The Pearl Post April 2023 Special Issue

Print Editor-in-Chief

Delilah Brumer

Online Editor-in-Chief Alan Ruiz

Art Director

Gabrielle Lashley

Managing Editor Rikka Dimalanta

Features Editor Angela Ledesma

Opinion Editor

Satenik Ayrapetyan

Entertainment Editor Grant Asner

Sports Editor Sabrina Roberston

Digital Media Editor Jenica Felicitas

Staff Writers/ Photographers

Jason Arevalo, Alysa Basmadzhyan, Elizabeth Rose, Maggie Simonyan, Keira Van Der Molen

Contributors

Andre Arcilla, Kristin Intal, Frankie Witt, Jessica Witt, Kamila De Leon

Adviser

Adriana Chavira

The Pearl Post is an open forum for student expression as allowed by California Education Codes 48907 and 48950, committed to excellence in reporting, writing and photography.

The magazine strives to inform and educate students and faculty on events affecting Daniel Pearl Magnet High School.

Thoughts and opinions published in these pages are the work of journalism students and do not represent the position of DPMHS, its administrators or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

An unsigned editorial is the opinion of the Editorial Board, which is comprised of the Editor-in-Chief and the editors. Signed opinions in The Pearl Post reflect the views of the authors. A signed cartoon reflects the view of the cartoonist.

The Pearl Post welcomes letters to the editor. They should be 250 words or less and may be edited for length. Letters with profanity and obscenity will not be printed. Unsigned or anonymous letters will not be published. Letters may be emailed to thepearlpost@gmail.com.

The magazine is published bimonthly and is the official campus newsmagazine of Daniel Pearl Magnet High School. The magazine is also posted online at http://www.thepearlpost.com.

IN THIS ISSUE...

1

2-3

4-5

Design by Gabrielle Lashley

Index / Cafeteria food waste

Club Corner: Volunteer for our Sphere Club / Native plants feature

6-9

10-11

12-13

14-15

16

Youth climate activism / Green orgs. to support

High lead levels in school water / Patron ad / Lead water response editorial Leadership class recycling / Deforestation in Brazil opinion

Car-dependent cities opinion / Climate change in education bill follow-up

Design by Gabrielle Lashley

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

For this special issue, we focused exclusively on the effects of climate change, especially in relation to our school. This is the first special issue in The Pearl Post history and we are proud to have used it to amplify the fears, frustrations, hopes and actions of young people as climate change continues to jeopardize our future.

Our efforts focused not just on covering the topic of climate change—but on creatively and impactfully localizing the stories that stem from it.

We worked to adapt our standard issue structure for this special issue and incorporated artwork on almost every page. We hope that as you read through it, the voices of the many young people we featured shine through.

- Delilah Brumer

Cafeteria works to curb waste

By Jason Arevalo @flamingtoxic622

Senior Kayla Lopez grabs the breakfast that the school offers. Depending on what it is, she sometimes throws it away or just doesn’t pick it up. This is the same process many students go through when deciding what they want to eat during lunch and breakfast.

“Usually when there’s any kind of burger in the morning, (it) doesn’t catch my eye,” Lopez said. “I’m just a really picky eater so I honestly pick and choose what I eat.”

According to Daniel Pearl Magnet High School Food Services Manager Kathleen Mrasz, students have to take fruits when getting lunch and Breakfast in the Classroom because they provide a healthy balance, which was implemented because of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This has led some students to take fruit because they are required to but then throw it away, contributing to food waste.

Approximately 85 to 100 students grab lunch and these numbers haven’t changed much after school lunch became free, Mrasz said. The universal school meal program, which was implemented during the 2021-2022 school year, provides all 6 million public school students in California with free school meals. The program offers every student a free breakfast and lunch, making California one of the first states to implement a statewide universal meal program for students.

The cafeteria minimizes its food waste by sticking close to the numbers, such as if 90 students get lunch the cafeteria will

make around 100 meals. This means DPMHS typically has very few meals left over, so the cafeteria doesn’t donate food. While this process usually works, the cafeteria offers multiple options for lunch, making it hard to keep the same number of meals.

