WRITTEN BY ANGELINA BESHARA My opinion on the Into the Woods play was I thought it was an understandable and enjoyable play. I think the play was very well rehearsed. The actors were playing their roles very well. I went into the play not knowing what this story was. Then I walked out of the play having a full understanding of what Into the Woods was. This play was a comedy. It kept me hooked the whole time. I never got bored. My favorite character would probably be the little red riding hood girl because she played her role very well and she was very pretty. I loved her. The plot of the play was very understandable. I was never confused because it all came together at the end and they had a good ending. I really enjoyed watching this play. I think it was worth those 7$. I recommend this play to a lot of people because I enjoyed it.
WRITTEN BY DANA BARBEE AND JADEN FISKE
On March 9th, the Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences hosted community members, primarily from the Museum of Tolerance and Los Angeles area, for an event of inclusivity and community called Combat Hate. Starting in the gym, students, teachers, staff, and speakers alike gathered for a dinner catered by Los Toros. Having arrived early, we got the chance to meet briefly with some of the speakers for the evening. A few of those people included Scott Schmerelson, Liebe Geft, Emily Thompson, and Jeff Schoep, the keynote speaker. As dinner progressed, we got to know the people at our table, who had all heard of this event from either neighborhood news and/or their children in community groups taking part in the event. Through our conversations with them, it was clear that members of the community care about the subject matter at hand. As the meal concluded, the director of the museum, Liebe Geft, briefly introduced herself and guided us towards the VAAS theater for the remainder of the event. It was during this portion of the event where various speakers from the community brought up topics such as: preventing hate, protecting yourself and loved ones, and sharing kindness with the people around you, as well as some personal experiences relating to the topic. Gathered in the theater, we had the opportunity to listen to some very interesting stories about experiences with hate and hate prevention. Though many of these stories were saddening, it was inspiring to hear what people in our community are doing to help handle the spread of hate. Some of these speakers included LA City Council Member John Lee, Alan Hamilton from LAPD, Liebe Geft from the Museum of Tolerance, VAAS sophomore Dana Barbee, and primarily, Jeff Schoep. Each speaker had a specific aspect of hate in their community that they wanted to address, spanning over a wide spectrum of experiences, further proving that hate affects everyone differently. John Lee shared stories of hate he has seen friends of his children experience as well as people in the Los Angeles community. His goal is to take a “full active approach to addressing these issues” and he believes that “one of the first steps is having honest and interactive dialogue together as concerned citizens.” Mr. Lee worked to share his thoughts on the best actions we can take towards ending the spread of hate, then proceeded to introduce Deputy Chief Alan S. Hamilton of LAPD who works with the Los Angeles community to end the spread of hate in the LA area. As a member of LAPD, Deputy Chief Hamilton shared some statistics about hate crimes/incidents in the San Fernando Valley, precautions to prevent them from happening in the first place, and actions that people can take to protect themselves from hate crimes if they do occur. He mentioned that at one point last year, within the city of LA, the rate of hate incidents had risen 118%. Hate crimes, though, were not up as much, yet still increased 40%. Over the span of the past couple of years they’ve done nothing but increase. Expressing acceptance for people of all races, genders, religions, etc. leads to a stronger connection in the community and less hate expressions towards groups in the area. As the sixth largest city in the USA, it is important to stand together to prevent the spread of hate. Deputy Chief Hamilton emphasized, “We are only going to fight this if we fight this together.” He also focused a lot on the importance of our generation as teenagers and the future of our community. As we grow up, we are going to be the ones who make the decisions in our world, government, and communities. Deputy Chief Hamilton believes that expressing love to the people around us is a great way to ensure acceptance in the community. He says that preventing hate crimes and hate incidents starts with a shared understanding of inclusivity and diversity. He encouraged us to, “Find strength in our diversity.” It is sometimes hard to decipher the difference between a hate crime and a hate incident. In Deputy Chief Hamilton’s speech, he explains, “Hate incident is an incident that espouses hate that may not reach the level of a crime.” He proceeds to give the example of a poster that expresses hate against another group posted on a wall is a hate incident but if taken to the extreme of vandalism on a car or property, then it is classified as a crime. The most important point he wants the community to know is, “You want to make sure that everyone understands there is no tolerance for hate.” The phrase “See Something Say Something” is often dismissed by students after hearing it on a school campus, but more attention must be brought to this phrase. LAPD often knows about instances before they evolve into a hate incident and a hate crime but that is only because of the communication skills of the people in the community. Keeping your eyes open for hateful activity is always beneficial to the community. What Deputy Chief Hamilton warns against, however, is getting involved if you see a hate crime unraveling in front of you. He encourages you to be a good witness if you are ever in this position. By saying “good witness”, he asks that you make sure to pay attention to the details of the occurrence and to report the information you collect to LAPD. Getting involved in the situation though, no matter your intentions, is strongly advised against. It is important to keep in mind that you never know if the people involved have weapons or have other people that you cannot see, meaning that your involvement may pose a physical threat to your own wellbeing. The most important thing you can do is be a good witness and call 911 to get professionals in law enforcement involved. Sharing the information you’ve collected is the strongest power you have to be able to stop these hateful acts. If you are involved in the incident yourself, Deputy Chief Hamilton recommends you remain involved through the whole investigation process and do not leave until it is complete. Exiting the prosecution prevents law enforcement from being able to stop that individual from committing further crimes. (click "Read More" to continue article) |
EditorZachary Buenaventura Author
Yuliana Altamirano CategoriesArchives
June 2023
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