By Ellie Meyerson

          On October 7th, 2023, a Palestinian radical religious group called Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 civilians and kidnapping 240 more as hostages. The response from the Israeli government came in the form of air and ground strikes on Gaza, killing more than 11,000 Palestinians.

          What began as a divided conversation with the establishment of Israel in 1948 had only grown over time, with tensions continuing between these two countries. The October 7th attacks were only the beginning of the weeks that followed, with violence raging on and the death toll surging higher by the day.

            In San Francisco, public school students across the district are making sure their voices are heard in this conflict.

           On the morning of October 18th, at approximately 10:30 AM, students across SFUSD walked out of their third period class in solidarity with Palestine. The walkout was organized by various high school clubs and organizations across San Francisco, including Lincoln. 

            Students held “Free Palestine” and “End U.S. Aid to Israel” signs, protesting the U.S. government’s support of Israel after the October 7th attacks. Three students collectively held a banner that read “Lincoln Students Against The Occupation in Palestine” as they chanted a pro-Palestine rallying cry, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!”

           “Lowell MENA [Middle Eastern North African Club] reached out to kids from different schools, and basically one of my friends texted me and was like, ‘would you want to lead the protest at Lincoln?’ And I said,'sure,,’” says Sumayyah Shaikh, a Lincoln junior and organizer of the walkout.

            She explains that social media played a large role in the swift spread of information, with students across the district reposting and sharing a collaborative walkout flier by Lowell, Balboa, and Galileo High School student clubs.

            Lowell MENA led much of the organization for the protest, working with the Bay Area organization AROC (Arab Resources & Organizing Center) to get word of the walkout to students, which Shaikh described as “pretty last minute." They also helped prepare the student organizers for possible legal issues concerning their First Amendment rights, but Shaikh had other worries. “I just didn’t want [the protest] to get violent, because it’s obviously a very big issue."

              Shaikh states that the Lincoln walkout was a success, with a larger student turnout than previously expected and people reaching out to her on social media platforms to gain more insight on the protest’s message.

               Principal Shari Balisi, who has dealt with many walkouts in her time as principal, explains that at Lincoln, students have resources like the Wellness Center, Peer Resources, and trusted adults to speak with about their feelings about the walkouts as well as the Israel-Palestine conflict as a whole.

               However, with the Israel-Palestine conflict making a commotion in high schools across the city, comes an ugly wave of anti-Semitism. George Washington High School reported the emergence of a swastika, a hateful Nazi symbol, on one of their stairwell walls, among other instances since the October 7th attacks.

               One member of the Jewish Student Union at Washington who wishes to stay anonymous says that while they personally didn’t feel afraid to walk out, other members did. “I know people who didn’t walk out because they truly believed they were going to be hate crimed for being Jewish at this pro-Palestinian walkout.”

               They explain that while they believe an act of violence wouldn’t occur, the topic is still incredibly divisive among Jewish students, especially when some people view the walkout as an act of antisemitism. They say that while they have been voicing their support for Palestine through signing petitions and emailing representatives, they still fear speaking out because of their own community’s reaction.

               “I have not been super public with my voice because I’m scared my family will see [my opinion] on my social media. Also, the people I’m in JSU with, I don’t want them to view me differently.”

By Haley Ng

          On the evening of Wednesday, November 8th, the San Francisco Parent Coalition, along with Abraham Lincoln High School, hosted Mayor London Breed, Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne, and Director of SFUSD Children, Youth, and Families, Maria Su, to discuss the current state of San Francisco’s public school system. Former School Board President Hydra Mendoza moderated the forum.

Around 200 people attended the forum, including parents, teachers, and students, to hear what was being done to address concerns about the current budget, student safety, teacher retention and pay, and student academics.

Over 200 questions were collected in preparation for this event, but only a few selected questions were asked of the panel. Rex Ridgeway, Lincoln’s high school PTSA president, was one of the hosts asking these questions.

            One of the major issues affecting Lincoln is teacher vacancies and other understaffing, including janitorial and security personnel.

             According to Wayne, over 80% of their budget is dedicated to the staff and making sure they are aligned with the students in the classrooms. However, Wayne acknowledges that most SFUSD schools are still experiencing understaffing.

               He said, “It was incredibly frustrating starting the year like this, and... we can’t do that again.”

                He later explained that the solution to this problem is to retain the teachers, but also to start hiring in April.

               Sharimar Balisi, the principal of Lincoln, explains that hiring in January would be more beneficial because of how long the process takes to hire teachers.

              “We wanted to get [the hiring process] sooner... to get an idea of what teachers want to move [to different schools], and the next phase is who is in the teacher pools so we can start interviewing in February versus summer time."

