Organized We Stand Strong

Thursday, the issue of environmental justice continued with a new speaker. This time the speaker, Sarah E. Light specialized in environmental justice through law and policy. She was a practicing lawyer for about 10 years and interested in environmental justice was a case that she got about a company dumping chemicals in a river. Ever since then she has been involved in the field and now teaches two classes at UPenn.

Her lecture was about challenging assumptions about social justice. For example, when we think of who pollutes, we often think of private companies but often times it's not just them. Same goes with who makes policies that control pollution. We often think of the government but big chains like Walmart can set trends that are healthier for the world. An example is Wal-Mart switching to 100% sustainable fish. This makes fisheries become sustainable in order to be able to do business with Walmart.

She also talked about chance and how to fear factors into what issues people think are important. She made up a scenario for the class. We were going to die but we could choose between being killed by a shark and being killed by a coconut to the head. Most of the class said that they would rather be killed by a coconut. When asked why they said it was a way a safer way to die because they knew what was going to happen while with the shark they don’t know if they would bleed out or get eaten. Statistically, death by coconut is way more common than death by the shark but people are more likely to make a law about sharks because they are more feared. This can happen in more serious situations like making laws about pollution.

That afternoon we had another speaker. It was a CPC representative. He played a film about Chinatown and how they organized to save a church and a school when the city decided to put a highway right in the middle of their town. Much like Fence Line, it was going to divide families and the community they had worked so hard to form. Thankfully, Chinatown is a very close knit community that wants to conserve their culture so they organized the protest and they got a “chair in the big table”. They drew attention to their cause so that the city had no way of refusing them taking part in the decision making for the highway. They couldn’t stop the building of the highway completely but they made it smaller. This allowed them to save the church and school. The town has had many successes through organizing and is now working on nurturing the city through the building of a community center and creating more green spaces.

I found it very interesting how they were able to organize so many people to accomplish their goal. He said that it all came down to three things: communication, dedication, and a common end goal. To make sure the protest were actually organized they needed to communicate with all the people in the town. This created a smoother protest. Dedication is an overarching force that kept them going even if it seemed like they couldn't do it. lastly , a common end goal helped them have their visions set on a way to measure their success because a movement is not any good if they protest just for protesting.


All in all, it was a very good last day of speakers before we had to present our capstone projects to our groups. After class, I went to the library to work on the last things for my capstone project but I took a break to hang out with my small discussion group. Diamond, our TA took us to Lil’ Pop Shop to get delicious popsicles! I was thankful 
All in all, it was a very good last day of speakers before we had to present our capstone projects to our groups. After class, I went to the library to work on the last things for my capstone project but I took a break to hang out with my small discussion group. Diamond, our TA took us to Lil’ Pop Shop to get delicious popsicles! I was thankful for the break to destress. 

House of Diamonds 

7/13 #GirlPower

*note: this blog is an entry from 07-13*

In our class discussion, the main focus we had was on women's rights and violence against women. As an introduction to this, we watched a film called "Difret." I was confused by the title and not understanding its context but as soon as the first ten minutes passed my attention and eyes were glued to the screen. The story is about a fourteen-year-old girl who gets abducted by a group of men on the way home from school as part of the traditions in certain areas of where she was living. One of them had knocked her unconscious then proceeded to rape her and then make her his wife. She had escaped and killed the man using his own rifle and awaits a trial where she is being prosecuted for murder. Being forced to leave her family and home to be in protective custody for her own safety from the men who want her dead, she struggles fighting for her rights as a human and a woman along with the help of her attorney. 

This story literally broke my heart while watching it. I could not imagine the pain and sorrow she must have been after going through all of that. If I was in her position I don't even have faith that I would be able to stay strong myself. I knew about the hardships it was in other countries with rape and loss of human rights, but I never understood it until actually witnessing it with my own two eyes even though they're just actors. It was a true culture shock that I believe many people need to see. 

