What China Taught Me: Discipline, Roots, Openness

photos by Khristan Antoine

by Khristan Antoine

Extreme is the word that sums up my experience of China: extreme numbers of people, vast expanses, cluttered skylines, extreme smog.

I had never traveled outside the US, not even to Canada or Mexico. I didn’t even own a suitcase. Then I was selected as one of 13 African -American students from the East Bay to travel to the world’s mightiest country, without a clue about language, culture, or history.

On a trip organized by East Oakland Youth Development Center and China-U.S. Study Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), three McClymonds students, Umiika Rose, Brandon Vonderwerth  and I experienced China in all its complexity.

We travelled with photographer Nicka Smith and EOYDC director Regina Jackson as part of a movement to bring more African American students to China.

There was more study than tourism. Every morning, we had lectures by professors and college students on culture, history, traditions,  and economics. The day we landed, we checked into the hotel, took a shower, got dressed for a greeting dinner. We were welcomed with a dinner with varied foods and Peking duck. They prepared welcome signs, greeted us with smiles and an introduction; the Chinese delegates gave brief speeches and we all broke into conversation (through our translators) and ate.

Our first day set the tone and pace of our stay: we went to Beijing foreign studies to attend our first lecture (we had 8 lectures and three Mandarin classes.

The most memorable moments were when we could explore the city, as tourists. We walked through Tiananmen square and the forbidden city. I enjoyed walking up the Great Wall (I wouldn’t say it was easy at all as it was a challenge climbing the uneven stairs and walking up the steep hills).

As we toured, the reaction of people in the street was to stop, stare, and snap.

The biggest surprise for me was seeing the same deep divide between the rich and the poor in China that we know all too well in the United States.

Bloody month of June: too much violence in Oakland

by Jacob Miles

opinion piece

No teenager can feel safe in Oakland nowadays.

Just a few days after McClymonds dropout and homicide victim Darvel McGillberry was buried, violence erupted again in Oakland. Another teen was killed: 17-year-old David Manson Jr. in front of a store in  East Oakland during the daytime.

A second shooting occurred at a sideshow frequented by high school students.

A third incident — a triple shooting– took place outside a downtown nightclub which McClymonds students have frequented.

“In front of a store, at a sideshow, in front of a nightclub, no place is safe,” said Desire Combs, a senior at McClymonds.   “I think this is ridiculous: we should be able to feel safe everywhere in  our own city,” she said.

That’s not the case in Oakland, where the violence is on the rise. In just one weekend, one person was killed, 11 wounded in seven separate shootings capped by the triple shooting outside a downtown nightclub, police  said.

That incident took place in heavily patrolled, gang-neutral, downtown area, when a gunman opened fire on a group of people outside The Shadow nightclub at 13th and Webster. Two women and a security guard suffered non-life threatening wounds and the gunman remained at large, police said.

Lee Benson, a junior at McClymonds, said that he’s been to The Shadow a few times and always had a premonition that something bad might happen in that area. “A lot of the wrong people end up there,” he added.

This week, teens left flowers, candles and  you’ll-be-missed cards at the 9100 block on International Boulevard, where David Manson Jr. was killed about 1:45 p.m. Sunday. He was Oakland’s 43rd homicide victim this year.

Students at McClymonds who live in East Oakland knew Manson, who attended Oakland High School in June 2011.

“David was cool and it’s real sad how they shot him like that in daylight; he didn’t do nothing to nobody,” said Monte Smith, a junior.

What has been the police response? A vow to crack down on sideshows. What about community outreach, more activities for youths, such as new libraries and also community recreational places to hang out at.

Unless politicians and police develop a real plan, this is the start of a very bloody summer.

Did Watching Bully Have An Impact at Mack?

photo copyright in Oakland North by Pendarvis Harshaw

By Anthony Beron

Remember September, when your entire school was sent to the Jack London Cinema to watch “Bully”?

Well, over 12,000 fellow students throughout OUSD saw the same movie, recalling it as a “tear-jerking,” “deeply emotional” documentary.  But was it legitimate?

What I mean by this is whether if it was effective (or not) to the common school bully.  Do you recall your school giving you a follow-up lecture or survey? Did you notice an immediate change in the bullies at your school?

Semi-effective was how Selena Williams, a 17-year-old  junior labelled the movie.  “It opened people to a new perspective on how it can affect others’ lives,” she said.  “On the other hand, some people still don’t care.  They go and bully anyway.”

