After CIF reprimand, new committee to oversee fan behavior.
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The
Harvard-Westlake School • North Hollywood, CA • Volume XIX • Issue 8 • May 26, 2010 • chronicle.hw.com
Hateful note targets gay student
By Allegra Tepper
Allegra Tepper and michelle Yousefzadeh/chronicle
STEM FEST: Members of the Robotics Club operate their mechanical creation at STEM Fest on Monday (top). Matin Bondad-Pichvai ’11 controls the festival’s music (bottom left). Kristen London ’10 and Caroline Groth ’10 hang from the geodesic dome they designed. See full coverage, page A8.
Faculty choose Joe-Wong to present valedictory speech at commencement By Nicki Resnikoff
Claresta Joe-Wong ’10 will present the valedictory speech at this year’s commencement ceremony on June 11. “The Harvard-Westlake valedictorian is selected from among the top students don hagopian/chronicle in the class,” Head of School Claresta Jeanne Huybrechts said. Joe-Wong ’10 There is no exact number of candidates, but the final selection is generally made from a pool of two to five students, Huybrechts said. The valedictorian is then decided by a faculty vote. “The academic record—including GPA and coursework completed—of each student is considered along with his/her ability to create and deliver a valedictory speech,” Huybrechts said. While the selection of valedictorian is officially announced at the Cum Laude Assembly which took place on Monday, May 17, Huybrechts informed Joe-Wong of the honor earlier this month. Joe-Wong said that Assistant to the Head of School Emily Kennedy asked her to go to Huybrechts’ office about graduation announce-
ments. “She is extremely unassuming and was clearly shocked when I told her,” Huybrechts said of Joe-Wong. “It felt incredible,” Joe-Wong said of being informed that she was selected to be valedictorian. “It was such an honor to be elected by my teachers.” Joe-Wong will be attending Princeton University next year. As valedictorian, she will be one of only two representatives of the Class of 2010 to give speeches at the commencement ceremony. The other speech will be given by salutatorian Chase Morgan ’10, who was elected by his classmates. As of now, Joe-Wong has written a draft of her speech. “Naturally, I am excited,” she said. In addition to writing and delivering a speech, the valedictorian receives a congratulatory certificate and plaque. Also, Joe-Wong’s name will be permanently engraved on a trophy. “Claresta has certainly distinguished herself academically and, according to all her teachers, she is a poised, thoughtful, and articulate young woman,” Huybrechts said. “I believe she’ll have something quite interesting to say at Commencement.”
An anonymous threatening and homophobic note left in an openly gay junior boy’s backpack led Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts and Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra to address all class meetings last week, in which they referred to the note as a disappointing anomaly. The note, which read, “If it were legal to kill [expletive], you’d be first,” was classified as harassment upon being reported to the Los Angeles Police Department by the student’s family. Campus security reviewed surveillance tapes and the handwriting on the note, but no suspects have been identified. “Our attitude is always that we are going to expend every ounce of our investigative skills,” Head of Security Jim Crawford said. “We’re not going to stop until we have no avenues to follow.” Even so, from the victim’s perspective, the chances of finding the culpable parties are grim. “It doesn’t sound like they are going to figure out who did this, and at first, it made me so angry,” he said. “Then I realized that whether this person is still in the community or not, the issue is beyond this one incident. It’s about educating people in the long run so this doesn’t happen again. “This isn’t just a gay issue. It’s a hate issue. It’s a minority issue. Even if this person is gone, it’s not like this couldn’t happen again.” Approximately 100 students and teachers gathered in Rugby for a Gay Straight Alliance meeting on Monday, May 17 to discuss the incident and measures that should be taken in response. An overwhelming majority agreed that this incident was more than just a small act of hate or homophobia. Students spoke up to suggest integrating gay rights lessons into the U.S. History curriculums and including more gay-friendly literature in English courses. “I am going to leave [curriculum changes] in the hands of the Faculty Academic Committee and individual departments to consider,” Huybrechts said. “I think it’s very important that we don’t overreact to this. If nothing like this has happened in over a decade, generally speaking, this is an accepting community of kind and thoughtful students.” Eli Petzold ’10 voiced similar beliefs at the meeting, also calling the incident an anomaly in the Harvard-Westlake community. Another student said the vocal support of homosexuality from faculty and students which have resulted from the note made him feel more comfortable with his sexuality, as well as more willing to stand up to people who use homophobic slurs. “Had it happened a few years ago I would have been saddened,” Joe Girton ’10 said. “Now we are moving in the right direction and this was just a speed bump. I think we have been legitimizing the anti-gay movement as something that is very centric to the older population. I always assume that people in our generation are accepting. The most shocking was that it was someone our age.” English teacher Martha Wheelock called the incident a textbook example of the “immorality of inertia,” and urged students to take this opportunity to begin speaking up. While the victim initially asked the administration if he could address the student body at an assembly, he concluded that it would not have the impact he thinks this issue deserves. “My only opportunity was at a class meeting for the junior class, and I didn’t want to speak out to a bunch of my classmates texting,” he said. For more coverage, see A9 and B Section
Community Service
271 98 1 See full coverage, page A7
Upper school students who had not fulfiilled the service requirement by May 21.
Seniors who had not fulfilled their service requirement by May 21.
Number of approved trips required to fulfill the requirement.
source: COMMUNITY COUNCIL