Once the movie was finished Angie had given us a lecture about the Women's Movement and Feminism along with intersectionality. Throughout time women were left out of equality movements and weren't taken seriously as people especially during the 18th-19th Centuries when we struggled for suffrage. Throughout different aspects in time, women made different movements that contributed to claiming their rights as citizens and to me their own choices such as the first women's rights convention in 1848 and the Declaration of Sediments where men and women were finally made equal on a written document.  A lot of the times women were not given the credit that they deserved for the work they’ve done such as the labor in the factories during WWII and being such strong abolitionists protesting in the march for the Civil Rights movements. Women were judged based on the stereotypes and social construct of what they are "expected" to do. In 1966, the National Organization of Women was established to kill these false and misleading images of women and reinstate new ones.

As time went on women slowly began gaining their rights throughout time. In 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination based on gender and by 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendment bars bias due to gender too. This allowed more of an equal opportunity for women to get into college, find a job, play on a sports team, etc.  If women had not protested and raised awareness about NOW, I am not even sure if we would have our rights now. They used intersectionality (theory used to describe people who are being discriminated or have violence against them in multiple forms) as a way of unity and the Stand Point Theory (common experiences or challenges that join people together). Women may still not be completely equal to men as of today, but at least we are more respected than before.

In the afternoon, the guest speaker Dr. Salamishah Tillet, showed us a presentation on the different types of ways freedom was incorporated into music. From past to present day music is used to send messages of different meanings in an artistic and influential way. She introduced to us artists such as Nina Simone, Shirley Verrett, Abbey Lincoln, Aretha Franklin, and Beyonce and how their music has shown strong influence in their own definitions of freedom and justice. Other leaders such as Harriett Tubman, Harriett Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, and Ida B. Wells are also major influences who expressed their truths in different ways, most of which were associated with freedom for slaves and make peace with those lynched or passed.

It’s hard listening to the hardships and struggles of those from the past as well as the present. The reality of the world is so much harsher than what it is perceived to be. I have the most respect for these people and I appreciate their effort in making a social change within their society. Hopefully all of us will learn from these activists and push forward a better future not allowing history to repeat itself.

Our Homecoming

The effects of my late night were magnified by the fact that I had to get up at 6:30 AM to say goodbye to Sehar. I practically forced myself out of bed and outside so that I could do so. I managed to hold back tears as she left, reminding myself that she lives the closest to me out of all of my friends, and that I would be able to see her again. After Sehar left, we had some time left before the next departure, so the rest of us spent the morning together. Next to go was Sam, who had to leave in a rush. This was the point when I started crying. I had warned my friends that I was a cryer when it came to goodbyes like this.

The ILCers and I left at 10 AM. Reva and Jana offered to help me carry my stuff to the taxi, which was so nice of them. When I returned my keys, we asked one of the counselors to take a picture of the three of us. The photos ended up featuring a lot of ugly crying faces, but that's okay. Trying to stretch out time together to the last possible moment, I returned to the front of the quad even after I had loaded my things into the taxi. There, Jack and Helen were waiting for me. Our group exchanged one last group hug and several individual ones. It was a very sad moment when I had to walk away and get into the cab. I knew that I would be able to talk to and potentially see many of my friends again, but I just couldn't believe that our time together was over! It's crazy how close you can get to people over such a short amount of time.

Our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 4 PM, so we had a lot of time to kill even after checking in and going through security. At the Starbucks, I unexpectedly ran into Jack, who was flying out to Maine with his father to meet the rest of his family for vacation. It was a short little reunion, as I had to return to the rest of my cohort, but it made me feel a little bit better. To think, I had thought that saying goodbye at the Quadrangle might have been the last time I saw him. It just goes to show you never know what's gonna happen!

My cohort and I went to a restaurant to grab a quick lunch. I hadn't eaten yet that day, so it was a relief. We spent the remaining time until we boarded the plane at the gate working on blogs and things like that. Kamillah and I took a quick break to grab some Jamba Juice, as well, which we joked tasted like home. Finally, at around 3:30, we started getting ready to get on the plane. My seat was in between Diana and Chris, so once again I didn't meet anyone new during the flight. Oh well, I might've been too tired to make good conversation anyways!

I was trying to get a short nap in when our captain announced that due to weather, our flight would be temporarily delayed. This didn't seem like a big deal, until the short delay turned an hour long. Then, our captain told us that we had to wait in line until we could take off. Once it was our turn, we had burned too much fuel, so we had to go all the way back to our gate to get some more. By the time we were finished, there were 35 other planes on the ground, so we had to wait for the okay to get back in line. We didn't end up getting into the air until after 8:00, four hours later than originally planned.

