Harvard-Westlake • Studio City • Volume 35 • Issue 4 • February 4, 2026 • hwchronicle.com
Required service hours raised
Seaver updates completed
By Madison Shen
By Grace Choen After several months of construction, the second floor of the Seaver building reopened when classes resumed post-winter break. The goal of the project was to create a Wellness Center that could allow students to easily access counselors, in contrast to their previous location near the dean’s offices in the Chalmers building. The history department, which had its office in the Feldman-Horn Gallery for the duration of construction, moved into a new office in the recently remodeled building. The primary faculty who were involved with the construction were President Rick Commons, Head of School Laura Ross, Head of Upper School Beth Slattery and the Director of Operations Jeff Gin. Construction has only recently reached an end, so interior furnishing has not yet been completed. Commons said he was satisfied with the overall results of the construction but still wishes to improve the interior elements. “It was a success in the design,” Commons said. “I would say it needs to be warmed up and lived in a little bit, and we need to figure out what needs to be adjusted. We’re 90% of the way to where we need to be, but not all the way yet.” Upper School History Teacher Sandra Brasda said that the current improvements to the interior of the building are being carried out collaboratively by faculty. “We’re all working really hard to make it a warm, comfortable and welcoming environment where students can come and hang out, and teachers can work appropriately,” Brasda said. “[Some things] are missing right now, but there are things that we are actively working on very hard, on all levels. It’s kind of a work in progress still.”
to get people to participate, and it turned out really well.” In a follow-up email to parents and guardians after the walkout, Slattery said some students participated in a peaceful protest during the lunch break, while others decided to miss school entirely. “We estimate that 100-125 students participated in the walkout, with another handful of students choosing not to attend school at all today,” Slattery said. “The students who participated walked down Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Ventura Boulevard, carrying signs in peaceful protest.” Hayley Ross-Settineri ’27 said she walked out to express her concern over recent ICE activity in the nation. “I am horrified by what ICE is doing and wanted to show my support,” Ross-Settineri said. “If I am being honest, I hope there are impacts made due to these protests, but I am not expecting any huge change. I just view it as a way to show support and sympathy.”
Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, the school’s student community service requirement will increase from 12 hours to 16 hours in an attempt to provide students with more flexibility in completing their requirements. In accordance with this change, a wider range of volunteering opportunities will be permitted to fulfill the requirement. When submitting their outreach hours, students are required to complete a handson work component, describing the work they completed, how it benefited their community. The updated requirement has already been applied to the middle school campus and is set to take effect next year for the Upper School. While students currently primarily receive credit for handson volunteer service, by increasing the number of required community service hours, Community Council advisor and counselor Michelle Bracken said she hopes students can continue to volunteer with their selected organizations while also finding a chance to interact face-to-face with others. “We would like to be able to give people hours for doing certain things,” Bracken said. “Lots of people work and volunteer on boards for certain organizations, and right now you don’t get hours for doing that. You only get the hours when you’re actually interacting face-to-face. So, we thought, if we increase the hours, we could give people opportunities to still do those things if they want to do them and still be able to get handson hours.” Bracken said the school discussed updates to the community service requirement at length to make it both manageable and reasonable for students. “It’s something we’ve been talking about for years that we wanted to do,” Bracken said.
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NIC MONROE/CHRONICLE
PROTESTING FOR PEACE: Amid increased immigration enforcement across the country, students at the school staged a walkout along Coldwater Canyon Avenue during lunch opposing violence towards immigrants.
Students protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement in walkout
By Angel Song
Students participated in an organized walkout in accordance with nationwide protests to stop funding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Jan. 30. The nationwide shutdown encouraged individuals to miss a day of work or school and refrain from shopping to protest ICE and their involvement with mass deportations and the recent killings of Alex Pretti, Renée Good, Keith Porter Jr. and Silverio Villegas González. Head of Upper School Beth Slattery sent an email to parents and guardians regarding the walkout prior to it taking place. The email, titled “Possible Student Walk-Out Tomorrow,” acknowledged that parents will be required to submit an attendance note for students planning to participate in the walkout. Slattery said that although the school is not endorsing the walkout, it will not stop any students from leaving during lunch. “As you may be aware, some
students have indicated that they plan to participate in a walkout at 11:45 A.M. tomorrow to protest ICE,” Slattery said. “The school is not officially supporting this walkout, but students will not be physically prevented from leaving campus should they choose to participate in the protest.” This email was sent after increased discussion regarding a potential walkout and the creation of two Instagram accounts, @hwprotest and @walkoutjan30, promoting the walkout and sharing anti-ICE resources. The owner of @hwprotest said they created the account after noticing a lack of movement regarding the Jan. 30 shutdown, but closed it down after feeling pressure. “I didn’t want to lead it, but I just wanted [the walkout] to happen,” they said. “I didn’t see anyone starting it, so I decided to do it myself. But the next day, I decided it was too vulnerable and too much pressure, so I took it down. I’m glad somebody else stepped up and used the materials that I made
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IN THIS ISSUE
A3
A11
B4
C1
D2
Recovery One Year Later: A year after the Los Angeles fires, community members reflect on recovery efforts in the Palisades and Altadena.
Going Nuclear: Jack Fener ’27 argues for widespread adoption of nuclear power as an environmentally conscious option.
Confronting Colorism: The school community discusses the issue of colorism and its effects on self perception and beauty standards.
Black Artist Spotlight: During Black History month, A&E spotlights Black artists Ryan Coogler, Aretha Franklin and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Catching Up With Ali Riley: After retiring from Angel City FC this season, Ali Riley ’06 discusses her career as a professional womens soccer player.