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“Star Wars” general with the line “If you see our son, bring him home”
By Grace Kishiyama & Genna Olavarri HUB Editors in Chief
Each year, Davis High juniors enrolled in the Race and Social Justice in U.S. History course create a research project to investigate an issue facing students. This year, one group of students looked at the diversity of teachers to explore the impact that diverse educational leadership has on students.
“We found that there, quite frankly, is only a minimal amount of diversity among Davis educators, specifically on the basis of race and sexuality,” said Olivia Sagayaradj, one of the juniors working on the project. “Most of our surveyed students told us that they had no teachers of color.”
In their project, the students noticed the glaring discrepancy between the percentage of Asian-American and PacificIslander (AAPI) students and teachers. Despite making up 21.7% of the student population, just 3.9% of DHS teachers identify as AAPI.
“I’ve never had an Asian-American teacher, and most of my teachers have been white … After researching this topic, I found that the lack of teacher diversity seems to have unintentionally caused a bias in the education we’re receiving at school,” Sagayaradj said.
Counselor Ann Murao is one of the few Asian-American staff members at DHS.
“It's always peculiar for me as a nonwhite person to look around and I tend to kind of be aware in any context that I'm in of the demographics, the ethnic makeup, and so that's no different in my work setting,” Murao said. “I wish it were different and yet I’ve been aware my whole life it's been this way.”
Murao grew up in a suburb of Chicago without a significant Asian population and saw little Asian representation in educational leadership.
“I knew at least that there could be Asians in education leadership because both my parents were in education,” Murao said.
Like Murao, senior and ASB vice president Caroline Johnson has rarely had Asian teachers or other educational leaders to look up to.
“Growing up, it was really just my mom who was the only Asian representative that I had,” Johnson said. “If I were to have had teachers that were Asian, maybe growing up I would’ve understood a little bit more about my culture.”
Murao believes diverse educational leadership is invaluable for all students.
“I think we know that it's important not just for other Asian-Americans to see Asian-Americans in leadership roles, but for all students, all people to be aware of the strengths and leadership and capabilities and talents of people from all groups,” Murao said.
Social studies teacher Christopher Lee is also one of the few Asian-American staff members at DHS. He agrees with Murao that staff diversity is beneficial.
“When certain groups are not represented as English, science or social studies teachers, that lack of representation can unfortunately reinforce negative stereotypes. A more culturally diverse staff allows for more identities in these roles to be seen as normal and accepted,” Lee said.
Furthermore, he believes that students from underrepresented groups should see themselves reflected in their teachers.
“Students from underrepresented groups need to see themselves and their identities reflected in their immediate surroundings to feel more connected and included,” Lee said.
The lack of Asian-American representation extends beyond the Davis Joint Unified School District.
“There haven't been very many women, especially Japanese-American women, who have been able to achieve a higher office,” said Mariko Yamada, former assemblywoman for California’s 4th Assembly district and a former member of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors.
This lack of AAPI representation in elected positions is a result of a few things working in tandem to create obstacles for Asian Americans interested in running.
One such obstacle are the stereotypical careers Asian parents typically want their children to pursue.
“There are, I think, some built in maybe cultural imperatives that our parents and grandparents expected of us. So you can imagine when I decided to be a social worker instead of whatever else I could have chosen (that) maybe it wasn't something that was celebrated as much within the family,” Yamada said.
Furthermore, typical cultural values and beliefs may also work may also deter AAPI community members from running for office.
“In Japan, there is a saying that the nail that sticks up gets hammered down … but culturally, perhaps, that has worked along with the discrimination against us in tandem to kind of keep us from being more outspoken or standing up for things or getting involved in a more visible way,” Yamada said.
Yamada says that AAPI representation has improved over the years. However, there is still work to be done.
“I hope that some of the work that my generation and maybe groups that are a little bit older have already done will sort of help make the next steps in the journey a little smoother … and yet we can look around and see that there are certainly still deficiencies, many deficiencies,” she said.
Mariko YaMada/courtesY photo
Mariko Yamada
LiLY schroeder/hub photo
Ann Murao
A message from the HUB
By shira Kalish HUB Staff
I am Shira Kalish, co-Print Editor-in-Chief of the HUB. This page marks the end of our second consecutive school year publishing a weekly page in the Davis Enterprise. In collaboration with the Enterprise, we also host The News Cycle, our weekly podcast.