I was grateful once our plan took off, but at that point I could barely keep my eyes open. I spent most of the flight asleep, along with Diana and Chris, taking a short break from that only to order some food. It had been a very draining day. We landed at 11:00 PM, and had to wait awhile for all of our luggage. Then, there was some confusion with our taxi, which was parked a lot further away from us than we had thought. Luckily, the driver was able to meet us halfway. After hastily making sure that all of our luggage was secure in the trunk, we started to journey back to El Cerrito High School, bringing the entire trip full circle.

Don and all of our parents were waiting for us at ECHS, but this time the lights were on. Acknowledging how tired we all were, Don snapped a few quick shots before sending us all home. My aunt picked me up, as my mom is out of town, but I didn't tell her that much about the trip because I was still exhausted. I climbed into bed as soon as we got to my house. It felt strange, but good, to be sleeping there again.

One last time together

A Night to Remember

The end of the program began with class on Friday morning. Friday was the day that we were going to present the projects we had been working on to our groups, and it was to be a short day. I got up for breakfast for what would be the last time, a meal during which myself and all of my friends were all going over our presentations and asking each other for last minute advice. We continued to do this as we made our way to our classroom building, where we waited for our group leaders to arrive and lead us into our small sections. I felt nervous, but it wasn't too bad because I knew my group members would be supportive and probably genuinely interested in what I had to say.

The first presentation we saw was a presentation by two people from different discussion groups, about the LGBTQ+ movement in Philadelphia. Their project involved surveying random people they met at Penn bookstore, and the footage from these mini-interviews made the presentation unique. I was the first one to present from my group alone, but I was almost glad that I could get it out of the way so that I could be more engaged in what my fellow students were presenting about. My presentation went smoothly, there were no technological issues and I was perfectly coherent. However, my group members set a very high bar! I'm also glad that I went first so that I didn't have to follow any of them.

One of the highlights of the presentations was a poem by my classmate Omar, a spoken word piece he wrote about the media in the United States. I had no idea that he was so into poetry, or how talented he is! His delivery was very well paced and he put a lot of emotion into what he was saying, which made me pay that much more attention to his message. The poem was a refresher from all of the power points that we saw during the day. Of course, the power points were interesting too! I particularly enjoyed a photo series by my group member Amina, who set out to tell the stories of undocumented immigrants in the United States, and explore a hypothetical reality of our country without undocumented immigrants. The pictures she took explained the struggles that undocumented immigrants face when they come to America and all of the ways that they contribute to American society. The photos themselves were very creative, and I liked the way that Amina used individual stories to introduce us to larger topics, such as sexual assault and below minimum-wage pay.

By lunchtime, we were mostly done with presentations, and we took a break to go upstairs to the main classroom and eat pizza. In honor of our last day, the program had bought us lunch. We ate together with the other groups, but we eventually had to pop back down to our group's classroom for one final presentation. There was also another member of our group who had teamed up with a member of another group, so our two groups came together to see their presentation as well. This was another good one, as it was aimed at finding a solution to low achievement in Chicago Schools. They had come up with the idea of an app that gave kids incentive to get good grades by rewarding them with coupons and rewards points for different businesses. This was the only presentation that I saw that not only explored a problem within our society, but came up with a concrete idea about how it could be remedied. Even cooler was how the boys who created the app actually intended to implement it. They weren't just talking the talk, they were going to go out there and change something.

All of the groups having gone through all of their presentations, we stayed in class for the next hour or two doing written and verbal evaluations of the course and the impact it had had on us. We did talk about little changes that could be made, but in the end we all agreed that it had been a valuable experience. Of course, we also made time to get a group shot and exchange contact information. At the end of it all, we had a little graduation ceremony. Professor Hanson called each of us to the front of the from and gave us certificates to recognize our participation of the course. After that, we were free to go, but I lingered a little bit longer than I was obligated to to say goodbye to people. I'm sure I'll be crossing paths with many of them in the future, since we're all passionate about many of the same things, but it was pretty sad regardless.

