001e just want to make sure you can hear me okay in the back beautiful well welcome everyone good evening my name is uh jiren Fred I am proud to serve as the assistant superintendent Educational Services for the Anaheim Union High School District and it's so great to have you here for our annual soapbox speech competition so thank you so much for being here before we begin I want to bring up our student ambassador Madison Romero Aron who's going to lead us on our salute to the flag hi everyone me anos to Anaheim uh if we could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and if you're wearing hats if we could remove them please put your right hand over your heart ready begin I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
002and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all you may be seated thank thank you thanks Madison so I'm super excited that you're here today to tonight you're going to be able to watch and witness the sophistication of the skills and the talents of our many many students tonight you're going to see a soapbox speech now our students have worked tirelessly to prepare for their soapbox speeches they have done research they have analyzed uh and articulated their viewpoints they have done so in a compelling manner uh I think it's important to know that they aren't doing this because they have incredible teachers their teachers have been bringing in uh the sophistication the talents of their classrooms through instruction that have allowed our students to really
003engage in the things that they care about connected to their content to be able to Showcase their skills their talents and their passions regarding this topic um I'm really really proud of the hard work of our students I'm proud of all those who put this event together we're going to save some of the thank yous for the end but I do want to give a quick shout out to Ruby patino he is here he's our curriculum specialist for social science he really has led this event so Mr Patino congratulations great job I also want to take a moment to acknowledge our incredible Board of Trustees we have our board president here miss anarie Rand Trejo we have borderes clerk Jessica Guerrero of course we also have our superintendent here Mr Michael matsuda I know he's
004here somewhere it's without the support of our board support of our cabinet of course our amazing teachers these events would be possible so thank you so much for being here with that I am so privileged to introduce our masters of ceremony uh Autumn Brown former retired teacher here but uh Drama teacher and just amazing person who's going to serve as our masters of ceremony thank you thank you jiren welcome everyone thank you so much for being here tonight as he mentioned I am recently retired I was the Drama teacher at Brooker junior high school for 25 years and now that I'm retired I pursue my two favorite things my love of theater and my love of not getting up to an alarm clock every morning so tonight is an amazing night you are going to
005be blown away this annual competition provides our students a voice to share their issues that are important to them under the guidance of our superintendent Mr Michael matsuda the Anaheim Union High School District is a recognized leader both Statewide and nationally for the Innovative work in the area of Civic engagement we have more California democracy schools in our district than any other District in the state of California and next week we will be recognized as the first California democracy School District next month oh next month at the Nixon Library I think that deserves a round of applause so what exactly is a soapbox speech well back in the day soap and other Dry Goods used to be delivered in a box a wooden box not the plastic tubs we get our laundry detergent in today
006and people would have issues that they wanted to let their neighborhoods know about and they would take those wooden soap boxes put them on the corner or out in the park and they would talk about what was passionate for them and call calls to action we need to do something about this in our community or that is a problem and we need need to fix it but they stand on their soap box so that's where the term comes from Talking passionately about something that's very important to you and that's what we're going to hear tonight I don't envy our judges to try to determine who is the most effective speaker tonight we have an amazing panel who have the challenging job of trying to decide first second and third place judges I'd like to take
007a moment for you to introduce yourself your name your role in the district and maybe one issue that you are passionate about our speakers have up to three minutes you have 30 seconds so if you would please let us know your name your role in the district and something that's important to you thank you Miss Brown good evening everybody my name is Mike Switzer I'm the district's English language arts curriculum specialist thank you everyone for allowing us thank you thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a great event um an issue that is always on my mind that keeps me up many nights is around the idea of literacy particularly for our most marginalized and most historically underserved communities hello my name is Jessica I am the science curriculum specialist and
008uh one of the things that I think is near and dear to my heart is what are the types of choices that we can make individually to less in the climate crisis and move us in a positive direction good evening my name is Katie chowers and I have the honor and the privilege of serving as our District's Mathematics Curriculum specialist thank you go mathematics um I am honored to also be returning I was able to participate in this event last year so I'm excited to see what tonight brings and a social issue that I'm passionate about is wage inequality thank you so much so what are our judges going to be looking for three areas first the content of the speech is it clearly explained second the delivery of the speech the body language The
009Voice the facial expressions the gestures and third structure and style is the speech organized does it interest the audience and capture our attention and does the speaker offer us any solutions our young people are to be applauded for coming up and overcoming the fear of public speaking this is our opportunity to hear what issues are on the minds of the students in the ahsd what you are about to see are the best student public speakers representing every Junior High and every High School each of these students has crafted a two to three minute speech soapbox speech regarding an issue that's important to them so we we will start with Junior High then take a 10-minute break here our high school speakers and then determine who's first second and third and now let's get started please
010welcome our first speaker and I'd like to tell you that this particular young man is from South Junior High and and part of the Dual language immersion program there so he will be presenting his speech in both Spanish and English please welcome Anthony [Applause] Silva I am a part of the Dual language immersion program and today I will be presenting a presentation that is both English and Spanish starting with Spanish Pap Junior Scholastic imigrant for immigrants rising.org or now I will translate my presentation to English many of you like me come from immigrant families I asked my dad dad what was your daily routine like on school days he replied every morning I had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to work in the farms and then I was on my way way to school
011after I got back to work and did my homework at night the worst part is that according to Junior doscas docomo 524,000 students are Farm Workers and the majority of them are immigrant students at the age of 12 and for that reason they lose education in the school hello my name is Anthony Silva and today I'll be talking about immigrant students and families agriculture is one of thousands of jobs that immigrants have to work in just to afford to live in a poor quality home during what's called The American Dream our community needs to help immigrant students this is important to me because I want Multicultural students to have a better life this can improve our community such Multicultural students can feel comfortable and safe we currently depend on counselors and social workers we can