“I try to stay very close to (the) numbers (of meals compared to students who take food), so we have very little waste,” Mrasz said.

Mrasz said the cafeteria has been listening and noticing what students are taking and leaving behind when they grab lunch or breakfast. They have found that students prefer food choices such as coffee cake, spicy chicken sandwiches and spicy chicken strips, as well as the western burgers and cheeseburgers. In comparison, other foods like cheese quesadillas and beef sausage sandwiches are taken less often. When students don’t take these options, it wastes food, which the cafeteria has been noticing.

“I only get the food I’m actually going to eat, not the ones I’m going to put to the side,” junior Anthony Jimenez said.

Many students said they remain conscious of food waste from school meals and work to reduce their individual impacts.

“I minimize (waste) by trying to eat what I can eat and not overwhelm myself with food,” senior Christopher Jacobo said. “If I can just stomach the main course and a fruit, that’s (when) I only get what I need and I won’t get anything else.”

JASON AREVALO| The Pearl Post Freshman Sebastian Olfatmanesh stands in line as he picks out food from the cafeteria during lunch on March 15. Many students take the school lunch, which is free.

Teacher nurtures native plants

By Maggie Simonyan @maggieesimonyann

Music teacher Wes Hambright has been on a mission to bring native plants back to his backyard in order to create a more wildlife-friendly environment. Over the past 12 years, Hambright has been growing hundreds and hundreds of plants, including many native species, in his garden.

“We are very into wildlife and nature,” Hambright said. “And we have found that the more native plants or at least drought tolerant things that you can have in your yard, the more it attracts wildlife.”

Recently, he and his wife have been working on a project to remove non-native plants such as roses and irises from their garden, replacing them with native and drought-tolerant plants to support local wildlife. In an effort to attract more wildlife, Hambright also avoids the use of any pesticides in his garden. This decision has had a noticeable impact on the number of monarch butterflies that have been attracted to his backyard, offering them a safe haven from the harmful effects of pesticides. Hambright’s commitment to creating a natural and sustainable habitat for wildlife allowed for the monarch butterflies to create cocoons and hatch in his very own backyard.

Hambright is committed to eliminating invasive plants from his garden, aiming to create a space that is both sustainable and ecologically responsible. To achieve this goal, Hambright focuses on growing native plants that require little water,

such as sage and lavender. By doing so, he not only supports local wildlife but also reduces his overall water usage, making his garden a more environmentally friendly space.

According to an article by the California Native Plant Society, “California native gardens are sustainable, save water, and provide habitat for many wildlife species.” This providing of habitat can expand species diversity and help bridge to nearby remaining wildlands.

Projects as complex as Hambright’s come with their fair share of difficulties. Finding plants native to the region has been a struggle for his family.

“A lot of it is gone. We’ve replaced it with things that are from other places around the world, but what that does is it tips the wildlife,” Hambright said.

Hambright believes that wildlife is forced to adapt when exposed to a non-native environment, resulting in a decreased ability to flourish. As such, a significant aspect of Hambright’s mission is to restore the region to its original state, as far as plants and wildlife.

“We like nature and want to see it thrive and knowing about global warming, we’re just trying to make our difference through local change,” Hambright said.

ART BY ANDRE ARCILLA | The Pearl Post

PROVIDED BY WES HAMBRIGHT | The Pearl Post Music teacher Wes Hambright sits in his garden with his dog. The garden is in the process of being replanted with native plants instead of non-native plants.

Club Corner

Students volunteer for our sphere

By Alysa Basmadzhyan @alysa_katee

Every Monday, Volunteer for Our Sphere meets in order to inform students about the dangers of pollution and environmental changes. Sophomore Francesca Sisk, who is the president of Volunteer for Our Sphere Club, made the decision to start the club.

“The club speaks out amongst problems in the planet and ways to look out for it,” said junior Natalya Lembo, secretary of Volunteer for Our Sphere.

Sisk was a part of a youth-led organization outside of school called Valley Changemakers, which led her to start the club at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS).

