Sophomore Civic Lab Welcomes WBEZ Reporters

Last year, the Upper School expanded its civic engagement focus with the Sophomore Year Civic Lab Pilot Program. This year, building on the success of the pilot program, sophomore Grade Heads Brianna Ifft and Xiao Zhang are leading these students in the “City as Community” Civic Lab focusing on the local impact of immigration and migration. The program has three main objectives: Empathy and Understanding, Historical Context and Community Engagement.

To that end, sophomores welcomed City Government and Politics Reporter Tessa Weinberg and Data Reporter Amy Qin from WBEZ, Chicago’s public radio station, to speak on these topics. Weinberg and Qin introduced WBEZ and public media to the students, then presented the migrant journey before reaching Chicago and a photo essay of a migrant’s firsthand experience. Next, the two reporters placed the influx of asylum seekers in a historical context, discussing early European migration, the Great Migration and Mexican migration in the 1990s. Finally, they brought back the subject to the present day, recapping the past year, growing tension between communities and new residents and ways the city is adapting.

With this knowledge, sophomores broke into groups to have a “solutions-focused” discussion, including such questions as, “What are the things the city should consider about meeting the needs of new residents from different countries? How can the city meet the needs of current Chicagoans and new migrants?” Also: “The city is aiming to create a unified shelter system that would serve long-standing homeless residents and newly arrived asylum seekers. What kinds of special considerations do you think the city should make when doing that?” And finally, “What are the long-term strategies that Chicago can put in place to resolve or help with this issue?”

Parker is extremely grateful to Weinberg and Qin for taking time to speak to students on this important issue. The school is excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for these sophomores as they continue this civic journey.

Click here for photos.