012help immigrant students to break the cycle of having to work for countless hours Under the Sun so instead they can go to college University have a career and so that their future kids can have better opportunities to continue according to immigrants rising.org we can help immigrant students by planning Multicultural events so that they can feel welcom in the community and we can do that by expanding the bilingual immersion program to other schools our community and as well as other communities our community is currently growing with the Dual language imersion program so that students can liberate and feel proud of their cultures to finish off if we work together we can help immigrant students to have a better future we need to raise awareness and see the and see the point of view of immigrant students
013and families I ask you to support programs or organizations that help immigrant students and families by contacting a local representative donate donating resources or raising awareness just like I am thank you for listening to my presentation thank you Anthony I'll give our judges a moment to make their notes next up from ball jior high jasine [Applause] Gerard hello my name is jasine Gerard and I love sharks there are so many fun facts about sharks like how short F makeo sharks can swim up to 45 miles per hour during short swimming burst or how you're more likely to die taking a selfie than to be killed by a shark would you like to know another fun fact over onethird of shark species are at risk of Extinction due to the global demand for shark meat and
014Fs which is why I'm here to talk to you about the cruel practice of shark Finning and why it should be outlawed worldwide I believe this because it pushes sharks to extension messes up the balance of coral reefs and damages Oceanic ecosystems shark Finning is when sharks are fished out of the ocean stripped of their fins and then thrown back into the ocean leaving them to bleed out or drown this occurs because because humans want to sell their fins to be used in Chinese medicine or shark fin souit unfortunately this occurs so much that populations of sharks has decreased by over 71% in the past 50 years according to the nonprofit Animal Welfare 73 million sharks a year are killed for their fins alone the reason why this is such a big issue is because
015sharks are needed to maintain the balance of the coral reefs without sharks there will be too many predatory fish eating the algae eating fish resulting in coral reefs swamped with algae some may say more regulated fishing habits are better for the sharks that outright Banning shark fishing may cause economic trouble in places that rely on the fishing industry such as Indonesia Spain and Mexico a strict B may lead to people doing illegal things to catch fish however according to World Wildlife Fund oceans even light levels of fishing readily depletes populations of sharks the sharks are in an urgent situation which requires urgent action luckily I'm not the only one aware of this recently President Joe Biden signed into law the shark fin sales elimination act making it illegal to buy sell transport or possess shark
016fins or any product containing shark fin the new law effectively ends the United States participation in the global shark fin trade while this is very good it won't solve the problem according to David schiffman a research associate at Arizona State University the us only accounts for about 1% of the global shark fin trade fear not there are many things we could do about this you could boycott restaurants that serve shark fin you could share posts on social media that highlight the cruel nature of shark pinning or maybe even start a flash mob baby shark anyone the sharks are in danger and it doesn't cost much to help so please save the sharks we can all thank jasine for getting that song stuck in our head tonight now each one of our participants will receive a
017a small trophy with a microphone on it and then third second first we'll receive a somewhat larger trophy and now from Brookhurst Junior High prna [Applause] dearia you know when someone says I would rather die than speak in public well in 2023 public speaking wasn't number one on Chapman University's list of America's top fears but it did beat out the fear of a devastating earthquake and yes dying too so in other words when someone uses the phrase I would rather die than speak in public they might actually mean it hi I'm prna diaria and today I want to talk to you about glossophobia or the of public speaking public speaking can help you a lot in your life and yes you hear that from every teacher but it is so true it helps when you're
018in college when you get a job or even when you have to speak at important family occasions failure to conquer the sphere of public speaking may have a negative impact on a person's academic and professional success did you know that four out of five people are scared to speak in public that's 80% of the world according to a recent prey survey 70% of Americans are scar agreed that presentation skills are a critical element in their success at work the website Total Care therapy says that about 15% of students are turn down courses which expect them to have presentation skills that could be the people in this room without opportunities like tonight's soapbox speach showcase imagine a world where people did not have the fear of public speaking wouldn't that be great I think one mistake
019we make while speaking in front of public is that we think the only thing that matters in a speech are the words coming out of our mouths but that's not true at all according to forbes.com posture is one of the main parts of public speaking researched by Amy Curry a Harvard student has shown that people who use good posture feel more powerful and confident in a public setting and they also perform better in interviews the fear of public speaking is a type of anxiety so consider things that help soothe your body many people use physical exercises some people like to count random things while other use mindfulness or deep breathing exercises the most relaxed presenters are people who speak in public more often consider opportunities to practice your public speaking skills with friends drama classes
020Capstone projects or clubs like speech and debate give students opportunities to practice these skills in a more supportive environment if you have a fear of forgetting what you plan to say the final thing you must do is practice practice practice you can even practice recovering from a brain freeze which causes you to forget your lines in the end if you find yourself flooded with fear remember that most people say that improving public speaking skills actually boost their self-confidence and I mean I don't have to explain that to all the many great presenters we will be hearing tonight thank [Applause] you I think I gave that first speech on every first day of school in my drama class it's awesome for is that please welcome from Dale Junior High Melody [Applause] Garcia as a child I
021remember grow with sorry as a child I remember being tossed in the air by my father with my arms out wide thinking I could fly my father has always been my hero but what happens when you need to be protected from your hero who then will save you my name is Melody Garcia and I stand before you today with the heavy topic that deserves our attention and action as Tara love wisely said we need to fight for our relationships but if fighting means ripping yourself to shreds and piggybacking on all his demons you need to leave this resonates with me deeply because my mom siblings and I have endured abuse at the hands of our superhero our father isn't father supposed to nurture you and protect you well when he fails to do so who
022will growing up in an environment where the one we call our superhero became the source of our nightmare was a harsh reality behind closed doors the unpredictable nature of our daily lives made it difficult to know if the next day would be different or a haunting reputation of the last as children we are shielded from the ugly truths but the impact was inevitable growing up studies show that children exposed to disrespectful and abusive household old are at high tend risk of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety the scar is inflicted on young minds by what they witness and hear can linger shaping their future in profound ways shockingly statistics show that 35% of women and nearly 28% of men in the US report experiencing physical violence or rape by an intimate partner I
