She Produced a Musical That Has Substance

DRAMATIC LESSONS: Although G. Diane Nelson has never taught school and has no children, she nevertheless has set out to teach young people important lessons such as abstaining from tobacco and drugs.

The former Hughes Aircraft systems manager has formed an organization, Change in Inglewood, which has produced the musical

comedy “Stop Dissin’ Your Body,” to counsel children on the dangers of smoking and drug abuse.

Student actors from Inglewood High School and other South Bay high schools perform the play, which will be presented at Inglewood High School Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Nelson described the play as her way to make a difference.

“I didn’t intend to write plays,” Nelson said. “I wrote this because I wanted something kids in the inner city could relate to.”

Nelson had produced another play at Inglewood High School a few months ago, using $3,800 of her own money to rent the auditorium and repair stage lighting. The district said it was too financially strapped to help. This time she received $4,600 from the state’s tobacco tax and local business and community groups.

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STUDENT TOWN HALL: More than 400 Los Angeles County high school students and government officials had a discussion on immigration at a student town hall meeting at Gardena High School this week.

The discussion was organized by C-SPAN, the cable public affairs network; Scholastic Inc., a distributor of books and educational materials; and Close-Up, a nonprofit educational organization. C-SPAN will air the discussion Friday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.

The 90-minute discussion included a barrage of controversial viewpoints, students said afterward.

“One person on the panel said (those who only speak English) should try to learn other languages,” said Gardena High School student Tamika Batiste, 17. “I think that if they come here, they should adjust to the customs and learn English.”

Student Levelle Benson, 17, thought it was an enlightening discussion, although he disagreed with the opinion held by many that immigrants are taking away jobs from citizens.

“Most immigrants take manual labor jobs, jobs that most of us are too proud to take,” he said. “And most immigrants don’t really have the language skills to compete for professional jobs, so those complaints are bogus.”

Maria Davalos, whose parents are from Mexico, said she didn’t like the way some people were criticizing immigrants. But she said a lot of the students left the meeting with a more sensitive view of the hardships that immigrants endure.

Being a part of the C-SPAN event, she said, was “a privilege for us. Students need to be heard.”

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NEW PARK: Students from Zela Davis School in Hawthorne and community leaders Wednesday commemorated the completion of a newly landscaped park next to the school.

The Hawthorne Rotary Club began the project in September. The landscapers include not only Rotary Club members but parents and teachers and Hawthorne city staff.

With donations from community groups and corporate sponsor Chevron, they turned the dirt lot into a park with aluminum benches, trees, flowers, and more than 2,700 feet of sod.

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 writer Carol Chastang.