May 2019-News

News

LINCOLN'S NEWEST PATHWAY IS CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS LOOKING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEMSELVES.

By: Alexis C. Gomez

The first cohort of students for the new Social Justice Learning Community Program.

For the past two years, the Social Justice Learning Community Program has been in the works at ALHS. This year freshman and sophomores are able to apply for this all new program created by Beatrice Tesereo, Sunshine Roque, Morgan Wallace, and Samantha Sherman.

The Social Justice Community Learning Program differs from other pathways like Green Academy or Business academy because the target for this program will be 9th and 10th graders, who are passionate about learning about social justice and equity and exhibit leadership potential, according to a new poster about the key points of the new program.

The students who choose to join will be placed in a cohort where they will have two or three classes together with teachers that root their lessons in equity and justice. Unlike other pathways at Lincoln, the cohort will be mixed in with regular classes as well.

Sherman will be teaching English for the freshman cohort of students and Roque will be teaching biology. They are both still in the process of integrating their lessons with social justice and equity. Peer Resources will also be partnering with the Social Justice Learning Community Program by connecting peer mentors with the 9th grade cohort.

Every Thursday the 9th grade cohort will meet with peer resources mentors to build academic and emotional support with each other. They will do this by answering different prompts and check-ins and taking on different social justice projects.

If the students participating choose to continue with this program all four years, at the end of senior year they will have a final project which they will be planning and hosting a community event themselves. This will put all of the community building skills they will learn in action.

Research was done by Tesereo, Roque, Sherman, and Wallace through surveys and testimonials of students to present for a grant that Social Justice Community Learning Program needed to make it a reality.

‘“We have all these pathways and resources at Lincoln. Yet we are still finding that, in some of the surveys and testimonials, that certain groups of students are not feeling community at Lincoln that transcends a group of friends, and they aren’t feeling a sense of community in their classrooms”, says Tesereo.

Since this research has been done, the program has decided to throw a 9th grade summer summit for incoming students that are interested in learning about more about social issues and historical, cultural, and current movements. Families will be invited as well as teachers so everyone can start building relationships so students don’t feel so overwhelmed their first day of school.

Navigating high school can feel overwhelming and lonely. However Social Justice learning Community Program wants to support these students and help them build relationships with their peers and teachers so the students will begin to feel more comfortable and safe at Lincoln. Supporting these students early on will create students that can be successful all throughout high school.

LINCOLN’S NEW SPRING RALLY RECEIVED BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

By: Congnan Lu

Spring Fest has always been a day when clubs are allowed to sell food and drinks on the basketball court to students and staff as a way to fundraise. However, this year was a little different, because the Spring Festival was converted into the Spring Rally.

15 clubs sold food at the senior bleachers, while rally games were played on the grass, including bigfoot, tug of war, hula hooping, and Sumo wrestling. Student volunteers from each class competed with the other classes in teams.

One main reason for this change of events is the lack of popularity of the Spring Fest, according to Rocky Marania, the ASB president.

“We saw a lot of wasted food from the lack of participation in the Spring Fest last year, so we wanted to see what we could do as an alternative,” says Marania.

Another reason for the creation of the Spring Rally is to reinforce school spirit, according to Samantha Sherman, the ASB adviser.

“We wanted to give our students more outlets to show that they have school spirit, and that looks like rallies and spirit days. There are ways for people to participate. We want to figure out how to dually allow people to have something that they are feeling spirit about, and providing a new tradition and opportunity for Lincoln.” says Sherman.

The junior class won the game bigfoot. However, they lost to the teachers’ team when they confronted them in tug of war. During the competition between the freshman and sophomore classes, the red rope broke in half due to both teams pulling with excessive strength and force. Everyone collapsed on the ground due to the backward force, and, laughing, arose.

“That’s the best moment during Spring Rally,” Susan Kelly, a math teacher, laughs.

The sumo wrestling game also attracted lots of student participation. Students wore Sumo wrestling costumes and tried to push the competitors out of the circle. Marania even handed over his microphone to join in the fun himself, competing with another student from the football team.

Due to the cold and foggy weather, the water balloon war didn’t happen between classes. But, at the end of the rally, students still had fun throwing water balloons at their friends.

However, improvements can still be made according to Zoe Zhou, a student who didn’t get to participate in the games.

“I think the Spring Rally can include more games, so that more people get to play instead of only choosing around eight people from each class.” Zhou suggests.

School should also do a better job at informing students about what’s going to happen at the Spring Rally, suggests Ruby Parish, a senior who had fun at the rally.

“A lot of my friends didn’t come or didn’t want to come because they don’t know what exactly is happening and how is it different from Spring Fest,” says Parish.