                 Jordan Loey, Lincoln’s assistant principal, claims the salaries for teachers in SFUSD aren’t competitive enough compared to other districts, which are around $10,000 more than SFUSD. This can eventually cause new teachers to not want to come into the district.

                 In October, UESF members authorized a strike after initially proposing a 20% increase in teacher salaries, a total increase of $150 million.

                 SFUSD and UESF came to a contract agreement where the increase will be 5% starting in the 2024–2025 school year.

               And for the 2023–2024 school year, the teachers will receive a $9000 annual increase, including the fall semester, starting in January. The Board of Education needs to ratify this decision in December, meaning the raise might not show up until the spring semester for all teachers.

                During the forum, the question of closing down schools came up which was asked by someone who attended. The panel didn’t answer clearly, but since it was related to the budget, it was mildly discussed.

                 Public schools depend on the attendance of students to earn funds from the government. When the attendance is low, the schools lose money per student that attends, which is around $20,227 per pupil.

                  Jason Ng, a parent with a passion for politics who also attended the forum, claims that a lack of teachers can affect students’ futures.

                “Right now, the schools are not providing the necessary teachers to inspire kids with their future... Where are the teachers that inspire them in the school for their future paths?”

                   Parents are also concerned that taking away algebra in middle school could affect their student’s future. For the last ten years, it has been optional for middle schools to require algebra. But recently, SFUSD middle schools have taken it out of the curriculum, so algebra is only taught in high school.

                   Ramiro Raygosa, Lincoln’s mathematics department chair, claims the district had good intentions by taking algebra away but had bad results in return.

                  “However, [taking away algebra from middle schools] has not shown the success that they were looking for in creating a rigorous and equitable math education for all.”

                   He believes this further increases students’ success in precalculus and calculus courses.

                   Breed is also in favor of returning algebra to eighth grade, and SFUSD’s investments go into meeting students' needs.

                    “I struggled in ninth grade algebra... and I think that we need to do a better job at meeting kids where they are. and really make sure that our investments are addressing [math, reading, extracurricular] needs, and eighth grade algebra, I believe, is a really important part of that.”

By Jessica Tu 

Maybe you’ve heard stories about the rodents running around classrooms at Lincoln, but it’s a fact that mice are living in the school, and staff aren’t allowed to take matters into their own hands.

Mice can carry diseases such as Hantavirus, Salmonella, and Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis, which can be transferred to humans. These rodents cause destruction by nibbling on wires and chewing through papers. They leave droppings in hallways, under desks, and inside or behind cabinets, creating extra work for teachers and custodians, especially if there’s a dead mouse to clean up. 

Teachers have limited power when it comes to dealing with mice. They aren't allowed to bring in poison bait due to conflicts with SFUSD's student handbook in section 3.9.16, which explains how the use of pesticides must be put into request to the district, and that all student guardians must be notified if they are in use.

“[Mice] get into things. [It’s] super annoying,” states Rosanna Mariotti, a science teacher on the third floor of the main building. 

Mariotti has seen both dead and live mice inside her classroom. Rodents have been living there for multiple years even before the pandemic, but she has actually seen fewer mice since coming back to in-person teaching, with just her “classroom mouse” making its occasional appearance. 

“It’s usually after school when I see the mouse scampering across the floor, out of the corner of my eye,” she explains. 

Edmond Sullivan, the college and career teacher, expresses how he has seen mice running around in classrooms, especially those on the first floor that face 24th Avenue, where special education instructor Karen Warren’s office is located. 

Warren has witnessed a mouse scampering across the floor multiple times, and she pays for snap traps out of her own pocket to place in the office and her classroom to limit the amount of mice she encounters.

“That cabinet started stinking really bad…the dead mouse was in a sleeve of plastic cups,” Warren recounts. “I had to empty everything out because of the smell.”

Warren sees the most evidence of the mice’s presence coming back from long school breaks. She will find dropping behind refrigerators, as the mice enjoy the warmth the refrigerator provides.

Next to the cafeteria’s kitchen is a staff lunch room where janitors place sticky traps to catch mice, although this may not be the most humane solution to removing them. It takes days before the mouse dies in the sticky trap due to starvation. 

However, removing the mouse from the glue and releasing it near the school will not be sufficient either. Mice have incredible memory and will likely return to their greatest source of survival—our school.

Mariotti and Sullivan both believe that food being left outside is a contributing factor that must be addressed. 

