Jeff Chang is a major cultural and music critic, historian, journalist, activist and author of the award-winning books Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, Who We Be: The Colorization of America, and We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation. He was a visiting expert in residence and was part of multiple events on campus. 

During his visit, I attended a lunch with Jeff Chang, Hanahau'oli and Punahou School representatives, and other students. Together we spoke about the importance of civic education and asked questions about how to solve political issues.  

I was also invited to introduce him and other speakers in a roundtable discussion on the future of affirmative action. I used my experience at the University of Chicago, to speak about the importance of civil discourse and how the discussion could help to facilitate new ideas and opinions. I used my knowledge from studying the affirmative action Supreme Court cases in my AP Government and Politics class, to explain some of the background of affirmative action. I was also able to bring in my perspective on affirmative action as a junior whose college admissions would be impacted by the court decision. Overall, I believe I was able to give a good introduction to the topic and the importance of the discussion. 

Through this event, I was also able to learn a lot more and open myself up to new perspectives. I was not only able to learn more about the future of affirmative action in colleges but also understand how affirmative action could be affected in the professional workforce or schools like Kamehameha. 

Overall, the experience with Jeff Chang and the events allowed me to share my own opinions, view new perspectives, and gain more knowledge. 

Cooperation Ireland is an Irish non-profit organization that encourages peacebuilding and promotes civic awareness and youth activism. Organized by HawaiiKidsCAN, four students representing Cooperation Ireland from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland visited Punahou for a week. 

One of the events I was part of was a lunch at Washington Place. We got a tour of Washington Place, learning more about Hawaiian history and their connections with the English. Through this, we were able to share some Hawaiian history and culture with the Cooperation Ireland students and have a more understanding conversation with them. At the lunch, we discussed legislative processes, governance, shared histories, and more. Through this, I was also able to learn a lot more about issues in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. I learned more about what it was like during The Troubles, and how the Republic of Ireland is still dealing with the effects. Through this experience, I believe that I was able to create a meaningful connection with the students.   

I also attended a lunch with the Cooperation Ireland students and other Punahou students talking about climate justice and sustainability in Hawaii and Ireland. Through this, I was able to learn more about how we need to work internationally to fight climate change and be more sustainable because those issues do not exist in a bubble. Together we were able to think more about how we can hold our governments more accountable and encourage reduced emissions. 

Overall, I was able to connect a lot with the Cooperation Ireland students and aim to stay in contact with them. I hope that together we can learn from each other and work together to solve issues. 

For this discussion I introduced Brigadier General Lance Okamura in a discussion around the Red Hill water crisis. I found it interesting to hear from both sides of the Board of Water Supply and the Navy, and how although they are both functions of government, they do not always work well together. I believe that through this discussion I was able to learn a lot more about the Red Hill issue and how it is trying to be solved. I was also able to see civil discourse in action, as there was disagreement, but never a personal attack. I believe that it was a very successful event that allowed other students to be exposed to civil discourse as well. 

I helped to encourage and support the creation of this event, as I saw how divided and contentious this conflict was getting on the internet, but didn't hear many people talking about it at school. I wanted to encourage some kind of discussion that could come from a Palestine-rooted and Israel-rooted perspective, and help dispel misinformation. The event was created, and had our school president, Dr. Michael Latham, and faculty Dr. Pamela Sakamoto and Mr. Yunus Peer, speaking on the history of the area, and their insights into the issues. For this event, I created a list of discourse rules, modeling off of colleges' and other institutions' rules for expression and discourse. These rules were shared at the beginning of the event, and plan to be used in future events as well.