Four days after Donald Trump was sworn in as the nation’s 47th president, the Fullerton Joint Union High School District [FJUHSD] sent an email to its stakeholders easing concerns over what could happen to undocumented students under a Trump administration bent on a stricter enforcement of immigration policies.
“Please know that FJUHSD is dedicated to ensuring that every student feels safe, valued, and supported,” superintendent Steve McLaughlin wrote in the Friday, Jan. 24, email to FJUHSD staff, parents and students. “We want to reassure our community that all children, regardless of their immigration status, have the right to a free public education. This is guaranteed by federal and state laws, including Plyler v. Doe (1982) and California Assembly Bill 699.”
During his campaign, Trump made immigration a central issue, advocating for stricter border control and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. His focus on implementing tougher immigration policies resonated with a significant portion of the electorate, leading to his victory in both the popular and electoral vote.
Though McLaughlin’s 10-paragraph letter avoids mentioning Trump by name — making indirect references like “as laws and policies evolve at the state and federal levels” — the correspondence was sent on a weekend when the following events had occurred:
- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker claimed that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] visited a Chicago elementary school, which came back the next day as false information. They were secret agents inquiring about a concern regarding harming the president.
- ICE detained and deported certain undocumented immigrants with a criminal record.
Principal Craig Weinreich said although no parents or students have contacted him about their concerns over Trump’s immigration policy and their status here, the superintendent didn’t explain to him any specific rationale for that Friday, Jan. 24, email.
“I would say [the email] is just a direct response to conversations and fears that are going on in our general community and a response to current events and things that are taking place,” said Weinreich, referring back to certain parts of McLaughlin’s letter. “We want to put our parents’ fears to rest and make sure our parents understand that we have policies in place to protect them and their students.”
The district and state policy regarding students who are not documented immigrants guarantees the following:
- Schools cannot discriminate against students based on their immigration status or the status of their families.
- Immigration enforcement officers cannot access school campuses without a judicial warrant or court order. Any legal requests are carefully reviewed by the Office of Student Services.
- Schools are not allowed to share personal student information with immigration enforcement agencies unless required by law.
- Students who don’t have home addresses can be legally allowed to enroll in a public school in California under the McKinney-Vento Act.
The Accolade conducted a survey Monday, Jan. 13-Friday, Feb. 7 with 163 students reflecting on Trump’s new policy to deport all illegal immigrants or undocumented migrants. Eighty-three respondents voted “Yes,” meaning they were worried about Trump’s immigrant policy, 51 answered “No” and 29 said they didn’t care.
Some students with undocumented status agreed to be interviewed by The Accolade, and their names have been changed for confidentiality.
Senior Jane Smith, who has not spoken to school officials, said her parents have voiced their concerns with her about Trump’s getting elected and his views on immigration.
“I’m worried for my family because one of my uncles who lives in Utah was caught, but I’m not sure what happened yet because they haven’t gotten a hold of him,” said Smith, who has twin siblings coming up to Sunny Hills in the next school year. “We’re trying to have plans just to make sure we’re safe, and we know what to do if anything happens.”
Hispanic Parent Outreach [HPO] parent leader Ivonne Wang said she wasn’t surprised to see the email, but she felt reassured that the district sent it out to address concerns many parents might have.
“I feel it was a kind response addressing an issue that many people are going through, and it was well-written and supportive,” Wang said. “I also thought it was nice of them to offer services and support to those that may need it.”
Although the HPO did not address the email and the immigration policy as a whole, Wang said Rosie Salgado Mora, president of the English Learner Advisory Committee [ELAC], and Veronica Díaz, president of the District English Learners Advisory Committee Meetings [DELAC], gave a rundown of what was addressed at the ELAC and DELAC meetings to the HPO on Wednesday, Jan. 29, including concerns about the immigration policy and the email sent out.
“It was mentioned that there were some concerns from the other schools in the district about the immigration policy, so it was briefly addressed at the DELAC meeting,” the HPO parent leader said. “It was just touched on, and they felt grateful that the district was reassuring them.”
Smith said her parents, who are both undocumented immigrants, felt concerned for their family but were comforted by the letter.
“After seeing the letter, we became more prepared and aware of possibilities that could happen,” she said. “If we have to leave quickly, we would just get important documents and some valuable things and let our family know.”