At McClymonds, students and teachers said that the movie did work, based on their personal observations of behavior at school; however, over 37% of people surveyed said that it did not work.

Barbara McClung, coordinator of Behavioral Health Initiatives, said that the cost was covered by a group of anonymous donors through the film’s director Lee Hirsch. That included movie tickets for all of the students and staffers who viewed the film as well as the cost of transportation to the theater and back to their school site.

One major flaw with the movie was that it was not “culturally diverse enough,” and “did not provide an outlet” to bullying, according to Kharyshi Wiginton, an after-school staff member.  Another anonymous student stated that it was “not effective,” and that there is still a lot of homophobia and other forms of bullying prevalent in Oakland schools.

Accomplishment	#
Students who saw the movie	12,016
Staff who saw the movie	629
Buses hired to transport students and staff	295
Fights	0
Students who went missing	0
Disciplinary Incidents	1 (9th grader referred for marijuana use)
Central Office Volunteer Ushers	108

The showing coincided with changes in the anti-bullying laws that went into effect in July 2012 and require that schools have a clear process for documenting incidents of bullying and for investigating and responding.

“We developed protocols for OUSD schools, launched training for all principals, and are following up with anti-bullying programs in many of our schools. We are also creating alternatives to suspension for students who have bullied including counseling, behavioral intervention, and when appropriate, restorative justice practices.”

There will be an increased focus on bullying in OUSD. Programs that will be implemented include PBIS – Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support, Restorative Justice, Social-Emotional Learning, Peer Conflict Mediation.

“We have also launched a suicide prevention campaign to support students who have been victimized by bullying and others who are at risk due to circumstances beyond their control,” stated McClung.

Bullying occurs across all cultures and genders within OUSD, she said.

According to McClung, African-American males may be suspended more than other students for bullying in OUSD due to the inequity in how schools have been applying discipline practices leading to alternatives to suspension.

“We also do not believe that suspensions teach students the skills needed to change behavior. Counseling, skills groups, restorative dialogue, behavior support plans, and social-emotional learning are practices that help to change behavior,” said McClung.

Why Oakland Shouldn’t Impose A Youth Curfew

 

 

by Romanalyn Inocencio

It’s late at night.  I’m stumbling to the bus stop after an exhausting basketball practice with my fellow Lady Warriors.  My feet ache, arms pulsate, and hunger sets in, making my guts screech.  I need to eat.  If I catch the bus on time, I might make it to Taco Bell before it closes. But will I be able to make it back home?

The public relations stunt supported by Mayor Jean Quan and Police Chief Howard Jordan would make THAT impossible.  And that’s why the youth curfew introduced last year (but not yet approved) would be a bad idea.

I don’t think the police will punish teenagers who live in the Oakland hills–I don’t even think they will stop them. They will only stop teens in areas like West, East, and even North Oakland.  Due to the stereotype of being black or brown–any color actually–and being after hours, that person is automatically viewed as a criminal.  But not the puny, sheltered white kid from the hills coming home from playing the violin with the Oakland Youth Orchestra.  He’s safe from being searched or stopped.

What if I, a varsity basketball player with a 3.5GPA,  ready to graduate,  have a late game and I need to walk home? Is the police going to arrest me for coming from a game? They might, when they see me walking down the street with a bag strapped across my shoulders and baggy shorts.

If the purpose of this curfew is to reduce crime rates among youth, then adults should be targeted as well.  Adults are the master minds in all these situations when they supply teenagers with weapons and often with dope.

We don’t have enough police to patrol teenagers in case of a curfew and who will keep the center (where they are held) open all night?  I don’t think Oakland has enough money for that, and if we do, then it should be used for something that won’t criminalize innocent teens who make their way home after hours.

The curfew will corral teens and cage them inside their homes.  Besides it’s not like criminals would follow the law and stay indoors after hours and become respectable citizens.  They will  just become more sneaky and move their business indoors.

I think police should focus on making sure that teens are not skipping class during the day and making sure they are where they need to be. Day time is not much different from the night.  Fights, shootings, and murders (many of the 100-plus in Oakland) occur during daylight. Let’s focus on keeping our schools safe, first.

Commit A Crime, Get A (Summer) Job

Mayor Jean Quan announces jobs for youth at press conference at McClymonds

by Whitney Layne

The Mayor came. The Mayor promised jobs, but she didn’t hire me- she is hiring convicts.

A couple weeks ago, Mayor Jean Quan and representatives from city departments came to McClymonds to hire students for the summer jobs. It was a Wednesday, so students got out early.