“I thought it was really fun,” Sisk said. “We would go volunteer, pick up trash, plant trees and collaborate with a lot of other organizations. I thought it was really fun and a good thing.”

November 2022 marked the beginning of Volunteer for Our Sphere. The sponsor for Volunteer for our Sphere is English teacher Chris McAdamis. They meet every Monday in room 14 and discuss ideas to help out the school’s environment. The club was scheduled to hold a campus beautification event on April 15 where students could help clean up the school and make it a better environment for students and staff.

The club encourages students to help in revamping the school. Students can participate by planting flowers and aiding the effort to pick up trash around the campus.

“I want to help out our community and planet as a whole,” Lembo said. “I feel every little thing counts and no matter what you can always help out.”

ElLIZABETH ROSE | The Pearl Post Sophomore Francesca Sisk encourages members of Volunteer for Our Sphere club to sign a petition to stop The Willow Project on March 27.

SATENIK AYRAPETYAN | The Pearl Post Information from The Drought Tolerant Garden, by the Los Angeles County. Infographic created by Satenik Ayrapetyan.

GABRIELLE LASHLEY | The Pearl Post

Six water fountains at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School were closed off and shut down in January due to the unsafe levels of lead. The Los Angeles Unified School District sent out a letter providing information to parents and students on March 7 of the closure, despite the school shutting down the water fountains more than a month prior. It is not know when the school water fountains will be fixed or replaced. It is also unclear how long it would take to fix or replace the water fountains.

Unsafe levels of lead found in DPMHS water fountains

By Delilah Brumer and Alan Ruiz

@BrumerDelilah

Freshman Nemesi Morales uses the water fountains on a daily basis as her only source of water at school. Despite expressing concerns about lead concentrations in the school’s water, Morales will continue to drink from the fountains out of necessity.

Morales’ concerns come after Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) shut down six water fountains containing high levels of lead in January. These fountains, many of which are located in the hallways, all had lead levels higher than the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) guideline of less than 15 parts per billion. Of the fountains that were shut off, the lead testing data ranged from 17.245 parts per billion to 65.3 parts per billion.

On March 7, more than a month after the lead testing was conducted, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) sent out a letter to DPMHS families notifying them of the findings.

“I was surprised because I know so many people are carrying bottles of water with them all the time so I didn’t know how useful it was to have actual fountains,” Ronan Nakash, father of sophomore said Leeron Nakash.

In 2017, California passed a law requiring school districts to notify parents about lead found in school drinking water at a rate of 15 parts per billion or higher. LAUSD records show that DPMHS tested school water fountains and found high lead levels on Jan. 20. Yet the school did not shut off those water fountains until Jan. 25—and didn’t notify the DPMHS community until it sent out the March 7 letter.

“In addition to any remediation efforts, the school will also notify the school community when a water fixture does not meet the District’s stringent health requirements, outlining immediate measures that are taken to safeguard the health and safety of our students and our staff,” an LAUSD spokesperson said in a statement to The Pearl Post. “This notification is sent once a thorough investigation has concluded with all the appropriate remediation efforts.”

Despite complaints about the school water tasting metallic, students frequently used the water fountains throughout the school day to keep themselves hydrated. Morales drinks from the fountains to prevent dizziness after exercising in PE.

Children are more susceptible to lead poisoning because their brains and bodies are still developing. According to the World Health Organization, high levels of lead exposure affect the central and nervous systems, harming brain development and altering behavior such as by shortening attention span. Lead concentrations between 5 ppb and 15 ppb pose a health risk and concentrations above 15 ppb present a more serious hazard that requires schools to shut off affected water fountains and notify the school community.

With the news about the water’s high lead concentrations, some students said they are more cautious when drinking from the school water fountains.

“I would like more news on it before I use them at school again, just to know that it’s more safe,” senior Jessie Witt said. (Continued on page 8.)

GABRIELLE LASHLEY | The Pearl Post

Others have decided to gradually stop drinking from all the school’s water fountains from now on. Although lead levels are not considered unsafe in the water fountains that remain operational, reports have still identified small levels of lead in their water.

