TPHS classes use finals to give back to community

Before winter break, TPHS students in history teacher Chris Drake’s classes donated 20 boxes of school supplies to the Monarch School, a drive that replaced their final exam.

The Monarch School, founded in 1987, provides kindergarten through 12th grade education for students with unstable housing situations in San Diego. Donations like clothing, hygiene kits and school supplies are accepted.

Many of the school’s donations come from places of worship, volunteer groups and schools, according to Zaira Martinez, one of Monarch School’s Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinators. They receive approximately 15 donations from academic institutions a year, and approximately three donations per week from other public institutions. The back-to-school and holiday seasons are especially popular times for donations.

After Drake informed students in both his AP and College Prep U.S. History classes that they would not have to take a final exam if they collected 15 boxes of donations, his five classes brought in 20 boxes collectively throughout the week of Dec. 12.

“We just wanted to get a lot of donations to help [the students] out during the holiday season,” Melina Toppi-DeLeo (11) said. “There’s definitely a lot of kids with families struggling financially.”

Once the donation drive was over, some students enjoyed not taking a final exam, and instead were able to “feel really good while donating to people who need it,” according to Riley Huffstutter (11).

“I would 100% recommend this to other teachers and students; it’s a great way to get donations to people who need our help,” Huffstutter said.

The donations from Drake’s students may benefit other schools in need, Martinez said.

“Many schools have a large demographic of underrepresented students, and we support them with the excess donations we receive,” she said.

As of now, it is unclear if the students will be assigned another donation drive for finals week in June. Drake declined to comment for this story.

To combat food insecurity during theholiday season, TPHS English teacher Lisa Callender encouraged students in her AP Seminar classes to participate in a donation drive benefiting the San Diego Food Bank in the weeks leading up to winter break.

“In AP Seminar, one of the philosophies that we focus on is utilitarianism and the true motivation behind doing good work,” Callender said.

During finals week, Callender’s three periods of AP Seminar walked to Ralphs in the Del Mar Highlands to complete the donation project and wrap up their Wealth, Poverty and Social Class unit.

In preparation for this trip, students recorded their meals for three days to observe what foods they ate. Students then located their dietary staples when visiting the store, noting the costs of each to figure out how expensive their diet was. In addition, students could voluntarily challenge themselves to buy food to donate to the San Diego Food Bank using $5, the amount that some must use to feed themselves for three days, Callender said.

This proved to be difficult, particularly in a time of inflation and crowded stores during the holiday season.

“I paid the most attention to buying baby formulas, dry pantry products and canned goods,” Gigi Speziale (10) said. “Soon, I realized how difficult and frustrating it was to find a healthy and sustainable amount of food for under $5.”

Through their participation in the field trip, students were surprised to learn how high food prices prevent the impoverished from consuming a nutritional diet.

“I think Torrey Pines students should understand the entirety of our community and the vastness of different people’s needs,” Camille Kraft (11) said.

Taking the opportunity to donate packets of rice, AP Seminar student Krishna Visanakarrala (11) agreed.

“I learned a lot about the lives of some individuals and realized how fortunate I am to live the life that I do,” Visanakarrala said. “If you have the opportunity, volunteering will most definitely make a difference in our community.”

On Dec. 20, Alameda County in Northern California passed a law banning landlords in both public and private housing from conducting criminal background checks on prospective tenants.

This progressive law should serve as a model for jurisdictions looking for a solution to combat homelessness among formerly incarcerated people. Alameda County, the first county in the nation to pass such a law, deserves applause for this bold move.

A guiding principle of our judicial system is that once an individual has served time in jail, they have paid their debt to society. This is why the background check ban is so critical –it allows formerly incarcerated people a better shot at having a home and starting anew.

According to The Guardian global news organization, approximately 8 million people in California have some form of criminal record, one in every five residents. Currently, the majority of California is working under laws that allow criminal background checks, which could deny housing to 1/5 of the state’s population. Nationally, 79% of formerly incarcerated people reported being denied housing due to their criminal records.