The superintendent’s letter tells parents to contact assistant principal Betty Vutang for any questions.
Vutang said some parents have reached out after the email was sent to them to inquire about what was going on.
“Our response to them is always ‘we’re here to support you, so please come to school and just continue to be a good student,’” the assistant principal said.
Weinreich said he believes the email was a good way to communicate to parents and students about any concerns they have.
“I thought it was great because it was a proactive response by our district to understanding what people are thinking in the community so that we could help them be at peace with it and let them know we’re here to help them,” he said.
The principal said more guidelines for staff will be sent out sometime this week so that people know how to respond to situations and be prepared.
The final tally: 50.4% to 49.3%.
It came down to that 1.4% difference – 15.2 million votes – in determining whether those working for minimum wage would get a raise from $16 an hour to $18 an hour.
With the rejection of Proposition 32 in last November’s elections, many students who work part time feel disappointed by the final result.
If it did get approved, the minimum wage would have been raised by about 5.9% to $18 starting on Jan. 1, 2025, making California’s wage the “highest in the nation.”
“The rejection of Proposition 32 is not beneficial for the future, especially with the cost of living in California. … It’s going to be harder to afford living in college with this minimum wage,” said senior Paige Bringas, who works five to six hour shifts around three to four days a week, at Buena Park Sul & Beans.
Bringas was initially excited after hearing about the proposition and looked forward for the raise in minimum wage.
“I personally did not participate in the voting but I was really optimistic about the proposition because I thought it would definitely get passed,” she said. “I was excited to see the results but when I saw that it had been rejected, I felt disappointed.”
California was the first state in the nation to pass the $15 minimum wage back in 2016 and in April 2024, the Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act raised wages for fast food workers to $20.
But those changes weren’t enough to get more voters to approve the measure.
“I don’t like that the proposition got rejected,” said senior Ethan Lee, who works at Paris Baguette for $20 per hour. “I obviously want to make more money and when I used to work for a $16 minimum wage, I felt like I wasn’t getting paid enough.”
Senior Chara Yoon, who currently works at Sorimmara and Chomp Sushi, depends on tip because of how low the minimum wage is, and chooses to work at restaurants for this reason.
“I believe the minimum wage is still low after the 0.50 cent raise, and without tip, I wouldn’t be making enough money,” Yoon said. “The raise to $18 would have been really great because that would have made a huge difference in my paycheck but I have hope that it will increase soon.”
Despite Prop. 32’s rejection, the statewide minimum wage rose to $16.50 starting Jan. 1 based on increases in the Consumer Price Index. “I think even $2 is a big difference,” Lee said. “With the new wage, I feel like there’s a big jump in the paychecks and I can pay off what I need to pay for.”
Buena Park High School has one. So do Fullerton Union and La Habra campuses.
And soon, Sunny Hills will get its grassy field and worn-out dirt track replaced with turf and an all-weather, synthetic track.
That’s because last November during the elections, 58.33% of voters living in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District [FJUHSD] boundary approved Measure L, which required 55% or more “yes” votes for passage.
“I am very excited that Bond Measure L passed. … We really appreciate the residents of Fullerton recognizing the needs we have on our campus to improve our facilities,” athletic director Paul Jones wrote in a Nov. 8, 2024, email statement to The Accolade. “We have been very fortunate to have so much success in athletics, despite being decades behind when it comes to facilities being upgraded. We have many original structures and fields that have existed since 1959 [when the campus first opened] and are in need of upgrades and modernization.
“Every school in our district either has two gyms or a stadium with turf. Sunny Hills is the only school that does not have either. We are excited for the future upgrades and changes that will come to Sunny Hills.”
Though the elections were held Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, the Orange County Registrar of Voters did not certify the results until more than a month later on Monday, Dec. 9.
According to the Orange County Election Results from ocvote.gov, the FJUHSD was not alone in its success of asking the public to help pay for its facilities upgrades. The other bond proposals in Orange County — nine total — gained passage.
FJUHSD trustees held a Measure L study session before the start of its most recent board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and the next step calls for district officials to start the process to obtain funds to pay for the various projects that each FJUHSD school has prioritized.
That involves assessing property owners who live in the FJUHSD boundary to pay a certain amount of money so that district officials can collect it and “sell up to $284 [million] in general obligation bonds,” according to the Measure L statement.
