Perla batalla

OCTOBER

Masauko Chipembere, a poly alum, visited Poly recently to discuss his career and perform for the middle and upper schoolers. Mr. Chipembere is a very inspiring artist and activist. It was very interesting to consider Masauko's time at Poly and how it influenced his career because it reminds me that the classes I am currently taking could serve as a foundation for groundbreaking work. Additionally, his insightful reflaction on the duality of his identity shed light on how he developed as an artist. Being both from the United States and Malwai presented Mr. Chipembere with a unique perspective as well as a few challenges, which are both apparent in his music. Although I was not able to attend Masuako Chipembere's presentation for the global scholars, but I really enjoyed his performance in the assembly on Tuesday. Mr. Chipembere included a few improvised songs as well as an interactive song. As he sang about peace and social change, the audience participated by snapping and maintaining a beat. At the end of his concert, a few volunteers danced in front of the crowd. Finally, a group of twenty students, myself included, grouped together in a dance circle. One aspect of the concert that really struck me was how powerful Masauko's lyrics were. Each line carried a message, and I was able to learn a lot about his life through these songs. Chipembere's performance was uplifting and fun, and I am so glad I heard his concert.

On March 19th, the Global Initiatives Program hosted Reyna Grande to speak about her novels, “The Distance Between Us” and “A Dream Called Home.” Grande told the story of waiting eight years in Mexico for her parents to return after working in the United States. After their return, she begged her parents to take her with them on their trip back to the US. Grande shared her own experience of crossing the border when she was nine years old. She described to the audience, a combination of “Partnership For Success!” and Poly students, the emotional fear she faced as a child worrying that her parents would forget or replace her during their eight years in America while she was raised by her siblings in Mexico.

Today, Grande writes about border crossings in both a literal and metaphorical sense and derives inspiration from her childhood experiences. Grande compared her development as a writer to the life cycle of a butterfly: the caterpillar stage is when she wrote to survive by understanding her life and surroundings, followed by her pupa stage in which she wrote to learn how to become a storyteller. In Grande’s emerging stage, she sought to turn writing into a career. Finally, Grande considers her current stage the “taking flight” phase as she works on writing to change the world.

Grande’s empowering narrative highlighted the importance of representation. She referred to an influential teacher at Pasadena City College who used to say, “if Sandra Cisneros, Isabella Montez, and other latina authors could do it, so can Reyna Grande.”

Arn Chorn-Pond's presentation was incredibly enlightening. He was a child soldier who survived the Cambodian genocide because of his talent and love for music. Pond reflected upon his childhood during his presentation, noting how he listened to music and ate ice cream with his siblings. The stark contrast between the imagery he included of himself enjoying ice cream with his little sister and watching her starve years later was a jarring depiction of what he had been through. Pond escaped his role as a child soldier by running into the forest until he reached a refugee camp. He talked about stormy nights and food shortages, but ultimately ended on a humble and inspiring note. Pond endured high school in America, where he was bullied until he became a star soccer player. He discussed all of the atrocities in his life, but also noted the positive aspects, including his adoptive father and his persistent love for music. Overall, Arn Chorn-Pond's visit allowed me to reflect on the simple moments in life that I must not take for granted and reminded me to put my struggles in perspective.

Sam Mihara, a Boeing rocket scientist and traveling lecturer, spoke to the Poly upper school on Thursday. Mr. Mihara and his family were interned at the Heart Mountain "relocation" center in Northern Wyoming from 1942 to 1945. Mr. Mihara explained a brief history of the United States during World War II and the Japanese internment camps that were set up throughout the United States during the war. He told a personal story about his constant fear of being shot if he went outside the camp's boundaries, and explained that his grandfather was placed on a starvation diet as treatment for cancer. Mr. Mihara ended his presentation with a thought provoking comparison of Japanese internment during World War II and issues facing us today. The creation of national registries for certain groups such as Japanese Americans in the US in the 1940s, Jews in Nazi Germany, and identification cards in Rwanda, led to genocides and war. The proposal of a muslim registry and creation of detention centers at the US-Mexico border have a frightening resemblance to these policies. Mr. Mihara ended with a surprise: he showed a famous photo by Dorothea Lange of a young Japanese American school girl reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and then a photo of the same woman many years later by his side as his wife. It was spectacular to hear a first-person account of an aspect of history that is often not covered in textbooks. Having been to the Heart Mountain museum, it was surreal to hear Mr. MIhara's story and connect the beautiful view of Heart Mountain with its horrendous past.