023vividly remember waking up one night to witnessing my father hurting my mother his screams Pier the air commanding me to go back to sleep oblivious to the fact it was his actions preventing any rest a roller coaster of emotions persisted moments of apparent love Abberly Shattered by The Return of the darkness as Steve Mar Bully's words resonate make sure you're not saying it's complicated when it's actually toxic the more words it takes you to explain your relationship the less healthy it is now we find ourselves at Crossroads where we can make a difference we can help those TR and toxic Cycles by providing awareness and resources it's crucial to seek out local organizations that provide guidance and support equally important to our friends and family that we stand with them I share this not seeking
024sympathy but aiming to spark change many individuals silently battle abusive relationships and our voice can be cataly for transformation leaving is not easy fear often paralyzes victims let us be a change not just for this cause but for other that demand an attention in conclusion I implore each of you to be vigilant recognize the signs and lend a helping hand to those in need our generation has the power to break the chains of silence and create a safer world for all let my story be a call to action a reminder that change begins with us be the change be the support and let us build a future free from the shadows of abuse thank you thank you so much Melody for sharing your story and now from Walker Junior High vivana D [Applause] Roes if
025there's one message that comes forth that it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights writes once and for all 29 years ago this quote was reintroduced to the World by Hillary Clinton making it an international battlecry for women across the world yet it seems that people today have forgotten about this good evening my name is vivana dooses and I as a female will be talking to you about the decline of worth for women with Society blindly retracing its steps back to patriarchy the decline of gender equality doesn't surprise me but you may ask now that we have more women serving in Congress than ever before doesn't that mean a women have come a long way in positions of power the truth is only 29% of American women serve in
026Congress and it took us until 2020 to even elect a female vice president the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women estimate that will take another 286 years to close these Global Gender gaps women in 197 3 won the right to abortion he lost it 50 years later though the right to abortion may be a controversial topic because of it ethics it's still the right that women lost it seems as we're putting one step forward towards equality and then two steps back towards patriarchy this battle for equality is international it's been almost three years since the Taliban took over Afghanistan silencing the voices of women not allowing girls of sixth grade to go to school not allowing women to participate in sports have jobs or even have the privilege of feeling
027safe when they go outside I don't want to wait another 286 years after my death for this world to see me as an equal I want women and girls of future generations to see these standers as normal we shouldn't have to make a laws exclusively for women because other laws aren't seen the same for males and females are we not to democracy the Constitution says we the people of the United States not we the males of the United stes are we the females it say we are the people including everybody as a person and we may not be politicians but we still are people and change in the future can still be made by being open about how men and women are perceived differently in society and voting when bills and rights that will help
028women are offered thanks to Sous Susan banthony women have the right to vote so let's take advantage of that let's not only achieve women's rights and embrace gender equality but it strive to make gender Equity being both R to men and women a standard in our society women's rights are human rights let this call of power be remembered once again thank [Applause] you we move now to Oxford Jor high with salvi akula being a student at Oxford Academy and having been born into a family in which both my parents have master's degrees it's no secret that I'm immeasurably fortunate however not everyone is nearly as fortunate as I am let me introduce you to a young black male by the name of Calvin Tyler two years after Calvin first enrolled at Morgan State College he
029had to drop out out and take up a job as a UPS driver because he couldn't support himself financially paying for college rent and food just couldn't go together for the young black male unfortunately this happens to be the reality for 33% of black males and 26% of black females even President Obama once said that it's simply unacceptable that in the wealthiest nation in in on Earth that a college education remains Out Of Reach for for so many Americans especially those of African-American descent and those of color we must do better because the fight against wealth inequality is not just the moral imperative it's an investment in a brighter and more Equitable future the reason why wealth in equality is such a pressing problem is because it often poses the barrier to seeking higher education
030and because of this black borrowers aren't able to seek the education that they deserve these statistics can be disheartening but it's a stories like Calvin Tyler's that remind us of the that the impeccable human nature and the capacity for change against all us the fight against wealth inequality isn't just a moral imperative it's an investment in a brighter and more Equitable future for all Calvin across the promised land that we know as [Applause] America for and now from Orange view Nathan [Applause] Ibara in the glow of a Christmas morning the most cherished memories of love and togetherness but for 5-year-old Nathan isai iara in Tijuana Mexico that day shattered his innocence it wasn't the lack of president that scarred him but the violence he faced from a family member that memory is edged in his
031mind it makes us think that you know that it's just it's hard to live with someone that's going to abuse you for most of your life and sometimes I would think that was my fault that I provoked it and that I was a bad one my name is Nathan Isaiah Bara and I want to end domestic violence according to the National Children's Alliance 600,000 children were it was an estimated 600,000 children were abused that had been abused and it and were suffering from neglect in 2021 that same year 1,00 1,820 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States and 77% of those children were victimized by a parent and according to the na to American Society for positive care of children 30% of those survivors will go on to continue the horrible cycle
032of abuse towards their children one day and 80% of them will meet at least criteria for one psychological disorder like me cuz I suffer from depression and anxiety cuz I know what it is I want everyone here to know that this symbol means something and that it just doesn't mean that we're talking about how others are hitting each other that I want everyone to know that that in on this planet it's not just about this it's also about other things in life as well I'm not saying that this topic is one of the worst the worst things that's happening in our in our lives but I want everyone to know that it's it is one of the worst I invite you to take a stand with me I invite you to take a stand with
033me against domestic violence join the fight of millions to to bring this dark topic to a light um my name is Nathan Isaiah bar and I'm a Survivor and I I want everyone to know that it's okay to look for help and that everything's going to be [Applause] okay and now from Lexington jior High Shan [Applause] WN hi my name is Shan wean and today I'm talking about the problems of child abuse and how we can fix it author Dave Pelzer once said childhood should be carefree playing in the Sun not living in the nightmare in the darkness of the Soul this matters because according to child.go there were 3.6 million reported cases of child abuse 2,000 of these children died out of all of these cases 66.2 of them were under 3 years old