“I’m not using them ever (again),” junior Khalel Gillen said. “I’m beginning to use the ones that I used to use frequently less and less because apparently to the letter, they still had a little bit of lead in them, which is concerning to say the least.”

According to LAUSD records obtained by The Pearl Post, more than 500 water fountains at district schools have tested for lead at a rate higher than 15 parts per billion since 2018. Some LAUSD high schools, especially those with older buildings or antiquated fixtures, had more than 10 water fountains with results above the safe level.

“Los Angeles Unified takes the safety of our students very seriously,” the LAUSD spokesperson said. “As part of this commitment, we have adopted stringent health requirements for our drinking water that exceed state and national requirements.”

According to the March 7 letter, LAUSD is instituting a new lead in drinking water goal of 5 parts per billion or less.

“Los Angeles Unified has recently completed another round of comprehensive water testing and is taking action to reduce and maintain the level of lead in all school drinking water to below 5 parts per billion,” the spokesperson said. “[This is] one of the strictest requirements in the nation for a school district.”

The updated requirement stems from LAUSD’s goal of addressing student safety, which comes as a comfort to some.

“It’s reassuring that they’re doing their best to look out for people’s health and safety,” Witt said.

According to Morales, the district should make lead testing in pipes a more frequent practice. Going forward, the DPMHS administration will decide how best to ensure that water from all the water fountains is safe again.

Principal Armen Petrossian declined an interview about the school’s plans to address the issue of the shut off water fountains. It is unclear if the pipes will be replaced or if they will be removed.

“It’s sad that they create some (new) standard only when they discovered there was a problem, (but) I’m happy about finding (the unhealthy lead concentrations),” Nakash said.

“

It’s reassuring that they’re doing their best to look out for people’s health and safety.

Senior Jessica Witt ”

Editorial

Lead in water endangers students

Aletter from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Office of Environmental Health and Safety, which was distributed to students on March 7, stated that lead levels of at least 15 parts per billion (ppb) were found in six of Daniel Pearl Magnet High School’s (DPMHS) water fountains. Fifteen ppb is the action level at which lead is extremely unsafe to drink. Although the fountains were shut down in January, a public notice wasn’t released until March. This delayed response to such an urgent issue demonstrates the administration’s negligence to student health.

These fountains exceeded the California Assembly Bill No. 746 action level of 15 ppb. Not only was DPMHS subjected to unsafe drinking water, at least 240 other LAUSD schools have tested for lead water levels higher than the state standard. Even though the levels of DPMHS water fountains ranged as high as 65.3 ppb, LAUSD didn’t take immediate action that they should’ve to maximize safety by sending out letters earlier.

Copies of the letter were passed out to students more than a week after it was written on Feb. 27 and more than a month after the fountains were tested on Jan. 20. The poor timing of these actions show that the district is not doing enough to protect its students.

Lead is a metal that is toxic to the human body if exposed to it in any way. If it builds up in the body over time, lead poisoning can occur. Children are the most vulnerable to this as their bodies are still developing.

A leading cause of this situation is the district’s failure to conduct routine water tests that would’ve effectively prevented a lead build-up. Tests need to be done more frequently to maintain consistent and accurate records of the water. LAUSD needs to make more of an effort to build trust with students and family by communicating more effectively.

As said in the letter, the district’s new goal is to reach below 5 ppb lead levels in drinking fountains, which is the standard for bottled water. However, considering that there is no “safe” lead level according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the goal should be no lead at all. This is the only way to effectively prevent lead exposure to students and guarantee their safety. High lead levels can be fatal, even just low levels can cause a range of functionality problems.

Since CDC says lead poisoning symptoms are impossible to detect on the surface, each student should be provided with the option to get blood tested. Not only students at DPMHS but at every other LAUSD school that has extreme levels of lead in its water, especially elementary and middle schools where the children are still very young.

As students, all of our bodies are still in development, which means we are all at high risk. Precautions like lead blood testing should be taken to ensure that student health is not being jeopardized as much as it already is. We shouldn’t have to worry or even think about what toxins are in the school’s drinking water, let alone in our own bodies.