Once the classroom had mostly cleared out, I left as well, and went back to the quad for a while. Jana, Sehar, Reva, Sam, Jack and I were going out to Pod, the same sushi restaurant I had gone to nearly two weeks before with Jana's father, for our last dinner. We had about two hours to kill before our reservation, however, so we went to the lounge in my building and watched a movie while we got ready. Pod isn't that fancy, but we thought that we might as well look nice on our last night together. While we were fixing ourselves up, we said goodbye to Lizzy, who was leaving early. This was my first parting with one of my close friends, and it was very emotional, but I had to push past it so that I could enjoy the rest of the night. Our reservation was at 7, so we started walking at 6:40.

We were seated at a round table near the back of the restaurant, and we proceeded to have a dinner filled with good food and lots of laughs. It began to hit me just how much I was going to miss these people, many of whom live on the east coast, but I pushed that thought away and decided not to think about it until later.

After a quick stop at the bookstore for one last look at the merchandise they had there, we returned again to the quad. Summer Discovery was hosting a carnival for the last night, but the festivities were partially drowned out by the activities of other programs that were staying in the quad. Determined to squeeze as much fun out of the night as possible, myself and the group I had gone to dinner with wandered around for a few hours trying to find something to do. There wasn't much going on, so we just ended up in one of our rooms playing board games and games on our phone and listening to music. I was satisfied just spending time with the people I had come to care about the most.

At curfew, I went back to my room to finish the daunting task of packing up my things. Although this seemed intimidating at first, I managed to finish this task with relative quickness. I still went to bed at 2 AM, but it could have been worse!

Environmental Injustice

Today’s class started off with a watching of the film, “Fence Line”, which portrayed the struggles of a community getting relocated into a part of town that isn’t next to the fence line of a nearby factory that is polluting the air. The community would take their own air samples and send them to be tested in a California facility because the company would not take responsibility and admit that they were polluting the air. The hard part about this issues is that a lot of the population worked for that company so they believed that the company was good and that it wasn’t creating problems for the community. However, for those who lived the nearest to the factory were experiencing things like asthma and lung cancer.

Out of desperation, the community began to organize because the factory promised them to buy out four streets for an expansion but they went back on their word and were only going to buy two streets. This would split up the community and make it harder for families to stay together. So, to fix this, they protested and even got to attend a convention in Amsterdam with the CEOs of the factory. This brought attention to the issue. The company, in the end, bought four of the streets and relocated all the families in that area.

The other residents still didn’t believe that the factory was polluting the environment. This is the type of mentality that prevents society from being just and fair towards the needs of everyone. In a way, it reminded me of radical political supporters that make up any excuse to justify the actions of the candidate they support even if it is evident that their actions are not correct.

After the movie, we went to lunch and when we came back we had a speaker. The speaker, Patricia Kim, talked about environmental humanities. This is a relatively new field of study that deals with how the environment affects groups of people differently. The speaker said that it was easier to say what environmental humanities was not rather than to say what it was because it covers such a broad spectrum of issues and deals with a lot of intersectionalities.

At the end of her talk, we were dismissed and I hung out with my floormates. We went to get some food at the 1920’s and played Pokemon Go. The time here has been so short and I wish it would slow down but at the same time, I am excited to be able to go back home and see my loved ones again.

Gateway to a Better Society

Our final day of the Social Justice Research Academy has finally reached its climax. The final day where we would all spend together and when we would present our capstone projects. My capstone project is about domestic violence and child abuse. I would show the problems a child endures and develops while maturing in a domestically violent home and how we may be able to prevent this. 

Waiting to be next built up so much anticipation in my heart. I had butterflies fluttering in my stomach urging to be released from this trapped tension. I always feel as if I'm going to do horrible like my past presentations where I have a facial spasm and begin to blink abnormal amounts or talk really fast to get it over with. You would think that being in speech and debate would've helped me out with being comfortable before presenting. I was the tenth presenter, second to last. They say the last speakers are the ones you remember the most. With that thought in my mind, it added more fuel of nerves to the fire. 