A man named Bill told people to fill out their information on a sheet of paper and then to speak to different people. Students stayed who really wanted the job stayed, but mostly everyone left. It was a good opportunity for most students because they came to hire people on the spot.

They had different people or jobs depending where you live or how far you can travel. So that was also a good opportunity. What I didn’t like was that they were giving students the run around after they filled out every paper.

As I saw it,  there weren’t enough opportunities and they were also supposed to be hiring on the spot, but they didn’t.

It gets worse: after they asked you your name, they asked you whether you were on probation.

To me that was so rude, very silly, considering that they came to us to apply for their summer job at our school. I never even had a run in with the police. It’s also discrimination: I can’t get a job because I basically don’t have a criminal record! They should have had a side for people on probation and a side for people who are not on probation.

Basically they were racial profiling because we are an all black school. Everyone who goes to McClymonds is not on probation, and they should not base summer jobs on whether you are a criminal or not.

It’s very uneducated to approach a person and say “Hi I am Whitney, I am a felon on probation, and I would like to apply for a job with your company.”

Students March for Peace After Two Tragic Deaths

by Stephen Vance

McClymonds students will help lead a march against violence Friday, after participating  with several other schools in a 71-day fast-relay.

The march comes after two more students from McClymonds died last week, one in a shooting in East Oakland and the other after an epilepsy seizure in juvenile hall.

The fasting and march were in reaction to the shootings of a toddler in West Oakland and a 3-year-old in East Oakland.

“Now that babies are getting killed,” said Mack senior Eric Gant about the shootings of Hiram Lawrence and Carlos Nava, “you really have to stop it.”

Gant fasted 24 hours  and will address Mayor Jean Quan and members of the city council and school board who attend the rally after the march. “We want to make sure they follow through and that this issue doesn’t get overlooked.”

Close to 200 youth and their supporters started the community “Peace Pledge,” to show their commitment to peace-building and addressing the violence in our communities.

The campaign was launched on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Life Academy in East Oakland by youth leaders in Alternatives in Action’s Be A Man (BAM) and Real Ambitious Women (RAW) groups.  Since January, students from McClymonds, United for Success Academy and Bay Area School of Enterprise in Alameda joined the campaign to draw attention to the unprecedented number of children killed in Oakland over the last few months.

Marchers will include also students from the Urban Peace Movement, Skyline High School and others.

They began a collective fast beginning at 1 p.m. today that will end at a ceremony Friday.  A “March to Build Peace,” gathers Friday at 9 a.m. in front of Life Academy in Oakland (2101 35^th Avenue) and ends at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park (2465 34^th Avenue, Oakland) with the fast-breaking ceremony and feast that begins at 11 a.m.

The youth groups will dedicate their “Peace Pledge” to families of victims of violence and urge city leaders to partner with them to address this issue.

“It’s bad enough when students don’t make it to the age of 16,” says Gant, “but it’s tragic and intolerable when babies are killed before they even get to kindergarden.”

Mayor Quan Kicks Off Summer Jobs Fair at Mack

by Stephen Vance

Her dream was to fight fires and save lives.

Daileesha McDonald got a step closer to that dream Wednesday when Mayor Jean Quan brought a summer jobs fair to McClymonds High School in West Oakland. “How exciting to find out that a summer job was available in the fire department,” said McDonald, a 9th grader at Mack.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan held a press conference at McClymonds to launch a summer jobs program for youths that complements her 100 block initiative, a program that focuses services and enforcement  on the 100 blocks in Oakland, to reduce crime in the 5 percent of the city where more than 90 percent of the shootings and homicides take place. She introduced staff members and McClymonds principal Kevin Taylor.

About 75 students picked up forms and chatted with representatives from Oakland’s fire, police, public works, and parks and recreation departments. Some were from Bunche, Oakland High and Oakland Tech. The city will hold a similar fair at Lockwood Gardens tomorrow and at Willie Wilkins Park on Saturday. 

“It’s so much easier for me to apply for a summer job right here at school,” said Desire Combs, an 11th grader.

Mayor Quan  told the press that she wanted to reach youths at every level, whether they want to “build a skyscraper or get a doctorate.”

When she walked around the Lower Bottoms, said Mayor Quan, she met a teenager who told her, “If I had a job, I wouldn’t be selling on this corner.”

Her goal is to create 1,000 jobs for youth, most paying a stipend. The city’s parks and recreation department alone is planning to hire more than 200 youths for the summer.