SABRINA ROBERTSON | The Pearl Post

Six DPMHS water fountains were closed due to high lead levels being found in the water. According to the Centers for Disease Control, lead levels that reach over 15 parts per billion are considered to be dangerous and can harm students’ health. Infographic information provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Young climate activists take action

By Keira Van Der Molen @k.kiwi_0

All over the world, different climate activists like Greta Thunberg remind our world leaders that global concerns, such as global warming, are serious matters that need to be acted on immediately.

Similar to Thunberg, Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) activists, including senior Samantha Willett, are reminding students that if we don’t make changes to our everyday life, our already deteriorating environment is going to worsen.

“If you look at it right now, our world is already in shambles and if we don’t do anything now, it’s gonna just get worse later in the future,” Willett said.

Willett used to be a part of Valley Changemakers, a non-profit organization that gives students from high schools in San Fernando Valley an opportunity to complete community service. Willett went to nearby parks, including Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area to pick up trash and plant trees in order to preserve the nature that was living in the park. She was motivated by posts she saw on social media about the negative

consequences of climate change to make a difference herself.

“I think if we prevent it now, we can save what we have later,” said Willett, who joined Valley Changemakers last year during her junior year and is still with the organization.

While some students like Willett clean public spaces, others contribute to the tidying of school grounds. Sophomore Devon Szymczak sees the benefits of helping our environment thrive because when walking around school, he sees firsthand the amount of trash that’s scattered around the courtyards.

“I help with the trash for animal life and plant life since they’re a part of all of our lives,” Szymczak said.

Szymczak also takes initiative with decreasing plant life by planting a variety of fruits such as oranges at home. Szymczak always knew of the ailing environment but he was never aware of how serious it was until recently.

“A year ago when there was a drought and it was extremely hot, I heard from some friends of mine about how harsh climate change was,” Szymczak said.

Sophomore Francesca Sisk, who was also in Valley Changemakers, tries to be more eco-friendly with the things she buys and uses on a daily basis. An example of this is her water bottle, which is a Hydro Flask.

“I try to be more eco-friendly by using eco-friendly things like my water bottle here that helps create a little less pollution,” Sisk said while gesturing to her water bottle.

Sisk has always felt that helping our environment was essential to our planet’s well being and that feeling of obligation grew during her time in the Valley Changemakers organization last year. Now, Sisk realizes that doing our part protects not

Sophomore Francesca Sisk volunteers to help beautify the environment and pick up trash.

JESSICA WITT | The Pearl Post Students work hard to keep their school’s campus beautiful and clean. They fight to keep our world environmentally sustainable for the future generations to come.

GRANT ASNER| The Pearl Post

only our environment but our homes and lives.

“Our environment is important because we’re living in it, so the worse we make our climate and environment, the harder it is for us to live,” Sisk said, as she recounted the dangerous consequences of The Willow Project, an oil drilling project set to add 239 million metric tons of carbon emissions to the atmosphere in Alaska.

This project will worsen climate change and the world leaders need to be considerate about the outcomes of the effects of the project.

“Even though Biden is doing this project to get more oil to help our economy, he needs to think about the long term

effects of his decisions, “ Sisk said.

Willett also understands the consequences of not taking immediate action because the more we destroy, the less future generations will have. She adds that it was not meant for Earth to have so many structures such as buildings and factories, which have only contributed to our climate crisis.

“The least we can do is maintain our land such as trees, grass, and our oceans,” Willett said. “Just being mindful of simple things like recycling or how to reuse things can really just help. Even if it’s a small thing, it’s going to be a bigger product eventually.”

RIKKA DIMALANTA | The Pearl Post

Find out more about green organizations and the positive impact they are leaving on the environment, forests, communities, stores and people across the world.

Leadership maintains clean campus

By Kamila De Leon

To help the environment, leadership students collect bottles and cans around campus every Thursday to recycle and fundraise for class activities.

Why did you decide to continue the leadership recycling program again this year?

Why is it important that the school recycles?

Why do you volunteer to collect the recycling?

RIKKA DIMALANTA | The Pearl Post Senior Dashiell Caloroso collects water bottles from the school recycling bins during period 2 on March 30.

