Valley Youths Speak of Trip to Oklahoma City

Last year, one disaster came to them. Last week, they went to another.

Four students and two teachers from Northridge Middle School toured Oklahoma City as part of a delegation sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. They brought letters of support to a city still reeling from last month’s terrorist bombing.

“It reminded me of looking at the buildings that were damaged here,” said seventh-grader James Bautista, 12, referring to his visit to the federal building in Oklahoma City. “I could see the desks and tables on the floors.”

He also got a chance to witness the emotional wreckage. Moments after Friday’s special memorial service at the bombing site, a woman he had never met suddenly gave him a hug.

“I had a really sad face on,” he said, trying to explain why it happened. “It made me feel kind of worse to know that someone made this person cry.”

Maria Fowlks, 13, however, said that during visits to schools, most students “seemed really cheerful.”

Teacher Ron Klemp saw a different picture.

“They were incredibly quiet,” said Klemp, which he found quite unusual for youngsters that age. “They were very focused. This event will be like the Kennedy assassination, something they’ll remember the rest of their lives.”

On Friday night, when the Northridge students went to a local mall, the scene was eerie. “It was very empty,” Klemp said. “I got the impression that people were staying pretty close to home, and with family members.”

Despite the heavy security, James said he was a bit apprehensive to be in Oklahoma City. “I was thinking that maybe there’d be another target there.”

The Postal Service program, entitled Operation Children, brought together students and teachers from six cities and Puerto Rico for the four-day visit. The visitors had written letters that were delivered to the schools during the trip.

Also representing Northridge were teacher Laura Wada, and sixth-graders Jose Guerra, 12, and Rafaela Gomes, 12. James and Maria belong to the school’s Institute for the Study of World Peace, a program created to study world problems, while Jose and Rafaela are part of the English as a second language class.

Because Operation Children included mostly elementary students, the bombing site wasn’t on the official itinerary. The Postal Service felt they were too young to see the devastation.

But James and Maria had special permission from their parents to view the destruction, and James is glad he did.

“It was a good experience for me,” he said. “It’s sad that it takes something tragic like this to bring us together.”