INSIDE OUR SCHOOLS
Students’ artwork (Photo – sgusdprism.com)
On November 20th, the San Gabriel City Council convened for a special press conference in front of the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse to launch their new campaign.
By Cathy Nguyen
Mayor Denise Menchaca announced the proposal of the city’s first HEAR Commission which stands for “Human Equity, Access and Relations.” Members of the committee will be elected by the city council to help review city policies and laws that potentially perpetuate systemic biases against minorities.
This decision was made following Resolution No. 20-31 which the city council had adopted in response to the rise of Black Lives Matter protests during late May and early June. Council-member Jason Pu noted that, “[T]he murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery gripped the headlines and sparked a national and international dialogue about racial equity and social justice in our society[…]The San Gabriel community was no exception.” Pu cited the local student-led march in June as another source for inspiration for the city council to commit themselves to the fight against hate and racial prejudices. The HEAR commission was their first action item towards this goal and coincided with their plans to participate in the upcoming “United Against Hate Week” led by LA vs. Hate.
As the council-members described the procedures, five colorful canvases echoed their message of unity and solidarity. These canvases showcased the creative ingenuity of five Gabrielino high school students. In collaboration with the program manager of LA vs. Hate, Graphic Design teacher Terri Hopper had her students design posters for the campaign. The campaign encourages the community to report hate crime by phoning 211. As a teacher, Hopper wanted to give her students a platform to express themselves and their personal experiences with hate.
Impressed by the student’s artistry and activism, the San Gabriel City Council asked Hopper for permission to use their artwork as the backdrop for the press conference. student’s creativity. A stand near the individual canvases displayed their personal statements which detailed the thought process behind the pieces.
To commemorate the student’s efforts, the council prepared five certificates. Due to COVID-19 regulations, the students could not attend the press conference. Gabrielino’s Assistant Principal Nick Genisauski accepted the awards on behalf of the youths. In addition, the Mission Playhouse continued to broadcast their art from November 30 to December 6 as a symbol of solidarity during “United Against Hate Week.”
Artwork
Joshua Liu (10th): “This poster represents a fist breaking a sign that says ‘hate'”
Jonathan Du (11th): “Hate doesn’t discriminate: it can affect anyone and everyone”
Lily Situ (9th): “I used people of different races and ages to represent San Gabriel and…flowers to represent kindness and love”
Mandy Tan (10th): “The visual translation I use to represent San Gabriel is the mission, and the sound of the bells shattering the words symbolizes the community shattering hate”
Vanessa Wu (10th): “Although not all minority groups were represented, I tried to put as many as possible to display the struggle and persistence to speak out”
Cathy Nguyen is a student at PRISM (Public Relations, Information, and Social Media), a high school internship program for San Gabriel Unified.
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