034how would you feel if you were one of these children adults who are abused as a child experienced PTSD reliving unwanted moments and even dreaming about it imagine a world where child abuse and neglect didn't exist it would be Euphoria thousands of children would happily live with loved ones we wouldn't have to mourn that for the kids that are starved hit or suffer every day from parents and Guardians child protective services and Foster homes would even exist five kids die every day from abuse and neglect that means every month we would have 140 kids still here there are many foundations that support the stop of child abuse future without violence is a nonprofit Foundation that supports traumatized children and adults if you have any suspicion you should inform law enforcement and let them determine the
035next step for example noticing that a child is getting booes or even that a child is getting skinnier is a great reason when we become parents ourselves we should teach our children and talk to them letting them speak their mind instead of hitting them and hoping they just don't do it again hearing them out is always going to help you see and understand why your child did what they did I want you all to see and realize how wrong this problem is and how to help prevent it to see that thousands of children die every year from abuse and neglect to realize that a child has to spend their day worrying about what they're going to eat where they're going to live or even where to sleep sleep child abuse and neglect is a real
036problem that is massively understated even if they recover the pain and suffering will always follow them we can help children who suffer whether it's on the streets or in their homes the kids deserve a better life than that thank [Applause] you from Sycamore Junior High itel Lopez you either had to sit here at probably in elementary and listen to adults ramble about bullying or you have to sit there probably in elementary listening to teachers ramble about bullying and knowing how it feels I have been bullied for many things in my life throughout my life I've been bullied for how I dress how I talk how I look what I do and the the one who that has impacted me the most my sexuality as a queer female it has stuck the words have stuck with
037me the most throughout my life during the pandemic years I have figured out who I was and I have decided that I should be proud of it instead of feeling supported I felt disappointed the ones that I thought would support me ended up being the ones that would hate me I'm now stuck as a 14-year-old girl in Middle School remembering the words and seeing the people every day I wanted to speak awareness about bowling because I know there's other people out there who are hiding the fact they they have sometimes the same experience as me in my research I have found out that ages 11 through 18 have been bullied that is Elementary to high school in my research I have found out that 73 to 76% have felt like they were being bullied that
038is a high amount and no one wants to speak about it what angers me is what is this topic feels boring and not very interesting that angers me because nobody understands how it feels like wanting to harm yourself wanting to kill yourself and being stuck in such a low Place feeling like no one is there to help you I want you guys to realize that you guys can actually help people you don't even probably don't even realize it my friends are talking to me and they don't even realize that they're saving me um bullying has stuck with me forever I hope people know that your words and you probably heard this from teachers a bunch of times that your words can't stick to people that is true my the words of the people who have
039said such horrible things to me still stuck with me today I want you guys to imagine a world without bullying you can post whatever you want to without somebody commenting bad about it you can dress however you want to but without somebody commenting on it you can walk freely without in the back of your head thinking this person is definitely judging me right now you guys can help there's now phone numberers we can call when we feel down we now have friends you might hear this but there's teachers to help too um I have teachers in my school that I feel like I can talk to teachers or adults I feel like you should have you should build that bond with your kids because if you don't they're going to feel like they're stuck and
040they're going to ball up their feelings like I did and it's all going to break out I wanted to take this event to speak out about my feelings and speak about um others who probably have the same or different experience as I do thank you for [Applause] listening our final Junior High speaker is from Cambridge Virtual Academy Navy [Applause] Nash hi my name is Navy Nash I'm in seventh grade and I attend Cambridge Virtual Academy for my speech today I will be talking about marine pollution did you know that 14 million pieces of plastic end up in the ocean every year that's a lot of trash for just 365 days 36,000 plastic bottles is only one ton only one and there's 14 million of those that means that there is more than 5 trillion 40
041billion pieces of plastic that ends up in the ocean every year many people think that the ocean is a beautiful place and a good majority of it is but some parts of the ocean can be the complete opposite because of marine pollution many of you might be thinking what do you mean the ocean is beautiful everywhere well the point I'm trying to get at is that the ocean is filled with toxic and unhealthy trash and pollutants and because of those pollutants the animals in the ocean are getting sick and even starting to die I think many of us know the cause of this humans all of us so to prevent all this trash from going into the ocean we can recycle and reuse not to mention that you may have never heard of microplastics and
042nanoplastics these microscopic pieces of plastic can have a negative effect on the ocean and the animals in it for instance these Plastics can absorb even more pollutants that could be even more toxic than the Plastics themselves I know many of you love sea animals raise your hand if you love sea animals I know I do my favorite sea animal is a narwhal so if you want to keep these sea animals that you love so much just pick up some trash thank you for your time and attention have a great rest of your [Applause] day well as one of our speakers said earlier the number one fear that most people have is the fear of public speaking and yet these amazing students came up and shared some beautiful personal stories may I remind you that you've
043been listening to seventh and eighth graders for the last 40 minutes or so let's give them one last round of applause we will take a 10-minute intermission and return with our high school speakers thank you two and then perect e e by the way for e well I think we've given our high school speakers enough time to do their stretching and tongue twisters to warm up so let's continue with the second half of our program we start off from Oxford High School vidy Patel are you toxic well you live in a third world country so of course you are due to the luxuries you have I mean we're predisposed at thinking that many discriminatory people think that oh well the third world countries are just naturally dirtier and so they contribute more to climate change
044but this isn't the case at all in fact as long along with not having the luxuries that we have third world countries also don't emit half or even a fourth of what carbon emissions we emit as First World countries but it's okay because we can still make it right let's understand the problem so we burn fossil fuels and this emits CO2 into the atmosphere this traps heat and eventually causes our planet to warm this causes destruction to our ecosystems and according to earth.org this also results this will result an irreversible damage to our planet as soon as 2027 my mom personally has suffered from this financially as during these times of the California drought and where there was food shortages we had to Shell out more money for our food and Necessities which caused issues