Principal Craig Weinreich said athletic upgrades will be the first improvement projects on campus based on a master plan that school officials put together.
“Our main projects are a second gym and all-weather track and field,” said Weinreich, who lives in the FJUHSD boundary and voted for Measure L’s approval. “The track and field will be prioritized first, but everything depends on the bond sales — the amounts of money that can be raised and how quickly that comes in.”
The decision to start with track and field upgrades was not based on just one person.
“These priorities were based on the community input sessions and conversations between district and the site stakeholders including parents, students, administration, teachers and coaches,” Weinreich said.
According to an Accolade online poll from Friday, Nov. 15-Friday, Dec. 13, a majority of the 170 responses agreed with school officials as to the facilities improvement needs on campus.
A total of 69 favored the artificial turf field and an all-weather turf track followed by 53 votes for more modern classrooms; a second gym came in last with 48 responses.
Boys soccer co-team captain junior Anthony Fiorini said the soccer team would really benefit from the new track and field.
“The new field will help newer players develop because they will be focused on improving aspects they can control instead of having to constantly adjust to the conditions of the field,” Fiorini said. “We will be able to train on a good surface, and we [won’t] have to worry about weather impacting our games and practices.”
Track and field coach Jacob Holloway said student-athletes will need to remain patient since it will take awhile to get the upgrades because of the bureaucratic protocols that need to be followed, which can take up to two years.
“None of [the environmental review] has started yet, but from my understanding, they have started getting contractors assembled and trying to start getting bids submitted,” Holloway said.
Science teacher Kelly Kim, who like Weinreich also lives in the FJUSHD boundary, said she voted “Yes” on Measure L.
“I’m very pleased about the results, and I’m looking forward to the new upgrades that [Sunny Hills] will receive,” said Kim, who has a daughter – a sophomore – enrolled here and could see upgrades in classrooms by the time she’s a senior. “Overall, the changes will be able to enhance the quality of our students’ learning environments.”
Though senior Farah Alramahi said she won’t be around to reap the benefits of Measure L, she said would have voted in favor of it if she were eligible to vote because of how it will benefit her younger sibling.
“It will really benefit the students in future years to come,” Alramahi said. “I also have a younger brother who wants to be an athlete, so I think the new equipment and all of the facilities that will be added will benefit him as well.”
Senior Matthew Yoon, who told The Accolade last October he had planned to vote against Measure L, said his views about the economic impact of the bond passage have changed since it got approved.
“Aside from the extra taxes, the school upgrades actually sound like a good idea for both me and the development of future high school generations,” Yoon said.
In a Thursday, Jan. 23, email statement from Jones, he wrote of additional projects that students might see in a few years.
“Ideally, [the funds could provide] bathrooms and bleachers down at the track field as well,” the athletic director wrote. “We have our fingers crossed for a second gym so that we can really support all of our programs that need to utilize the gym so that our teams are not here practicing in the gym until 10 p.m.”
Senior Aaron Akram said he had brushed aside his parent’s warning to expect a crowd of voters on Election Day.
However, with the line of voters extending to the streets near the end of his nearly 15-hour shift, Akram said he was impressed by the number of people interested in voting in his community.
“I would say [it took] one to two hours of waiting in line just to vote, so a lot of people were impatient.” the senior said. “It definitely shocked me.”
Assigned to work as a Student Customer Service Representative [CSR] for the Tuesday, Nov. 5 election, the senior was a participant in the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ High School Student Volunteer Program.
“It was very beneficial for my understanding of not only when I vote in the future, but how the voting centers work,” he said. “I talked to some of the workers [and] they explained [how] to fill out certain information [on the ballots].”
Following the election, the Orange County Registrar of Voters rewarded participants with a $120 stipend and 19.5 volunteer hours.
“I had to pay my mom back on a gift, and with the rest [of the money], I spent it on Christmas shopping for my family,” Akram said.
Interested applicants had to be at least 16 years old by Election Day, have a minimum 2.5 GPA, be a United States citizen or permanent resident and have written approval from their school and guardians.
“The CSRs performed well on Election Day,” said Imelda Carrillo the Election Services Manager for the Orange County Registrar of Voters. “Student CSRs were adept to the tasks they were given and demonstrated a high level of teamwork by following directions and supporting the team where needed.”
Volunteers were expected to arrive by 6:30 a.m. and were at their assigned station until 9 p.m. with three scheduled breaks.