“I’m mad that a lot of people ditched and didn’t go.” Adds Martin Koulikov, a junior.

PROM CAN BE AN ENCHANTED NIGHT, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE GARDEN OF STRESS

By: Laila A. Boston

Olvin Cruz makes a grand gesture and uses his friends puppy to ask Maya Benmokhtar to Prom.

For many high school students, prom is a magical night filled with glamor and great times. The theme this year is “Enchanted Gardens”, which definitely plays into the prom aesthetic of glitz and glamor. The prom coordinators hope that the night fills students with happiness and joy, and they feel as if they are in a fantasy. Although the night itself may feel effortless, the work and preparations aren’t exactly a “walk in the park”. Prom-goers take the night pretty seriously, stressing about finding a date, wearing the perfect dress or tux, and even the perfect place to take pictures.

Jael Bryant, a junior at Lincoln, states, “I feel like the prom itself is stress-free, but getting ready for it is definitely not.”

Sometimes students feel everything needs to be perfect at prom, while others may just be in it for a good time and a great high school experience. Point being, students want prom to be an epic night to remember.

Samantha Sherman, one of Lincoln’s English teachers and event coordinators, says, “We did a lot to create spots for people who were unable to pay, had special circumstances, and unique situations. Mr. Loey, Mr. Ruelas, Ms. Balisi, and all the admin were really considerate this year. We met with students and tried really hard to ensure we created as much access to this event as possible.”

There is a estimate of 450 people attending prom this year. There is a lot of work to do to prepare for the night, not only from the students/guests point of view, but also from the prom planners’. Planning a prom can take months just to make sure everything gets pulled off. In Lincoln’s case, prom has been in planning since the beginning of last school year, August 2017.

Clearly, it takes a lot for the magical night to be majestic, and if we’re going to be honest, last-minute party set up and preparations are not meant for prom.

The night is planned to be great and grand for the upperclassmen, so I hope the senior and junior classes plan on showing up and showing out for the night, as these are the last years of high school. It’s time to have fun at 2019’s “Enchanted Gardens” prom

RUMOR TO CHANGE SKATEBOARD POLICY IS UNTRUE

By: James E. Stonecipher

While living in the metropolis of San Francisco, we all know muni can be unreliable and that driving is no quicker. If the method of transportation you use is electric or powered by your own strength, then this rumored policy change may affect you. A little talked about and an untouched policy was rumored to change however, the rumor turned out to be just a rumor.

The policy regarding skateboards, scooters, hoverboards, bikes, and their electric counterparts is meant for students to be able to use their methods of transportation and get to school and prevent students from causing any harm or damage to themselves or the school. The policy states, “To ensure the safety of all students, skateboards, hoverboards, skates, scooters, and bicycles may not be used during school hours while on school grounds.” The current policy does not prohibit students from riding their skateboards or bikes to school, but it does prohibit them from riding them on campus during school hours. However, what defines school hours is up to the school itself.

Students around campus with skateboards don’t always follow the rules as the skate culture has always been anti-authority. Although, most of the time this behavior goes unnoticed around campus allowing students to do as they please. When students are caught riding on campus, they are usually just told to get off their boards or not to ride in the halls. Regardless, students still refuse to listen.

Although, students aren’t entirely at fault for repeated use of boards when not permitted. Staff or security can’t always look for just skateboarders as they often have other, more serious issues that might pose threat or danger.

Students have been skating to school since the skateboard had been invented. The use of skateboards, types, and its culture has significantly changed contradicting the risks, injuries, and liability issues that haven’t changed. This seems to be the main concern with skateboards: the risks and legal problems that can come with its injuries. The school is already at liable risk for having students since they can be reckless. The insurance cost and the possibility of a lawsuit are still at play which means if a student was skating and got hurt while on school property, there could be potential lawsuits. Students have signed many forms already which protect the school from liability and other legal trouble, but is there a policy or contract which protects the school from skateboarding, biking, or scooter related injuries while on campus?

Changes or not, there will always be positive or negative perspectives. Kids will continue to skate, and staff will continue to enforce them.

STUDENTS GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT THE GOLDMAN AWARDS

By: Rocio

The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world largest award honoring grassroots environmental activists from continental regions like Asia, Africa, Europe, Islands, Island Nations, and North, Central, and South America. This was the thirtieth year of the event, and this year, it was held at the San Francisco Opera House. The grassroots organizations in the running for the award help protect endangered ecosystems around the earth, and combat against projects that are harmful to the environment.