045in our family stress and it was not a good time overall but we don't think about the path what is sustainability and how do we get there what does the road look like well carbon taxing is a price placed on carbon emissions it's an economic economic incentive for businesses and people to reduce their carbon Footprints overall and it would be mandated by the IRS where you would pay it like your federal tax but you know how you're like where are my taxes going my roads look at the roads like my taxes are gone these taxes would actually be used for sustainability projects and be put back into your economy and you would be able to see the efforts of your hard work and you may think well this hasn't happened before how can I believe
046you well actually you'd be wrong because the Canadian government sustainability page according to them they stated that they implemented carbon taxes in 2008 and they saw a 2.8% reduction in their carbon emissions since 2007 may not seem big but it's a very big deal and their economy still grew and their population still grew just fine this is the political side of things but what about the personal side of things whether you're high or low income you should do your best with your living situation and what I would say is try to eat foods that are lower on the food chain they emit less carbon and they're healthier for you overall see the New York Times said that plant-based diets are actually 75% more carbon they do 75% less climate change harm than um diets that
047feature Meats like beef and pork so a world without climate change would look like a world where we don't have droughts where we don't have hunger and we don't have World starvation a world where our grand reef is no longer white and it's full of color again so please even though car even though carbon taxing is not a silver bullet to solve climate change it's a very useful tool so please help me advocate for its implementation into our government thank [Applause] you on to Kennedy High School and Sophia [Applause] fun when you hear that someone is a democrat or a republican you probably form an automatic opinion about them either you'll get along or you won't and you're not alone in this when it comes to politic ICS many of us are adopting this black
048and white view political polarization is the increasing Divergence of political attitudes away from the center and towards ideological extremes it's reflected in the increasing inability of conservatives and liberals to compromise the increasing unwillingness to negotiate and respect each other this affects not only our politics but our communities and individual relationships as well political polarization has been on the rise for decades political violence is at a 25-year High the more time goes on the more divided we get and with elections coming up it's a bigger concern than ever a recent National survey found that 25% of Americans say that they may need to resort to political violence in the upcoming election in order to save the country and that the Democracy of our country is at risk this may be true but it isn't because of
049any one particular party it's the increasing extremism of both sides that's truly threatening our democracy the issue is that we each think the other side is so fundamentally different from ourselves when that's really not true when asked about core values including fairness compassion and responsibility nine and 10 Democrats and Republicans agreed they were extremely important and yet only about onethird of either group said they believed the same would be true of the opposing party not only are we disagreeing we're seeing each other as cruel ignorant lacking in the fundamental values that in fact most of us share it's not that we don't have our differences but we need to be able to overcome them so we can work on addressing the issues that affect all of us Healthcare the environment the economy I mean these
050things don't affect just Democrats or just just Republicans they affect everybody we need to be able to work together to fight these problems rather than just fighting each other this may seem like an insurmountable problem but the solution is actually quite simple and it starts with you next time you talk to someone you disagree with don't dismiss them listen to them see them for what they are not a democrat or a republican but your neighbor or your sibling or your male man who you may have more in common with than you think if everybody in the world could do that our communities would become much less divided and we'd be able to work together towards living up to the high ideals that our nation was founded on thank [Applause] you and now from Magnolia High
051School Mimi Al [Applause] kalash picture an oldfashioned scale with plates on either side on one side place things that drain your cup on the other things that refill it throughout your day try and keep that scale level that is balance hello everyone my name is Mimi Al KES and I will be talking about why balance is key what indicates a life out of balance the Cleveland's Health Clinic mentions sleep problems depersonalization suffering relationships and declining mental health in 2021 long working hours caused heart disease in stroke which killed 745,000 people according to the World Health Organization a high schooler gets an average of three and a half hours of homework per day according to US Health news the American Psychological Association warns that imbalance leads to emotional exhaustion and burnout it's time we start prioritizing
052finding an equilibrium between work and life here are three key Concepts to help you unlock the door to balance one The goldilock Zone not too hot not too cold just right a life of all work and no play or all Play and No Work is unfulfilling like Goldilocks you need to find what's just right for example study for an hour less to remember more or put an hour extra into exercise two organize your thoughts to organize your time imagine this you have a f fin doing a week we need to maintain grades for a scholarship and go to your part-time job organize your thoughts maybe use a to-do list now organize your time perhaps a planner and third grounding prayer meditation nature whatever works for you find something that grounds you and practice it every
053day this will help you reconnect with the present and stay mindful so what does the goldilock Zone organizing your thoughts in time and grounding have to do with finding balance they make you prioritize yourself my mother always used to say in you are the the center of your Universe thank [Applause] you we now move on to Gilbert High School and welcoming Elana [Applause] Mendes hello everyone I am Eliana Mendes and I will be talking talking about human trafficking there is a crime that thrives in the shadows of our communities and prays on the most vulnerable among us we can be the voice for those who are silenced and work towards eradicating this modernday slavery human trafficking is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide services lots of people from all age
054groups genders and ethnicities are being taken from their homes their families and are being sold to provide labor and sexual activities around the world two articles United Nations office of drugs and crime and National human trafficking hotlines state that almost 800,000 men women and children are trafficked across International borders like Asia Colombia Cuba Mexico Nicaragua and Middle Eastern countries children are most commonly the victims Asia having the highest number of trafficking victims 18% is forced labor but the most common form of human trafficking is sexual exploitation at 79% a few months ago while I was watching the news the news reporter caught my attention she spoke about a 7-year-old girl found at the US Mexico border with 76 different traces of DNA found inside her when I heard this I was in shock and I
055was appalled on how so many people can hurt someone so vulnerable I mean this is a child a little girl think of this as your own child a family member a cousin a niece a friend I fear for our communities and our families that something like this could impact your life my life our communities human trafficking is a crime that undermines economic and National Security undermines the rule of law and harms the mentality and emotional health of individuals everywhere according to operation Underground Railroad they fight on the front lines every day to help and fight to get Justice for those who are being trafficked across every part of the world every country let us join corporations and organizations like operation Underground Railroad who tirelessly fight on the front lines who advocate for those who are