Before I knew it, Yun had called me up for my turn to present. All of my previous feelings had disappeared and I felt like myself again. My comfort levels had come back as if it was always there with me. I walked up to the front of the room with my Dell Laptop secured in my hands. I placed it on a nearby desk and plugged in a cord allowing my screen to be projected to the public one (sorry I don't know its technical term). I started off my presentation with an introduction video showing a family with domestic violence from the child's point of view witnessing domestic violence. From there on everything began to flow into place along with the words rolling off my tongue. What helped the most is making the group become interactive as I presented; It made it less boring and kept the audience awake and focused on the content of what I was saying. I chose to do this because it gets annoying being talked at and personally, I like feeling as if i am being talked to instead of lectured. I felt satisfied with my comfort and the compliments I received after. 

Chris Snapped Me Preparing for the Presentation

For lunch, the program bought pizza for all of us to indulge. They were fat, cheesy slices but by the time we got there, it was already cold. I took a seat and chatted with some friends for the final time. It was weird thinking that this was it, the final day. It felt as if it were the last day of school all over again. 

As soon as everyone finished up their last bites, we were required to do a few activities before receiving our program completion certificates. The professor, along with student teachers, had given us blank sheets of paper to write answers to three questions projected onto the white screen. The first one was, "Name an AHA! moment that you've had while being a part of the program." I was just as confused as you are thinking in my mind, "What is an AHA! moment?" An"AHA! moment" is a moment when you know a topic or specific thing but what you know, isn't the depth of or reality of it, such as defining what exactly social justice is or gender. The second question was, "What are you looking forward to share with others when you come back home in regards to the program." The final question was "What are your goals for implementing social change within your school, community, and/or world and what will you use to make this happen?"

My AHA! moment is learning about social impact and what we actually give back to society. It incorporates health, education, safety, art, infrastructure, money, etc. all play an important role in benefiting the public. The slightest choice we make can have a chain reaction to all of society. If people chose not to get vaccines or to become educated or even abandon or remove art, the future of the world will be in chaos. It gave me a shock of reality of how important the choices we make are done with well-thought and care. In all honesty, I am not going to share anything when I get back, I am going to brag about every little detail I enjoyed so much about this program and the opportunities I have been connected with. Writing down what my goals are for social change is practically time consuming and pointless. The list is so extensive and the reality of it is that I probably won't even know half of what I actually will do until I do it. I do know for sure that I am going to stay in contact with many of the guest speakers and use their advice to my advantage later on to help steer me in the correct direction or open doors to other people who may have a stronger support to what I am trying to accomplish. This is all only scratching the surface of what my plans are.

We spoke with one another in groups and actually shared our thoughts or opinions on our experience there, what we liked/disliked, our answers to the writing prompts, how we could improve the program, etc. My favorite response that I heard was this guy stating how amazing it was being here because he can actually speak with other people on the same intellect level as him. Where he comes from, people are mainly republican and Donald Trump. It was funny but also eye-opening to what people actually think in other areas. 

Group Photo With My Section: House of  Representatives

From that point on, we received our certificates in a small graduation style ceremony and a final speech given to us by Professor Hanson himself with mini cupcakes for all of us if we wanted one. We all took a group picture together as a class and in our individual section groups. It was a nice way to close out our program and say our farewells to everyone before we all departed ways back to where we are from. This experience is honestly unforgettable and to those reading, if you do not attend this program, you have not been exposed to raw reality of the society and world we live in today. It is a gateway to seeing past your ignorance and opening your mind up to things that you probably believed you knew but actually don't. I strongly suggest if you have the opportunity to do this, take it, you will be mind-blown. 

7/22 Bittersweet Rememberance

The closer we get to closing out the program, the faster each day seems to pass by. We had our final guest speakers come in today to talk about environmental justice. The first speaker had explained to us about the risk and uncertainty things contain and how not everything can be made into a statistic as well as environmental standards, and pollutants.  Using a humorous example, she asked us if we preferred to die of a shark attack or a coconut. I picked the coconut only because it seemed less painful and traumatizing than the shark attack but none of it mattered much to me. I can't imagine myself from dying from either since I hate coconuts and I don't know how to swim so I would not be around any of these areas. The class was divided between the choices; she pulled out her data showing which had the higher risk of death. Sharks had 64 deaths annually v. 150 deaths by a coconut. Stats such as these depend on the likeliness of which factor people are exposed to more and controlled variables. In my opinion, people are going to be more cautious of a shark attack than a coconut so they will avoid certain parts of the water rather than people avoiding palm trees. She stated that the actual risk of something depends on the perception, which drives policy makers of the environment leading to the precautionary principle. If something seems to be more dangerous than another, there would be a ban or restriction placed upon it. It's better to be safe and prevent a situation rather than be sorry and try to fix something.

