify the child and see if there is contact with anyone in the U.S. able to care for the child. “But as more and more children have crossed the border, the government has come under [huge] pressure to [try to] get these kids released faster than they ever have before,” said Hannah Drier, investigative reporter for The New York Times and Pulitzer Prize recipient. In the course of her reporting, Drier waited in the parking lots of major factories, finding young children leaving the buildings at midnight with their school backpacks for the next day. “We found them producing milk for Ben & Jerry’s, packaging Cheerios and Cheetos,” Drier said. Companies are not legally allowed to higher children under the age of 14, and yet, it occurs on a daily basis. The U.S. Department of Labor recently
Freshmen Showcase NHD Projects
Grace Yan | The Bolt
(From left) Theatre Teacher Mary Kildare talks to freshmen Amalia Holguin and Luna Rodriguez on National History Day. By Yasmin Dennis
The freshman class recently gathered in the Peter V. Ueberroth Gymnasium to present their National History Day projects to their peers and parents. Having worked on these projects for several months in their Patterns of Civilization class, they stood by their tables with pride, some dressing in costumes related to their website, documentary video, exhibit, or paper. The theme for this year’s National History Day was “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas,” and accordingly, students investigated research topics that sparked their interest, exploring historical figures and events that changed the course of history. “I enjoyed researching a topic that I would like to pursue as a career in the future,” freshman Andrew Lopez said. “I also enjoyed researching World War II, as I’ve always been interested in it. This is not a well-known
topic, as I researched how radars impacted the course of the war and aircraft. I’ve never made a website before, but I was able to format it by looking at broad to very specific aspects of the radar in the war, like the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Britain.” As a jazz lover, Freshman Soraya Dennis wanted to look at her favorite artists and the impact that they had on society during the Civil Rights Movement. “The project was a great experience because I learned more about researching in addition to how important music has been throughout history,” Soraya said. Beyond the on-campus event, 11 students with nine projects competed at National History Day-Orange County, a competition for high school students in Orange County at the Orange County Department of Education campus in Costa Mesa. Participants in this com-
A U.S.-Mexico border fence in San Diego. fined Wisconsin-based Packer Sanitation Services with $1.5 million in penalties for hiring more than 100 children as young as 13 years old to work in hazardous conditions at meat processing plants. Children were forced to clean electric knives and conveyor belts, some only spoking Spanish. Despite the illegal activities, Parker Sanitation remains in
petition included Megan Vahdat with an individual podcast, Jayla Chan with a group website, Aarav Putrevu with a group website, Kevin Hu with a group exhibit, Grace Yang with a group exhibit, Christine Li with an individual exhibit, Alia Sajjadian with an individual documentary, Arya Rawal with an individual documentary, Phoebe Pan with an individual paper, Ben Haworth with an individual paper, and Katherine Liao with an individual website. Megan, Jayla, Aarav, Kevin, and Grace will move on to the statewide competition in Sacramento from Friday to Sunday. In addition, Megan was the only recipient of the NHD-OC Spotlight Award, an award given to seniors who demonstrate excellence both academically and socially, recognized for being a hard-working and compassionate leader in their community. With this award, Megan received a $500 dollar check, sponsored by the OCC GATE. In addition to this award, Megan also received the Bessie Reed McDonald Award for Women’s History for her project “Starved for Change: Hunger Strikers Communicate the Need for Women’s Suffrage in Edwardian England” by the NHD California State Competition in 2021. This year’s win marks Megan’s fifth championship in the NHD competition. “NHD has been an incredible experience for me,” Megan said. “I have enjoyed exploring topics that are often only mentioned in the footnotes of my textbooks and have met absolutely amazing students from many other schools. I have also gained a much deeper appreciation for those who have sacrificed so much to bring about political change.”
Bruno Sanchez-Andrade | Creative Commons
operation. The federal government charged the maximum fees allowed under the law and once paid the problem seems to have been resolved through the lens of society. But in America, lack of federal accountability leads to the continuity of issues. “You know unfortunately there’s really a lack of safety net for immigrant families,” said
Lindsay Toczylowski, Executive Director at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. While the Biden administration fails to solve the crisis, individuals can support grassroots organizations dedicated to examining the root causes of the issue and innovating solutions that will put an end to the exploitation of migrant communities.
Girls Empowerment Movement Returns
Courtesy of GEMfest
(From left) Junior Priya Bhakta, junior Anne Chen, junior Isabella Palacio, sophomore Raquel Rybakova and junior Alia Sajjadian. By Fiori Lee and Ava Eimani
Sage Hill School hosted GEMfest (Girls Empowerment Movement), welcoming middle school girls to focus on empowerment, learning new skills, and fun. GEMfest is open to middle school girls in sixth through eighth grade who learn and receive guidance from high school students. They also connect with female mentors working in various industries. Girls learn how to confidently talk in front of others and becoming motivated to persevere and chase their dreams. The middle schoolers were able to hear an inspiring keynote speech, learn about local businesses and nonprofis and attend hands-on workshops teaching skills for success such as creativity and leadership. “Any event that promotes empowerment and serves as an inspiration for young girls is just amazing and I wanted my daughter to take part in that and I feel lucky that Sage provides opportunities like this,” said Ilham, a parent whose daughter attended GEMfest.
After listening to the keynote speech, girls went to a myriad of workshops, which consisted of Public Speaking, GEM Team Panel, Confetti Lab, Yoga, Dancing with Synergy, Intro to Coding, How to Make Herstory, Be a Girl Boss and Science Scoops. “I was happy to be able to dance with Synergy and I was really excited to hear the panelists,” attendee Sienna Burnette said. The event closed with a diverse panelist of speakers including Dr. Amber Burnette, Assistant Medical Director at Kaiser Permanente Orange County; Celebrity Photographer Lesley Bohm; Sung-Hee Suh, Managing Director and General Counsel at PIMCO; and Entrepreneur Tiffany Cheng Nyaggah. The panelists shared about their professions and how to succeed in a variety of career fields. After a fun and informative day of female empowerment, middle school girls went home knowledgeable on how to manage stress through yoga, how to dance in an ensemble, coding fundamentals and more.