PHOTOS BY RIKKA DIMALANTA

GABRIELLE LASHLEY | The Pearl Post

Brazil’s trees can lean on Lula

By Angela Ledesma, @_.ang16_

mining and farming on indigenous reserves.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

(commonly referred to as Lula) regained his power as the 39th president of Brazil on Jan. 1. Thanks to Lula’s reelection, he has become Brazil’s first three-term president and hopefully the president we can rely on to halt deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest in the future.

In Brazil, each president is allowed a two-term limit with each consisting of four years. However, a former president who has served for two consecutive terms may run for the presidency again after at least one term has passed. This is how Lula has become the 39th president after being the 35th president from 2003 to 2011. Hopefully, his reelection will bring prosperity to the Brazilian Amazon and allow the plants, animals and indigenous people who live there to live in peace.

Under Lula’s presidency from 2003 to 2010, deforestation was at an all time low, leaving his position with only 4,350 square miles of deforested area. Though his effort was for naught, because the 37th President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, exploited the Amazon through illegal miners, loggers, etc. for profit. When Bolsonaro came to power in 2019, he expressed his determination to increase commercial

Trees in the Amazon hold 48 billion tons of carbon, so when trees are cut down that adds onto the problem of climate change. As climate change worsens that means that more carbon is being released into the atmosphere and there are less trees to hold in this carbon. Deforestation has caused Brazil to lose 20% of its rainforest, worsening our global climate change crisis and effecting the local indigenous people that live there as well.

From August 2020 to July 2021 (a 12-month period) the National Institute for Space Research’s Prodes monitoring system shows that the Brazilian Amazon lost 13,235 square kilometers of rainforest.

Bolsonaro blatantly exploited the Amazon for monetary gain, devastating not only the environment but the indigenous people of the Amazon. During his presidency, he lessened the authority of the Fundação Nacional dos Povos Indígenas (FUNAI), a Brazilian governmental protection agency that fights for the interests of the indigenous people of Brazil. Some of the deforested area also occurred indigenous territories and protected areas. According to an analysis of the Brazilian government data by the Climate Observatory, fines handed out for illegal activities such as deforestation in the Amazon decreased by 38% between 2019 and 2022, the same years that Bolsonaro was in power. Though Bolsonaro supporters may believe that reducing the land open for development will hurt the economy, Lula’s goal is just to help our already dying planet from worsening. To carry out these goals, Lula also appointed well-known environmentalists and Indigenous people to key positions at FUNAI and other agencies. This includes Joenia Wapichana, Brazil’s first indigenous woman to command the agency charged with protecting the Amazon and its people.

Hopefully, President Lula will lessen the consequences of the major deforestation that occurred under Bolsonaro. During the United Nations climate summit in Egypt in November, Lula pledged to end all deforestation by 2030. Though this action will certainly be opposed and face a lot of obstacles by pro-Bolsonaro state governors and political forces in power, these are the great first few steps in saving the lungs of the Earth.

“

Lula is the president we can rely on to halt deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon in the future.

Angela Ledesma

Opinion

Clean LA air one step at a time

By Satenik Ayrapetyan @sayra.syrup

Iridescent puddles and dirty air are part of the daily sights in Los Angeles but they don’t have to be if we invest in better public transport for the city.

Last year, LA was counted as the eighty-fifth most polluted city in the world according to the 2022 World Air Quality Report. About 20% of this is caused by cars and trucks in the city, as 14% of the city’s land is devoted to parking spaces. The

sidewalks in LA are narrow and cyclists don’t have much room to work with.

This is unlike New York City, which offers a wide array of transportation possibilities and is considered the most walkable city in the country. NYC sees this success thanks to it boasting the world’s largest rapid transit system and plenty of bicycle lanes, as well as navigable streets and large parks.

If the need for car usage to get anywhere and everywhere in Los Angeles was lessened or road lanes were reduced, native flora could be planted in their stead. This, combined with less car usage, would allow for a greener LA to thrive, reducing its pollution rates and allowing the streets to smell of fresher air.