We had dispersed for lunch and gathered in our discussion groups after. Since tomorrow we would be getting fed by our program, Diana, Chris, Sam, and I decided to max out on our cards for our final day before we headed back to class. Lunch was the only time where the food was actually good and with a variety of options to choose from each day. I'm going to miss that once we leave.

In our final time of discussion group, we had reflected on our speakers and what they explained to us during their presentations. It was difficult actually getting into depth and unpack the topic when everyone in the room was still hung up over the very controversial issue of death by shark v. coconut. It's interesting how an example can lead to such an irrelevant debate between people. Moving away from this issue, our student teacher/group leader, Yun, had us draw a boat of us sailing to our goals and the things that get in the way preventing you from accomplishing it as well as the things that help propel you forward. I drew a path for a more realistic approach. It was hard for me to think of things that could get in the way of my goals for some reason. We were suppose to apply what we've learned throughout the three weeks to it but I still could not consider it. A lot of things that I thought about could also end up making me leap forward the same amount as it could hold me back. I ended up writing very few things but were factors I could see effecting me in the future. 

PCDC Organization Video

The things I had used to barricade my way through include: social class, financial instability, gender inequality, and self-identification. The majority of the things in life that help you advance further than others plays a large role on where your social class is, how much money you have etc. Since I don't have a high privilege of either, I believe this will add to some contribution to the opportunities that I get, which can be beneficial and also a drawback. I am a girl, and because of this, a majority will not take me seriously. The evidence is in politics, social media, job pay, and just about anywhere. What I mean by self-identification is where I stand in who I am and how I am perceived by society. I have more than one race but am forced to choose between one in certain places, other places I am at a disadvantage but still privileged than most, it's as if society is pressuring me to classify myself into a category that I don't understand how or why I have to. This recap gave me more to think deeply about than I was before. 

All of us returned to the main lecture hall in the McNeil building where our last speaker, John Chin, would present to us about environmental justice within Chinatown. In 1845, Chinese immigrants had settled into the area. 38% of the people were living below poverty. The community itself has only one school and one church with no community center. The people living there were a diverse group consisting of at-risk  youth, elderly, LGBTQ people, etc. and many were first generations so they knew limited English and had little to no education. Underneath this area were people constructing tunnels and highways along with placing their sewage and cement companies nearby. This leads to health hazards within the community. The only reason housing was there was to preserve Chinatown. Mr. Chin is part of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. Thanks to him and his organization, he has been able to help out the community and level it out in better condition than it was before. He started with outlining in neighborhood developmental programs which led PCDC  to attract five million dollars to be used to give aid in building or conditioning parks, sidewalk and road development, a community center, buildings etc. in Chinatown. A lot of the funds had came from the government. He had explained to us that protesting is not easy. In order to be taken seriously, you need a plan along with solid data, funding, and statistics to help back you up. With all this done, it proves how serious and dedicated you are to helping your cause. Communication, media, protesting, and education lead to social justice. Before Mr. Chin had left, I walked up to him and asked for his contact information for possible future advice in making a change within neighborhoods. He had really inspired me and listening to Chinatown's situation, it had reminded me a lot about cities back home in the bay who are struggling with similar issues. 

The Tonight Dough with Jimmy Fallon

At around 4:30 PM as a way of having our last discussion group together, the program is paying for Yun to take our group out for ice cream. We had walked to Ben and Jerry's nearby the campus where each of us had ordered our ice cream. I decided to try something new and order "The Tonight Dough with Jimmy Fallon." It was a cute creative name that immediately caught my attention and I knew I had to order it. We all sat together and indulged our ice cream enjoying it, and one another's company. It was a bittersweet end for our group but we still had another day left to savor together while it lasts.