The first ever Goldman Environmental Prize was given on April sixteenth, 1990, but was established on September first, 1989. This year’s prize recipients were Linda Garcia, Alfred Brownell, Bayarjargal Agvaantseren, Jacqueline Evans, Alberto Curamil, and Ana Colovic Lesoska. These people are all environmental activists who have been threatened by people with different ideas.

Senior Sofia Sanchez had the honor of moderating at the youth ceremony. She interviewed two of the seven award shareholders of the year.

“I believe that The Goldman Environmental awards is a very empowering event and I recommend others to attend next year. I feel that those who attended can use this as an incentive to help make a change in our home. Especially the youth, since this is our home and our children’s as well,” says Sanchez.

“I feel that people don’t see the gravity of the situation,” continues Sanchez. “According to scientific research, we only have twelve years before the effects of climate change are irreversible and our Earth becomes uninhabitable.”

Valerie Zieglar, a teacher at Lincoln, says, “The Goldman awards are extremely important to the environment and our future. They recognize individuals that are fighting to save our planet. Each year, two of the winners take part in a student panel where young people can ask questions about their work and activism. It is inspiring to hear more about their work.”

The Goldman Environmental Globes allows students to come and learn and hear about activists who advocate for the Earth. It allows students to have an opportunity to hear about activists around the Earth. These activists stop forests from getting cut down and save species from getting extinct and marine life. The activists get recognized for their heroic work. We should all do our part to keep our home cleaner.

DRAMA DEPARTMENT DECAY JUST PART OF LINCOLN'S CONTINUAL GROUNDS DETERIORATION

By: Zev Curiel-Friedman

Katinka Kielager has to deal with tons of open holes and crumbling plaster in her workspace. Photo By: Zev Curiel-Friedman

Since middle school, Katinka Kieliger has loved the magical task of finding and creating costumes that bring characters to life, so when the opportunity arose for her to become the Drama department’s resident costume manager, she couldn’t turn down the opportunity.

However, the realities of the role aren’t as glamorous as the perfect pairing of actor and attire that we see on stage. Because the drama department’s numerous costumes take up a large amount of space, Kieliger has been relegated to work in the cramped coat check room outside the auditorium.

Last year when costuming the drama club’s production of Curious Savage, Kieliger discovered that the cramped space wasn’t the only issue with the room.

“It’s dark in there, and it smells,” Kieliger says, “and I thought that that was kinda weird. I thought that there was mold at first because it was so dark, but then as I was looking around I saw all these holes everywhere. It looked like someone punched the wall all the way around and there were little pieces of dust falling everywhere. I looked up at the ceiling, and I realized that I could see the top of the ceiling.”

The crumbling plaster on the walls, surrounding holes, and mold aren’t passive issues either.

“I opened the door and the plastic that was resting on top of the door, along with all of this dust, fell on me,” Kieliger said.

Kieliger has had asthma her whole life and said that it has been acting up a bit more as a result of working in the disintegrating room.

“I’m technically not supposed to inhale that sort of stuff. I wouldn’t say that I’m seriously having asthma, but it's bad. It’s definitely not helping,” she says.

In an effort to manage the issues in the room Kieliger and a few of her tech friends took matters into their own hands. “We have basically Saran Wrapped around all of the walls and on the ceiling, and it’s duct-taped.”

Although the issue could be avoided by leaving the room, Kieliger feels that isn’t an option because of limited space: “I don’t know where else I would work. That’s the only option for me right now. That’s just how it has to be right now.”

Kieliger says that the issues going on within the coat check room pretty much resemble the state of most drama equipment at the moment. As she puts it, “Everything is sort of kind of working in our general area at this point.”

This past year, holes in the ceiling have allowed water to fall onto and damage the stage, which subsequently forced the tech crew to tack up the entire stage before the talent show. The club also just got a new curtain because the previous one had sustained fire and mold damage.

Despite the sizable impact that these difficulties have had on the drama program, they are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of Lincoln's deteriorating facilities.

Dr. Lance Tagomori, the assistant principal of budget, facilities, and school activities, says that he makes at least 20 reports a day to the buildings and grounds department of SFUSD. The reports range from requests for the replacement of broken windows in classrooms to the removal of half-eaten-by-coyotes raccoons on campus.

However, Tagomori only has so much control over what is actually done to address these issues. After receiving reports from teachers, students, custodians, or simply noticing issues himself, Tagomori heads to the district maintenance website to report an issue.

“So I come in and open this website here, and I go to ‘new requests,’” Tagomori says as he walks me through the process.

After opening the site, Tagomori has to select which department within the department he would like to notify.

Tagomori then writes a blurb detailing the facts about the issue, including where it is and the problems that it is causing, and often uploads a picture of the damage that he took as well.