Not only this, but it would make everything in a community more close-knit. People would choose to walk more over driving because of the closer distance. The preference for walking over driving would lessen the amount of smog in LA.

Decriers may balk at the price tag of reducing car usage through rebuilding infrastructure in LA, but the change would be worth it. In 2022, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved an $8.8 billion budget in an attempt to revive the battered system. Not only is this a good step in the right direction but it also shows that the city can absolutely afford to allocate budget plans in order to reduce car usage and encourage public transport usage, considering one county has already turned its eye to the matter of public transportation.

A greener LA would let people live closer to where they work and drive on smaller roads, as fewer people would need to commute to their workplaces every day. Those who need to get to work would be able to walk short distances, allowing them to flex their muscles underneath the plant life that could replace the long roads we have now. A less car-reliant LA would ensure the next generations of life would be able to breathe healthier air.

A less carreliant LA is a healthier one, that would ensure the next generations of life would be able to breathe healthier air.

Satenik Ayrapetyan

State revisits climate change in curriculum

By Gabrielle Lashley @yogabbgabby_l

For the third time in recent years, Assemblymember Luz Rivas is introducing a bill that would require students in grades 1-12 to learn about the effects of climate change and ways to mitigate it.

“California is falling behind other states and countries about teaching climate change,” Rivas said in an interview by email. “As a result, we are missing critical opportunities to educate those who will be placed to help deliver the solutions to try and reverse the damages being done by climate change.”

Junior David Antonio believes students should learn more about climate change at lower grade levels but implementing it in high school might take away valuable time for other topics.

“People trying to spread awareness about climate change, they won’t have to worry about it because it’s going to be legally in the curriculum,” said Antonio, who took AP Environmental Science in the fall. “But at the same time you have to update all of the material and the resources and that’s going to come down to a lot of taxpayer dollars.

Rivas, who represents California’s 39th district, introduced Assembly Bill 285 on Jan. 24. She introduced similar bills in 2020 and 2022. Both AB 1922, introduced in 2020, and AB 1939, introduced in 2022, required students in grades 1-6 and 7-12 to have climate change implemented into their English, math, social sciences, science and visual and performing arts classes, similar to AB 285. Both earlier bills were never voted on while on the committee floor and as result, died there. Hence, the bill has been re-introduced as AB 285.

The bill would require that these changes be made by the 2024-2025 school year. Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) science teacher Timothy Hughes has said he believes this bill is a good sentiment but the timeframe for the requirement isn’t achievable.

“I work to have students interact with topics that can be expanded upon with a conversation about climate change,” Hughes said. “(The bill) basically gives teachers and whole school systems about a year to put this together and I think that time scale is just a little short and I think that might be something that ends up killing the bill.”

Many DPMHS students say they think the bill should pass and that climate change in education should be expanded on. Both Antonio and senior Kayla Lopez say that they think this bill would bring a positive change to lower grade levels.

“I really do hope this bill is passed,” said Lopez, who is currently taking chemistry and previously took physics. “It’s truly

extremely important and I feel like if a younger audience had more knowledge about this then that can be moving in a way.”

In order to make the addition of climate change into the curriculum a smooth process, AB 285 would “constitute a state-mandated local program.” DPMHS science teacher James Morrison hopes this bill does not pass because of the circumstances that might follow.

“You’ve got people who’ve been teaching this stuff right or wrong for years and now you tell them they have to throw out everything they’ve worked on and start afresh,” Morrison said. “So if you put teachers on this kind of ‘well this is what you need to cover,’ (if) anything comes in like what you’re talking about, I’m instantly out of time.”

Rivas emphasizes the importance of this bill and says that if climate change isn’t taught in schools, then there is no guarantee that they will ever learn about how to deter it.

“Students who are being educated about the impacts of climate changes are clearly better prepared to fight for a better future, but not all children are being provided that opportunity to learn,” Rivas said.

ALAN RUIZ | The Pearl Post

Students in James Morrison’s period 1 AP Environmental Science course create a mini ecosystem using soil, sand and empty water jugs to prepare for an ecosystem analysis lab that will span three months on Sept. 12.

ART BY FRANKIE WITT | The Pearl Post