056silenced and bring traffickers to Justice imagine a world where every heartbeat resonates with freedom where no soul is Shackled by the chains of exploitation let us let our feet carry us to corporations and organizations let us build a future where every heartbeat pulses with dignity and not despair stand with me against this heinous crime for in our Collective heartbeat lies the power to break the chains and set Humanity [Music] [Applause] free and now from Anaheim ilc Matthew [Applause] Franco good good evening everybody my name is Matthew Franco and I'm from I'm from Anaheim High School Independent Learning Center this topic has had my interest for a while but once I get to thinking I have all these emotions running through my body that I do not like but I can't stay silent and I won't
057stay quiet today I stand before you bringing the bringing the attention of the epidemic National crisis of the effects of fenel I'm the middle child of six already getting in trouble with the law at the age of 12 at 4 years old I was left alone with my grand mother and my siblings after my parents separation and my dad's absence due to custody battles this chaos in my life led me down a similar path to my father's and at 14 years old I was already entangled with the law and a gang for the next 3 years to come on July 29th 2023 just days after I was released from juvenile hall I was home having a wonderful time with my father and my siblings while my little brother was knocking on the restroom door there
058was no answer unknowingly my father was in there unresponsive due to a fental overdose my father passed away July 29th 2023 from a fenol overdose fentol is a synthetic opioid typically used to treat patients with chronic severe pain or severe pain following surgery it is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine just 2 milligrams equal to 10 to 15 grains of table salt is considered a lethal dose according to the CDC between the years 2016 to 2021 fenal deaths increased by 2 179% according to the CDC as well between the years 2019 to 2021 fenal deaths increased with 182% between the between the ages 10 to 19 years old the youth need access and Early Education on how to deal with the fenal overdose for their own safety and others so
059they can save a life some of our national policies have made the Southwest border the worst it's ever been allowing drug trafficking organizations to distribute fenol by kilograms just one kilogram has enough power to kill 500,000 people according to the DEA I would also recommend a moratorium against painkillers that consist of opioids because that contributes to a future drug addiction which is exactly what happened to my father my name is Matthew Franco and I won't stay quiet thank [Applause] you we go now to catella high school with Joel Mata when I was in 10th Grade I finally began accepting who I was I was tired of the constant remarks based on my sexuality so I spoke against it slurs being thrown at me no adult support and constant inappropriate touching made me realize I shouldn't
060be waiting for Help by finally speaking out against the homophobic attributes people had I was able to show other s they could do the same before I go on what is homophobia homophobia is the Prejudice of queer people and is often derived from the environment you surround yourself with some people may think they haven't been homophobic but subtle jokes or stereotyping the queer Community is also a way of demonstrating these biases to add on to that having friends or family doesn't excuse you from being homophobic another issue is touching others some think it's okay to touch queer people because they assume we like it for one we never ask to be touched and for another touching people or doing things without consent is never okay it's difficult to get help from adults with situations like
061this because we don't know if they'll agree with us some adults have a perception that students should dress modestly or avoid unwanted attention however as someone who's followed the dress code by covering my body why was I so touched not only does it make us uncomfortable to have to talk about what happened but we don't know if anything will ever be done about it others suffer the same problems I have a survey conducted by Harvard th Chan School of Public Health showcased that more than 50% of individuals within the lgbtq plus Community go through sexual harassment throughout their lives furthermore homosexuality is not always accepted throughout the world we can see different laws against the lgbtq plus community community laws such as the don't say gay Bill laws preventing same-sex marriage death sentences and so
062much more are preventing us all from being equal to one another so how can we resolve this issues that occur in and out of class are detrimental to each and every individual student as it changes who we are in different ways to help you must first be educated on the principles of homophobia I understand we can't just force people to automatically change their ideological perspectives but live your life more open-mindedly this includes adult awareness when reaching out to students students respecting others regardless of who they are and supporting those around you who may not even get help at home by showcasing your abilities to communicate and [Applause] coexist from Cypress High School School alot [Applause] hus never again right we never want to repeat the wrong parts of our history you would think now today
063in a society seeing our history we would notice such disgusting and evil acts but we're not we're just doing our daily things acting like nothing happened and some of us just aren't educated enough or some of us just don't care because it doesn't affect us personally hello my name is Al and I'm a proud palestini Palestinian talking to y'all today now many people say that what Hamas did the allegations with no evidence everyone just jumped to conclusions and assumed what everything that on the Fox News said was right but not there was no evidence to what the M said yes they made mistakes but nothing solves a problem of 30,000 civilians dying 30,000 innocent people 30,000 men 30,000 women 30,000 children I myself have had 50 over 50 people die just these past five months
064since October 7th and and even in the past before that I've had over 50 people with my blood died and these people range from just kids to 17 years olds even younger even in junior high even adults people my dad's age and we're like we're still doing our daily things I feel many of us aren't talking about what's happening in Palestine we're still going to Starbucks supporting places that support Israel just do your part please I'm asking you as someone that has been personally affected by this this isn't a political thing this is literally black and white this is a IDE with photographical evidence ask Congress for seize fired I I don't want any more people dying with my blood a dad shouldn't be looking for kids under the rubble with his bare hands with
065his four kids and his wife dead a mother shouldn't be asking for Allah God just one more time with her son cuz right now she's saying goodbye to him through a dead body a seven-year-old dead body I have six siblings I have a young younger brother I can't I can't fathom thinking Yousef my little brother can be dead all the news reporters you see from festine Palestine they're all wearing gear heavy heavy gear because they know they're going to get shot one of the people one of the reporters had to move from Palestine because all his family got shot cuz he was standing with Palestine I know what I'm doing standing here I know what I'm saying as a PR Palestinian many people think it's weird many people may not agree with what I'm saying
066but I I'm am standing proud because this affects my family this affects people in Palestine and we've seen us as a society grow and how we stood up with black lives matter now I want us to stand up with Palestines and we have been doing that and I appreciate it but we need to start taking a step further because look at us we're under this ceiling we have we have comfortable beds to sleep on we're able to go to a hospital not far away if anything happens Palestinians they don't they don't have that it's almost all hospitals in Palestine are bombed and many people it it's I know they've seen this on Instagram or on Tik Tok or on social media in general all the stuff that's been happening with Palestinians this isn't something you
