Dieunie

Hi my name is Dieunie and I am a sophomore in high school at Chelsea. The topic I chose to speak about is physical and mental health. From the place I grew up in, outsiders usually hear the negative stereotypes about Chelsea; whether it’s about fights or crime. But once people adapt and take in for what Chelsea really is, they would feel and see a family environment where it’s quite diverse in some ways with people and culture. It really shows the community’s differences and its acceptance of humanity. As for the youth support being a big part of Chelsea, they advocate for the youth with wonderful programs that not only encourage them with their future career choices, but also give them job opportunities. Programs like REACH, La Vida Scholars, AVID, TAP, and The Collaborative. They’re like the few main programs that give students hope and more encouragement to not give up and not regret as much coming from a place that can mentally and emotionally challenge them. These programs like REACH are like Wifi, the main things that can disperse helpful energy and action throughout the community to connect with each other.

As for school, each school is different in how they approach “problems” like the bathrooms. And I know you probably have heard of this topic a few times. In my school, there’s a schedule for the availability of the bathrooms for what time, which bathroom, and at what floor will it be opened and closed. As a student and as a human being, I need to use the bathroom when my body calls. And as human beings, we’re taught that when we need to use the bathroom to relieve ourselves (no matter at what age when you could walk and talk), you go. I have about a 30 minute slot to use the bathroom out of the 50 minutes for each period due to the 10 before and 10 after policy. Also, I am aware that many other students would want to use the bathroom at the same time, so there will always be a line regardless of the amount of people that are waiting upon me to get back so they can go. (Some teachers only let 1 person leave the class at a time.) In general, the amount of time a student takes can vary. Sometimes they are not able to find bathrooms that are unlocked or not as full out among the 8-9 sets of bathrooms (boys/girls) on different floors that students are allowed to use during school hours. Or sometimes they are not using the bathroom for proper use, like smoking and holding people up that genuinely needs the bathroom.

This not only creates medical issues with students’ bladders and other organ infections like UTI’s (Urinary Tract Infection), but it also affects the behavior of the students and staff members. The staff (like the Security Guards) are the ones applying the enforcement as part of their job and students react upon that as it affects their education focus, their bodily control, and mental health. All this over a simple bathroom. You would think this probably is a bit much (which I believe it is in a way) or quite reasonable because all they want is their students to be more in class and pay attention instead of skipping or whatever the case may be. But you tell me if you can focus properly and to your fullest while you have an extremely full bladder and are on the verge of exploding because you’ve been holding it for hours? Like on the daily, I replay that one scene in TITANIC with my bladder, telling it to hold on longer, but it can’t because it needs to let go.

Ethics isn’t something a lot of people think about in situations that connect to humanity like this one. It emphasizes the importance of moral principles that hold true regardless of specific circumstances or personal preferences. These types of situations connect to ethics; more specifically, Kant’s Categorical Imperative: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law, without contradiction.” This Principle encourages us to consider the rationality of our conduct rather than just its immediate consequences. It invites us to treat humanity as an end in itself, respecting the dignity and rights of others, rather than as a means to an end.

It’s like a Decision and Actions type of format. For example, the decision that has been made by the deans/teachers is for the student to go to I.S.S. (In School Suspension) (Dean) or detention (Teacher). These punishments are enforced by them because they either found a student without a pass or with a pass that doesn’t add up to the time it states on the paper. The Action from the student is them reflecting from that decision that made them feel a type of way of how and why they’ve gotten those punishments. In the student’s mind, they just got in trouble because they have been trying to use the bathroom and if they were to say something, the adult would think it’s an excuse. So with lack of communication between the student and the deans/teacher, there would be a moment of the student choosing to argue and refusing to serve their punishment because they feel targeted and not being listened to. Or they will do their punishment just to get it over with, so the adults aren’t on their backs while feeling that the adults are ignorant to the situation. It’s always about age and control, but there is not much space for accepting humanity.

For a student, this could be the cause of their mental health just from being treated like they don’t have an option that they can state and be listened to. It’s like a one-sided relationship where the only side you see talking is the adults, stating things that don’t add up to their actions. It’s them usually asking for the students’ options and their take on changes, but they don’t seem to acknowledge them. So why do you say that you’re with the students, but you can’t even be there for them for their needs? Thank you for listening today and I would like to ask you to please take my words into consideration for the better of the future changes and for future generations.