Once that's finished, Tagomori submits the report. The process is something that he has to repeat for every single report, which number over a thousand a year, he estimates. All of the reports then go into a queue, where they can sit for up to years.

“From here I sort of lose control over what gets prioritized; it's up to them [the buildings and grounds department],” Tagomori explains.

Tagomori said that he had already reported the coat check room issue twice. In fact, people from the district had come to look at it once but never finished fixing the issue, something that happens more often than not.

This happens in part because of the district’s prioritization system. The system places issues into four categories: Emergency, which are said to be addressed immediately; urgent, which are said to be addressed within one to three days; routine, which are said to be addressed within three work days and four weeks; and desirable, which are said to likely take more than four weeks.

Tagomori said of the district’s timeliness, “If there is an emergency then [they say], ‘This needs to be done first.’ And they have to do 100-some odd schools, so this whole department has to deal with all the schools, so generally they do the emergencies first.”

More specifically, the department has to handle 150 district-owned facilities, and receives on average 20,000 requests a year, of which they say they complete on average around 75%. That still leaves around 5000 requests unanswered and unsolved.

In addition to having to prioritize emergencies, Tagomori notes that the departments within the building and grounds department are understaffed, which also likely increases the length of time it takes to get issues fixed. Of the 13 subdivisions within the building and grounds department, there are only on average around five workers per division.

According to Tagomori, Lincoln’s facilities and grounds crew is also understaffed because they leave for districts that pay more.

Because of all these factors working against Tagomori and in turn the school, he has to make extra efforts to try and muster any action on his requests.

“Sometimes I have to make it more urgent than it is so they come,” he says.

Right before my eyes Tagomori submits his third request for the coat check room to be fixed, writing in all caps: “Plasterwork. Location: Auditorium main lobby. Check room closet. 3 foot gaping hole in wall. Closet is on the right side facing the auditorium. Hazardous to student and staff use. Third request. Thank you.”

As he scrolls though his queue of requests, all of which are in all caps, he laughingly says, “They’re kinda onto me because I put a lot of ‘urgents.’”

Tagomori says that fostering a positive relationship with the crew is also a big part of his efforts. “If I have a really good relationship with them they will come out more, and they will address some of the things faster than if I had a bad relationship with them. Even if I do all the right things it [requests for repairs] might go to the bottom.”

He continues, “All of us try to keep really good relationships with all of them and be really nice to them, so we give them food or a shirt. Whatever it takes.”

Even after going above and beyond, there is no guarantee that any action will take place on his reports, and if there is it may be months or years after the initial submission.

Tagomori says, “I will be really lucky if electrical will come out about three to four times a year,” noting that, for instance, an office downstairs has been dark for years, and that “heating won’t come out; they'll just say, ‘Deal with it; be cold.’”

Although Tagomori says that electrical and heating issues are rarely or sparingly dealt with, Electricians and HVAC engineers, who deal with electricity and heating respectively, are two of the three most-staffed positions within the building and grounds department. The department also classifies both issues as “Urgent,” which as noted before is the second-highest rating on their prioritization scale, and says that issues of that manner should be adressed within one to three days’ time.

As a result of the lack of work that actually takes place, students like Kieliger have to pay the price.

Kieliger recalls her freshman year when working on a production of Shakespeare in the little theatre, students complained about the sweltering heat while wearing their costumes because there was never a fan or cooling system installed.

Rather than wallow in their complaints, Kieliger said that the department just had to keep on pushing. “A lot of it we kind of had to get creative or just accept that’s the way it is.”

Tagomori would agree with that sentiment, as he says he has waited years for certain requests to be resolved: “When we used to have a lot of leaks, we had to wait five years for them to pass a bond measure that would allow city residents to pay taxes to improve the school facilities.”

Like a doctor who reports a patient’s health issue to a central medical facility only to have the facility delay treatment or drag its feet, Tagomori is frustrated, and in a tough position.

“I don't want to be nasty about it because I have to keep up good relationships because otherwise they'll not do it at all,” Tagomori notes.

Although Lincoln's 79 years of existence seem far less than other public schools like Mission, which has been at its current location for 123 years, with each passing year deterioration gets worse.

As Kieliger bluntly puts it, “Getting new labs and computers are also important, but it is nice to have working things.”

Despite how bleak the situation may look though, Tagomori says that he relishes fighting the battle and getting all the little victories that come with it.

“You name it, there’ve been problems here; it's crazy,” he says. “I love it, though. I love getting something and making somebody happy. I love that about my job. Whether it's getting somebody something they need or fixing something. I wish I could do more and a better job of it.”

This page was last updated on December 1, 2020