067just swipe away from this is something there's no moving on from this do your part ask Congress for Seas fire and Palestinians just want to live in peace they want to stop trying to survive they just they just want to be here and be happy we're not monsters we're people to live and make a future thank [Applause] you please welcome from laera Jenny [Applause] vu from personal experience I am able to confidently say that my phone usage has affected my life in many different ways As I Grew Older and became more aware of the accumulation of bad habits in my life I've noticed that spending the majority of my time behind my phone screen is a habit that is common for people at my age range I started to think of how easily I was
068influenced by content I was consuming on my phone mainly on social media websites a habit isn't action that is constantly repeated with no conscious effort or awareness the reinforcement of those habits occurs when a positive feeling is associated with that certain Behavior what is more instantly satisfying than a heightened phone usage while smartphones provide a variety of benefits the risk factors of handing an irresponsible adolescent a smartphone are real the developing Mind of a child is very influenceable almost like a sponge soaking up water social media is mainly run by influencers who possess a platform to post anything to their liking they have the capability to endorse social norms and values by implementing behaviors the nonprofit research organization Common Sense Media reported that seven that screen usage amongst tween increased by 177% from 2019 and
0692021 it is no surprise that social media is more common for the younger Generations a socially unaware child faces the risk of being exposed to content promoting behaviors that can affect them that can affect them negatively or positively sorry a socially unaware child faces the risk of be of being exposed to content promoting negative behaviors that can affect the trajectory of their lifestyle a study suggests that checking social media constantly as a habit as a young teen is associated with changes in the brain over a 2 to three years span while genetic predisposition can affect how a child thinks I believe that what a child is mainly exposed to can nurture them to think differently either negatively or positively due to the fact that the developing mind is very influenceable and impressionable to environmental influences
070unrestricted use of a phone can have an adverse impact on a teen's Health mentally and physically about 23% of teens are reported to use their phones before they go to bed this can affect someone's Cadian Rhythm which is the physical mental and behavioral change in organism experiences over a 24-hour cycle the bright screens provided by our phones stimulates the area of our brain that keeps us alert and awake causing a restless night which results in chronic sleep deprivation and a good sleeping schedule is crucial for the mental well-being of a developing teen due to the fact due to to decrease the risk of an impaired cognitive function it is common to replace physical activity with excessive phone usage minimal physical activity can lead to potentially harming the development of motor skills due to the fact
071due to the lack of due to the lack of of sorry of impr of decreasing endurance and muscle strength if you ever find yourself in the entanglement of endorsing a negative phone habits it is okay to seek help from others it is okay to seek help from others to who will provide encouragement to be more lenient towards healthier habits thank [Applause] you and now from Anaheim High School Jose cisos [Applause] bazan imagine a Tranquility of a quiet morning you're eating breakfast with your loved ones then to your surprise there's a hard knock on your door your father gets up to see who it is to your surprise it's a nice agent he's forcibly taken to who knows where and you think to yourself but why but why is he being taken away and you think
072to yourself he hasn't killed CA harmed done drugs or raped or terrorist the only thing that you could think of is he has worked and worked day and night to support him and his family hello my name is Jose SOS and I come from a family of illegal immigrants there are over 2 million illegal immigrants here in California that number is significant and they have contributed over 11.6 billion million dollars annually according to the it and nc.gov and they having gotten the treatment that they should deserve and like I mentioned I come from a family of illegal immigrants they crossed the border like many others and they say share the same story as others they came here for a better future for themselves and for their family they don't want here to cause trouble they
073want a better future for themselves and for their family each day and the word illegal I have never enjoyed hearing it it seems extremely racist not right for these hardworking people and illegal for me is someone who has raped killed or a terrorist or something atrocious to the world and as communities we could come and Unite with one another another and be against anti-racial immigration laws as we can see Texas has implemented these laws and this shouldn't be in our country or state present or future and everyone could do this let's use our most powerful to today social media we must leverage our voice amplify our voices for a better future and tomorrow for generations to come we must bring awareness to this we must must get the attention of Congress the government decision makers
074we must make change and one more thing separation of families shouldn't be a thing this border is illegal thank [Applause] you for from Savannah high school please welcome Ellie City [Applause] Muhammad My my mother was supposed to name me maram maram Sid Muhammad today I stand before you as Al Al CID Muhammad I owe my namesake to a wonderful girl my mother happened to be friend when she was pregnant with me OT was a Storyteller my mom never forgot the story of eda's birthday where instead of putting out her candles she was putting out the fire in her neighborhood after an Israeli air strike ot's heart was kind so kind that when she was younger she helped her neighbor collect the remains of his daughter in the rubble of what used to be their home
075El was from Gaza Gaza an occupied Palestine Gaza Human Rights Watch describes it as an open air prison Gaza the UN calls it a graveyard for the Youth Gaza where innocent men women and children are taken from this world as Martyrs or forced to live under a sky that Reigns death death that we pay for according to the US state department the United States annually provides Israel with with $3.3 billion in military aid if you do the math the average US taxpayer pays $25 in weapons to Israel every year allowing them to terrorize Palestinians for decades now 76 years to be exact but who's counting a century from today if things keep going the way they are Israel will have colonized the Gaza Strip along with all that was Palestine they will wash away most
076of Palestinian history write their own textbook chapter CHS of how Israel really came to be and the only land they will be willing to give back to the Palestinians will be lousy reservations to keep them out of the way and the cherry on top once a year Israeli families will Feast on a day dedicated to celebrating the arrival of the settlers as the native Palestinians mourn the Decades of genocide that followed sound familiar we are witnessing modern-day colonization and whilst the government of the United States is enabling it the people of the United States can stop it you can educate yourself don't let anybody tell you it's too complicated you can amplify Palestinian voices the oppression the cruelty it's practiced on their bodies you can call on your Congress members your senators and your president
