same type of desire to be able to know that these powerful conversations are happening somewhere,” Porter said. “That really gives me a lot of hope for [this] generation to fix the ills and issues that we’re
specific student would read “To Kill a Mockingbird” instead. Nine students opted out of “The Hate U Give.” “I liked that we were talking about racial injustices because this
to what you’re saying, and I felt like that was all completed after they said ‘yeah.’” The petition was sent to Wall and Porter on Sept. 2. “[The petition] didn’t change
Freshmen Angelica Froumis and Kathy Nguyen read chapters 15 to 18 of “The Hate U Give” during second period in Yale on Nov. 12. They then complete the corresponding reading questions due before their next class. leaving to you to fix.” Although parent opinions were mostly positive about the change in curriculum, three to four sent Wall emails in opposition due to their beliefs that “To Kill a Mockingbird” should still be taught in school. Others were concerned about “The Hate U Give” containing topics pertaining to drugs, sex and violence. While those are mature topics, they are not censored in UPA’s curriculum. Wall and fellow English teacher Andrea Aquino sent home permission slips for parents to consent to their students reading “The Hate U Give” due to the usage of profanity. If their guardian opted out, that 9 | NEWs
was my first time talking about it in class,” freshmen Maya Berhane said. “My old school was majority white and there weren’t that many people of color, so it was close-minded.” On Sept. 2, Berhane and fellow freshman Artem Babin created a petition to bring representation to student voices in the decision and bring more awareness to why “The Hate U Give” would be a better choice. The petition received a total of 78 signatures from various grade levels at UPA. “We’re being heard in a way,” Berhane said. “Because when you petition you want people to spread awareness. You want them to listen
the timing of the approval process,” Porter said. “I just know for me, it strengthened the case for what Ms. Wall was talking about: students want something more contextual that they can relate to.” Belay, who is co-president of UPA’s Black Student Union, read “The Hate U Give” and watched its movie adaptation in middle school. He cites the novel as his current favorite book and supports the change in curriculum. “I’m glad all the ninth graders are reading it because they can learn the importance of it and understand that [racial injustice] is something that happens,” Belay said. “This is something that happens to their peers. This still happens at school.”