The number of formerly incarcerated people who are now homeless is already high enough.

According to a California Health Policy Strategies analysis from 2018, 70% of homeless people in California have a reported history of incarceration.

Alameda County in Northern California, which includes major cities such as Oakland, Berkeley and Fremont, recently became the first county in the nation to prohibit landlords from conducting criminal background checks on potential tenants. While eliminating these checks hinders landlords’ ability to assess applicants as possile safety risks, it is necessary in order to give formerly incarcerated applicants a second chance.

It is clear that a landlord’s ability to run criminal background checks on potential tenants significantly contributes to the current detrimental ties between homelessness and having previous incarceration.

According to the nonpartisan policy institute, the Center for American Progress, the combination of excessive use of criminal background checks and the stigma of having a record are major drivers of poverty and racial inequality in the United States Alameda’s new law will directly combat that injustice by making it easier for formerly incarcerated people to find housing. That would provide significant support at a time in which virtually none exists for these individuals.

While it is easy to understand concerns for safety as it can relate to people imprisoned for violent crimes, those concerns do not justify discrimination against people who have already served time as the law requires.

This is especially true when it comes to something as important as housing; research shows that having a roof over one’s head can help lead to a successful reentry into society.

According to a 2019 study done by the Harvard Institute of Politics Criminal Justice Policy Group, having a stable home and a secure place to stay in which the former prisoners can orient themselves allows them to start the search for employment and rebuild their social networks. On the other hand, denying housing to those people will only result in higher rates of recidivism, according to the National Library of Medicine.

To deny former criminals the opportunity to reintegrate themselves into society because of a criminal background check for housing is clearly unjust. Banning the checks is a proactive and progressive step to help formerly incarcerated people find work and rebuild their lives.

Alameda County became the first county in the United States to ban landlords from carrying out criminal background checks on possible tenants on Dec. 20. This will prohibit both private and public landlords from requiring applicants to disclose arrests or convictions.

In theory, this seems like a solid idea. In reality, all it does is make it harder for landlords to properly assess the security of potential tenants, endangering the safety of their current ones.

There are many factors involved in evaluating a potential tenant, including credit score, rental history, income and criminal background. Background screenings allow landlords to get a more complete picture of a prospective tenant and can help them assess an applicant’s potential risk to other tenants and property.

Recidivism, the tendency for a convicted criminal to reoffend, is fairly common in California. According to the independent data organization World Population Review, the recidivism rate in California has averaged around 50% over the past 10 years. This number is higher than the national average of 44%, according to the National Institute of Justice, part of the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

This could spell trouble for landlords who rent or sell their properties to offenders with extensive criminal backgrounds due to possible increased chances of damaged property or violence. With background checks gone, a landlord’s ability to guarantee the safety of other tenants is compromised. It eliminates an important factor for landlords when reviewing potential tenants. While the full effects of the ban will not be seen until later in the future, it does not seem to be headed toward a positive outcome.

Some may argue that former criminals should have a chance at redeeming themselves after serving their time in jail, but does that really apply to criminals who have committed horrifying acts such as rape or even murder? Some people do deserve second chances, but that should not apply to those who have committed violent crimes, since violent offenders have a higher tendency to reoffend. According to a study conducted by the United States Sentencing Commission, over an eight year period from 2005 to 2013, violent offenders recidivated at a rate of 63.8%.

Although landlords use background checks simply to maintain the safety of their property and tenants, it is also true that background checks do lead to homelessness amongst formerly incarcerated people.

However, there are other ways to deal with potential housing problems for former inmates. Instead of just blindly allowing the formerly incarcerated back into society, we should alternatively build separate networks for these individuals to have shelter and have their basic needs met while also helping them gain education and job opportunities.

Prohibiting the use of background checks denies landlords the ability to properly evaluate if a potential tenant is safe or not. Given the high recidivism rate in California and high crime rate in Oakland – which is in Alameda County – this move could pose risks to other tenants and surrounding communities.