077to stop enabling these atrocities with US taxpayer money when the communities they represent are in dire need of those resources in the words of Nelson Mand It seems impossible until it is done you can make a change and you should not just because the oppressor needs you to be quiet not just because the oppressed need you to be loud but because you need to remember who you are in Gaza we are watching the most documented genocide in history accessible through your screens it's easy to feel helpless but instead of wallowing in pity instead of only pointing at your leaders and saying this is who who you really are point that finger at yourself you the citizen you the nation of immigrants you the activist you the American the one who holds the most power in
078this democracy in this moment in history who are you thank [Applause] you our final speaker tonight is from Western High School Alisa Ahmad what exactly is the true purpose of life to live a Content life filled with joy and peace or having to bear bear the burden of mental illness upon your shoulders and experiencing the endless feeling of slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss at some point in their lives an estimated 49 plus% of teenagers experienced a mental health condition reads a website on adolescent mental health this demonstrates how little emphasis our society has on supporting mental health issues since it affects both mental and emotional well-being such as your s esteem your perspective of the world and your ability to deal with life's challenges supporting mental health should be a social priority
079in the USA we need to prevent this major issue from occurring because if this issue is not resolved this can lead to a poor perspective of Life severe disabilities homelessness drug and alcohol abuse and can even lead to enormous suicide ideations an article stated that during 47,000 plus of people in the United States died by Suicide up from 45 plus per in 2020 just visualize numerous adults teens and even young children desolate and isolated who end up making life-threatening decisions before reaching out to their parents therapists and counselors about what they're going through since they assume the people just don't understand and their pain in order to lessen this problem and ensure the safety of our society we should all do our part to increase Mental Health Resources and raise awareness in our community we
080can do this by creating a safe space for people acknowledging the connection between mental and physical health which is often overlooked in favor of physical health and supporting it through exercise meditation and a healthy diet the Affordable Care Act mandates that all plans made available through the ACA exchanges including those for individuals and small employers must cover a range of mental health care services in order to Aid and make our world a better place we need to take initiative by taking these approaches by creating a safe space for individuals considering mental and physical health and through exercise meditation and a healthy diet to counter this current is isue thank [Applause] you okay everyone can let their breath out now what what an incredible evening I think it was Socrates and Aristotle who used to complain
081about the youths and how the Next Generation doesn't know what's happening and we can't count on them and I I have a feeling that after tonight you will all all agree that we can count on our youth please let's give them a big round of applause while the final scores are being calculated I'd like to turn it over to our judges for just a few moments and have them share some of their thoughts of what they saw this evening so thank you um I think the best [Music] schools take the curriculum and they put uh the issues of the world and society and the problems of the world and Society into their curriculum they make them the curriculum teachers don't avoid it administrators don't avoid it but they put it at the heart and center
082and so teachers I want to commend you students administrators I want to commend you uh for allowing our students to really explore issues that they're passionate about thank you um as an English teacher for many years I lived in the world of rhetoric and argumentation you know often we hear arguments that are centered by fear and hate and divisiveness and they lead to winners and losers tonight our students presented arguments that were really grounded in compassion and love and empathy and logic and those are the types of arguments that lead to Winners everybody's a winner there's not winners and losers but everybody's a winner so thank you students our adults have a lot to learn from you thank you your pres your presentations tonight were remarkable [Applause] congratulations I just want to say how impressed
083I am um with the personal touches that each of you presented with and the passion that you brought um to your speech um I don't know if I would have done quite as good of a job in my junior high or High School career getting up there and being so brave so um I commend all of you um and like Mike said I think we all have something that we could learn from this evening um and uh I just I just really applaud each and every one of you so thank you I don't know what else is left to say after that that was very difficult to follow both of you um but first just I can't even begin to imagine what it is to be in your shoes this evening I am a graduate
084of this district and I absolutely know I could not do what you all did tonight um I am blown away and it reminds me daily the work that we do and why this is so important I am astonished and I know that you all are leaders already and I hope you remain leaders for the rest of your lives thank you for being here for Having the courage thank you also yes to our teachers our administrators our counselors our support staff and everyone who supports you in your journey your families your communities I am so proud of each and every one of you congratulations the speakers that you heard tonight were site winners at their own schools but there are dozens and dozens of other students who also participated in this program and shared their voices
085with their communities I encourage you to discuss with your speaker and with each other which speeches resonated with you tonight and what will be your soapbox issue what's important to you and what can you share with the world I'd like to invite our board members and executive committee to come up to the stage for the presentation of the awards and while they're coming up to the stage I'd like to thank again our teachers our students our student ambassadors for being with us as I call the names of the top people my God please come up and receive your trophy and stay up here and once all the trophies have been distributed please everyone come up for a photograph for our Jun for our Junior High winners there is a tie for third place from South
086Anthony [Applause] Silva also in third place from Ball Junior High jasine Gerard wow you better be crying out there too because this is exciting in second place for Junior High from Lexington sha WN and in first place for Junior High from Walker vivana D [Applause] Roes and now let's move to the high school level in third place from Kennedy Sophia [Applause] fun in second place from Magnolia Mimi Al kalash and the first place for this year's so soapbox speech competition is from Savannah Ellie City [Applause] Muhammad please applaud our winners an amazing evening but remember it could be you spreading a message together we can change the world one story at a time thank you so much for being here tonight we will close with some remarks from our superintendent Mr matuda and when he
087is done please everyone come up for a photograph thank you first let's give it up for Autumn Brown amazing thank you and secondly to the teachers Pro for providing a safe and affirming environment for our kids voices you know uh We've we heard from so many young leaders across the district we're so proud of you for having the courage to speak your minds and um it's really not just for the parents but for all all the adults as Mr Switzer said early we have a lot to learn from you and we hear you we hear your voices and again a shout out to our teachers and our principls for creating affirming environment safe environments civil environments for us to learn and grow together as we Face these incredible challenges ahead for your children thank you
088so much to the judges and to congratul ation to all the winners thank you very much thank you so much for being here tonight go out and tell your story good night