We would like to thank the Enterprise for everything they do for us. Through our partnership with the Enterprise, we have expanded our audience from the students, teachers and parents of Davis Senior High School to the broader Davis community. In giving us this platform to share our reporting, they give us a voice in the community, and with it, the power to make change. It allows us to work with and learn from professional journalists, an educational experience unlike any other.
“It has been such a great opportunity and privilege for us to gain real work experience working with the Davis Enterprise,” co-Print Editor-in-Chief Grace Kishiyama said.
“Even though I don’t work on print, it is always special when one of my articles is printed in the Enterprise. My mom is always excited to see it,” Multimedia Editor-in-Chief Jihan Moon said.
“I’ve seen how the community support and visibility we’ve gained through our Enterprise page has helped grow our program over the last two years. It’s been a wonderful addition and I’m excited to see what our future HUBsters do with the opportunity,” Website Editor-in-Chief Genna Olavarri said.
Spending these last two years managing, designing, and writing for this page has given us invaluable skills that we will carry with us throughout our lives, and we are beyond grateful to the Enterprise for providing us with this opportunity. As this school year comes to a close, next year’s HUB team looks forward to continuing this wonderful collaboration.
Students want more gender-neutral bathrooms
By mattias rOwenBale HUB Staff
For transgender and gender non-conforming students, access to gender neutral bathrooms is vital in ensuring they feel comfortable on school campuses. Many of these students at Davis High feel that this need is not being met.
“(My friends and I) often complain to one another about the lack of gender neutral bathrooms ... I think right now this issue requires attention and acknowledgment,” junior Mika Izu said.
“Many of my friends are queer and feel uncomfortable using gendered bathrooms, which I think is a pretty common experience,” sophomore June Watterson said.
This sentiment is shared by many students at DHS, with 70.8% of transgender and gender non-conforming students surveyed for a Race and Social Justice (RSJ) research project this year responding that they would “benefit from more gender neutral bathrooms on campus.”
There is currently only one publicly accessible genderneutral restroom available to students, located in the P-wing.
While there are also two others technically on campus, the gender-neutral bathroom in the All Student Center has been closed most of the year due to COVID-19 precautions, and the one in the nurse’s office requires entering through the office to use. All other bathrooms marked “All Gender” on campus are locked and only available to teachers.
This means that lines are often long to access the P-wing bathroom, and many students aren’t able to use the bathroom they feel most comfortable with.
“(Gender-neutral bathrooms) are the bathrooms I am most comfortable going into, but they are typically occupied,” Izu said. “As a result, sometimes I turn to the gendered bathrooms on campus, despite the discomfort I experience walking into a bathroom for a gender I don’t identify with.”
Izu recalls “being stared at (and) questioned” while washing their hands in gendered bathrooms on campus, and says that having more gender neutral bathrooms would minimize those kinds of awkward and uncomfortable situations.
Watterson echoes the discomfort of gendered bathrooms, saying “it’s always very anxiety-inducing and uncomfortable,” and that overall she does not feel comfortable in the gendered bathrooms.
When asked about their experiences with the gender neutral bathroom, a student who responded to the RSJ survey anonymously said, “It’s the only bathroom that I feel safe using.”
Students who responded to the RSJ survey also anonymously shared that, “Some days I just feel uncomfortable going into the gendered bathrooms,” and “I feel that if I went into the women’s bathroom, I would get strange looks, and the same applies to the men’s room.”
Others also noted that the gender neutral bathrooms “feel inaccessible” and “(are) too far from all my classes.”
The first student accessible gender neutral bathroom, in the P-wing, opened on campus in 2015 after years of advocacy from students.
However it is not in a very central location, and some students aren’t even aware that it exists.
“Considering that I and most of my friends don’t know where the gender-neutral bathroom is, I think that Davis High really needs to increase the number of gender-neutral bathrooms and make them more widely known,” Watterson said.
According to David Burke, who is in charge of the school district’s facilities, DHS will be “adding single occupancy restrooms, which will be signed ‘All Gender,’ as part of the current CTE construction, the new STEM building and the Aquatic Center.”
Beyond the new constructions, Burke was unable to say whether or not DHS has plans to address student requests for more gender neutral bathrooms in central and accessible locations on campus.
