Poem on Gun Danger Hits the Mark for Top Prize

“ . . . Darkness was a tool, and a product of our ignorance. A plaything to the eyes that children possess.

Darkness was a handgun, and it took the life that was once that of a child.”

NAACP AWARDS: Abdul Njoku Ibrahim’s poem about the horrors of handguns won first place in the Inglewood/South Bay NAACP’s “Academic, Cultural, Technological, Scientific Olympics.” Ibrahim, a recent Inglewood High grad, and five other high school students,

were honored Wednesday at a Forum Club luncheon with former Laker star Michael Cooper.

Each student finished first in the categories ranging from architecture to oratory. The winners and their categories are: Damon Bush, 18, of Inglewood High, for drawing; Rachel Golden, 16, of Hawthorne High, for her original essay; Terrence Evans, 16 from Inglewood High, for oratory; Miguel Kendrick, 16, from Fairfax High, for architecture, and Julanne Hill, 15, of the L.A. County High School for the Arts, for drama.

The students will represent the Inglewood/South Bay Branch of the NAACP at its National Convention competition in Indianapolis in August. The Lakers will pay for the trip.

Ibrahim said he wrote the poem after seeing some of his friends become victims of gang violence. The 16-year-old, who will attend the University of Rochester in the fall on a full scholarship, plans to study biomedical engineering.

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CATSKILL REPORT: It was nearly air time, and director Danielle Davis was annoyed. Standing in the Continental Cablevision control room, Davis, 11, spoke into her headset to Henry Suarez, also 11, one of the two camera operators. “Try to get the camera straight,” she said, as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

The taping of the third “Catskill Avenue Elementary Report” was under way, and members of the fifth- and sixth-grade crew from Catskill Avenue Elementary School in Carson handled their jobs like pros.

Continental Cablevision in Carson is involved in the “Adopt-a-School Program,” but manager Terry Halberg wanted to go beyond guided tours of the facility. So he invited the school to produce a news program.

Teacher Barbara Schach took on the project. She picked a crew, and asked the students for story ideas.

“The first program, the students presented movie reviews, and also did a book review,” said Schach. The second show featured an interview with Carson Mayor Michael I. Mitoma, and included panel discussions on vandalism and school dress codes.

A different crew is selected for each program. Two students operate the cameras, one works as the director, another handles the sound and color board. One student will serve as an anchor. They also write the script, and each crew member gets a copy.

Colleen Crowley, the principal of Catskill Avenue Elementary, was interviewed by student Denise Gurrola, 12, during last week’s taping, which will air tonight at 8 on Channel 26.

Denise hit Crowley with such questions as, “How do you feel about Carson leaving L.A. Unified?” The sixth-grader also raised the issue of sexual harassment at schools.

The students said they had fun, and liked the challenge. “I felt nervous asking those questions,” Denise said. “But after a while, I started to relax.”

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MULTICULTURAL ACTION: When the riots occurred last year, Narbonne High graduate Yea-Lan Chiang was 3,000 miles away at Harvard. She felt hurt and angered, and believed the overburdened educational system was not prepared to show young people how to take constructive social action.

So Chiang, 19, started a summer program. Social Action within a Multicultural Program in Language Enrichment (SAMPLE) operated on a $200 budget last summer. The goal of the program, said Chiang, is to help students strengthen English language skills while teaching them to improve their lives.

The program will operate July 2 through Aug. 13. It is open to any third to sixth-grader in the South Bay. A $50 donation is requested, but may be waived, said Chiang. High school tutors will work three hours with students on English skills on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Every other Saturday, the group will take field trips. Chiang is planning trips to the Museum of Tolerance at the Simon Wiesenthal and a zoo.

Meetings will be held at the Lomita Kiwanis Club. Recruiting for counselors and fund raising is keeping Chiang busy.

Chiang said she wants to teach children things that aren’t covered in classrooms. “Kids never get told ‘If you don’t like the way the city is being run, write a letter to the mayor.’ We teach the kids, ‘If you are angry, write a letter instead of taking out your anger another way.’ Kids don’t learn enough about the way government is run or how they can make a difference, so they grow up not caring.”

Information: Yea-Lan Chiang at (310) 539-3197.

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MARINE STUDIES: Plans for a new marine studies program for students in Los Angeles Unified were announced this week at the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur.

Part of the school district’s plan for a multipurpose educational park on the 52-acre site, the facility will be a field trip destination for fourth- through 12th-grade students districtwide.

The marine center rehabilitates seals, sea lions, and elephant seals that have been beached or stranded because of injuries or hunger. Nearly 200 animals have been treated since the center opened in 1992.

Science training for district teachers will also be provided. Included at the Fort MacArthur site will be an outdoor education facility, a resource center for Early Education Program teachers, a bird research center and recreational areas.

Funding for the marine studies project came from Chevron and the Palos Verdes Marine Mammal Research Foundation.

Items for the weekly Class Notes column can be mailed to The Times South Bay office, 23133 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 200, Torrance 90505, or faxed to (310) 373-5753 to the attention of staff reporter Carol Chastang.