“Students leave their wet food outside after lunch and as a result have provided a feast for rodents. As long as there is a food supply at Lincoln, we will have a rodent problem,” Sullivan explains. “We need to clean up. It’s not just the janitor’s job.”

As the rainy season rolls around, we may begin to have even more encounters with the rodents. They seek shelter in dry areas, such as inside classrooms, to avoid the damp concrete.

It's not just teachers and staff that have encounters with the pests. Students who have participated in and helped with school plays have also been face to face with mice. 

Members of the ALHS drama community have witnessed mice making themselves feel at home inside Lincoln. They have been found alive and dead in the auditorium, little theater, costume room, and blue-room, the drama storage room.

“There was a mouse scurrying inside of a plastic bag that I was cleaning up,” states Ellie Meyerson, a senior actress associated with the school’s productions. She also witnessed a mouse run into a hole in a wall of the blue-room.

Samantha Hong, a senior, describes how a mouse ran across the booth seat in the back of the Business Academy classroom. The same mouse continues to run back and forth through a total of three rooms: Green Academy, Business Academy, and Teacher Academy.

 Working together, students used brooms and trash cans in an attempt to catch the mouse and release it outside of the classroom. They eventually were successful in getting rid of it with their collective effort. 

By  Marina Gonzalez 

The Teacher Academy doll has a purpose! Baby dolls were crying in the halls at Lincoln during the first week of November for four days. As part of the Child Development Honors class, also known as the junior Teacher Academy class, baby dolls are used as part of the curriculum. The doll's purpose is to help raise awareness about teen pregnancy and what parents have to go through when taking care of their baby.

Ingrid Seyer-Ochi, the child development honor teacher, communicates,”’I think there are two really big lessons to learn. One is for students to realize the incredible responsibility that raising babies is and to see what that actually entails and how much responsibility it is. The hope is that when they do choose to have children, they will have thought about that and realize that it's going to be easier to have kids when you are ready to have kids. The second is to understand how hard it is to actually take care of little kids or babies when they cry all the time, and to then have empathy and understanding for new parents.”

The activity is also used to help the students become aware of the cost of child care and how expensive it is.

Seyer-Ochi further states,“It also helps to realize how few policies there are in the United States that help new parents. Parents have to find child care; they have to do all these things, and in fact, in other countries, new mothers get a whole year off work, paid, and we don't do that, so I think maybe realizing how hard it is and that we can improve policies for new parents”

Teacher Academy junior Johanna Ruiz states,“[The baby doll] cried during class, so that gave you a sense of what it would be like for a teen with a child and what you have to go through. It also cried in the night, and you had to take care of the baby in the middle of the night."

However, many students state that the doll was not what they were expecting. Teacher Academy students expressed that they expected a high-tech baby, but instead they got a baby that some describe as a small “potato sack.”

Seyer-Ochi states, “For Teacher Academy, we have always used these baby simulators, but students used to do this activity in health education a little bit, and they used sacks of flour, and there were moments you had to tape it, and sometimes the flour spilled all over or got wet. This was years ago, so ours are really high-end [compared to the sack of flour].”

However, some students have varying opinions on the usefulness of the activity.

Ruiz says, "Some people didn't take it seriously because I saw people grabbing the baby by its head, swinging, throwing it in the air, and playing catch with it.”

When it comes to preparing the students for the future, students believe that this activity could be useful in giving them a small idea of what it is like to tend to a baby.

Jessa Ramos, another Teacher Academy student, says,“ I would recommend more people try this activity because it’s like a small life lesson.”

However, some students think otherwise.

  Joaquin Garcia, Teacher Academy junior explains, “I don't think this really helped me  become more aware of what parents have to go through because we were able to stop making the babies cry immediately with the press of a button, which isn’t realistically what happens.”

Seyer-Ochi expresses,” I think [the doll] does help, but it's not like a real baby; you can turn it off, but I think it does help you think about how you have someone other than yourself that you have to think about all the time and you have to plan ahead; your whole world is different when you have to be taking care of a child.”

Some students believe that this activity could have been better if they had a more realistic doll, and it would help them get a more realistic sense of what it is like to actually take care of a baby themselves. Nevertheless, students enjoyed this activity and believe it helped them become more aware of child care and the responsibility it entails.

By Khoi Nguyen

This November, San Francisco hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, an international relations event where leaders from across the world discussed economic growth policies and sustainable solutions to issues such as climate change. One day before the summit began, select members of the Lincoln Log, along with student journalists from around the Bay Area, were invited to tour the International Media Center at Moscone Center. This special opportunity allowed students to witness the operations of global news outlets first-hand, and interview senior APEC officials from Australia, Thailand, and the United States.