A Cold Evening of Photography and Conversation

Last night was the WCCUSD District School Board meeting. The ILC was honored for what the program has achieved, but our achievements were overshadowed on the night by the furious Serra Adult School protesters. Based on what I gathered from the 30 or so minute-long public comments that preceded the recognition of our program, the School Board has decided to move some classes away from the actual campus to accommodate a Mandarin immersion program. A lot of people involved with the Serra programs had shown up, and many felt very passionate about the decision. There was a lot of anger and frustration directed to the Board, so it seemed that they were relieved when it was finally our turn to talk to them.

Ms. Sciacca introducing us.

Relieved as they were, the School Board appreciated the calmer nature of the ILC speeches. First, they gave Don 3 minutes to express what the ILC program has accomplished and how much money the ILC alumni has earned in scholarship money. Then, the chaperones introduced their respective cohorts, and a member from each cohort spoke. Lindsay spoke for us (UChicago cohort), and articulated the unique benefits of the ILC very well. I was standing between Jahnvi and Cecilia, and both were holding an end of the UChicago banner, leaving me not knowing what to do with my hands. I ended up kind of gripping the top bar with my fingertips, but the whole experience of standing with our backs to everyone and semi-holding the flag was pretty awkward to me and I was glad when we finished up.

After the ILC’s part in the meeting had concluded, we all went outside to take photos. First, Don took a couple of individual and family photos. Then, at his instruction, all of the ILCers, parents, and chaperones took formation around a bench that he had erected prior to the meeting. There were only 3 male ILCers, so we got to sit on the ground in front of everyone else. It was really windy and people kept blinking and pushing their hair out of their face (I was guilty of this), so Don had to take many, many photos. 

One of many cohort photos taken on the night.

When the group photos were finished, we (the UChicago cohort) decided to retake the banner photo for our blog site. We went onto an elevated platform about a story off the ground and tried out 3 or so different poses. After a couple shots of each pose were taken, the remaining ILCers joined us and we took some more pictures. Most people went home after these photos, leaving Zunarah, Noor, and I.

Zunarah was a student representative of the School Board, so she didn’t go home until the actual meeting ended. As for Noor and I, our parents were talking to Don, so the three of us hung out for a while until Don and our parents were done talking. Our conversation went all over the place, ranging from ILC-related topics like the application process for our respective summer sessions to more personal subjects such as our opinions of certain classes at our schools. It was fun to chill with them, and the talking helped take my mind off of the temperature.

The District School Board meeting was a decent experience. On the one hand, I had to sit through over half an hour of people expressing their negative emotions, but on the other hand I got to see not only the rest of my cohort and chaperone again, but also members of the other cohorts. The time for us to fly to Chicago is only getting closer, and I can’t wait for it to come.

Always great to see these guys.