“I was tired,” Akram said. “But my motto throughout it was, ‘If I can’t handle 14 hours of helping people, then how am I gonna be successful in life?’”
Having posted the opportunity on Google Classroom for her four American Government classes on Thursday, Sept. 19, social science teacher Hera Kwon said most student participants had positive feedback when she followed up with them in her classes.
“It [was] a long day, but I think they all found it interesting to be a part of the process,” Kwon said. “The reason I encourage students to do this is when you’re older, even if you want to participate in something like this you really can’t because you have responsibilities.”
During their services, volunteers were responsible for greeting voters, managing lines and scanning votes.
“It was kind of monotonous because you do the same things over and over again but it was a really good experience,” junior Oriana Stocco-Guia said. “I feel like you know [elections] happen, but until you actually volunteer or participate, you don’t know how big of a scale it is.”
While Stocco-Guia said most voters were familiar with the balloting process, a minority required extra assistance.
“[I learned] a lot of customer service, and a little bit of getting out of my comfort zone because I had to yell at people,” the junior said. “It got annoying sometimes because you would have to repeat yourself a million times to the same person.”
Sophomore Hannah Oh also said the experience was a valuable opportunity to learn more about voting.
“I got to look at each step in the voting process, from dropping off votes and applying as a new voter,” Oh said. “So when I come to the age to vote, I think I will be able to easily understand how to vote and what steps it takes.”
The Orange County Registrar of Voters plans on offering the High School Student Volunteer Program for the June 2, 2026, Primary Elections, and outreach will be conducted to notify students of the opportunity said Carrillo.
Reflecting on her experience, Oh said she would recommend the program to students interested in learning more about civic engagement.
“I felt proud of myself and was proud of my decision to participate,” Oh said. “If I have the chance to, I can see myself doing this again.”
Despite a lack of funding to offer popcorn and beverages for groups interested in hosting Movie Nights, an East Coast-based social impact agency, Picture Motion, plans to still offer free movies for screenings.
Though the elections are over, culminating with the recent swearing in of the 47th U.S. president, Picture Motion aims to keep the country focused on civic engagement.
Picture Motion, the agency that promoted last year’s Emmy-winning documentary, “Girls State,” has created a program called Movie Night.
“This wasn’t something that was given to us, we wanted to do it,” said Asif Khan, Director of Strategy and Impact. “We really wanted to do a movie night experience where folks cna choose from a catalog of movies which all focus on one issue area which is civic engagement and connecting more with democracy in the United States, the country which has the lowest number of voter turnout in the world.”
Khan had joined a Zoom meeting last semester with The Accolade to pitch the program.
In its home page, it created a tab titled, “MOVIE NIGHT.” Once it’s clicked on, it will take users to another page that explains the benefits of joining Movie Night and offers a list of 10 films – five of them documentaries – to consider viewing with their groups.
The call to action for folks is to,
- Register to vote if they haven’t already
- Check their registration
- If they can’t vote yet, start getting excited about it
Khan said.
Films that are part of the campaign include “The Deciders,” “The Soul of America” and “Stonewall Forever” among the many more, which explore a wide variety of topics that had an impact on the history and shaping the democracy today. For instance, “The Soul of America” reflects on past historical challenges such as the women’s suffrage movement and incarceration of Japanese Americans while “The Deciders” focus on today’s economy from different people with opposing political views and where the money goes.
These films that collaborate with Picture Motion to bring Movie Nights to reality focus on such topics as climate change, human rights, spirituality and democracy.
Those interested in joining Movie Night can register at picturemotion.com/movienight/. After clicking on the “Register for Movie Night” at the end of the list of movies, the sign up form must be submitted to activate an account. An email will be sent with the activation link where there is a log in portal that leads to the list of movies available to watch for free.
For a better impact, Picture Motion offers those hosting an event to download its discussion guide that features fun icebreakers, film information and different activities that could allow for greater knowledge and steps toward action for viewers to consider.
After launching this fall, the New York-based agency’s promotion presentation said it aims to engage over 1 million people by featuring over 100 screenings across the nation, partnering with filmmakers and distributors to inspire civic engagement and community involvement.
“We definitely want to encourage especially younger generation to understand more why voting is more important and it’s not something you have to do, but rather something you should want to do,” Khan said. “And that’s the whole objective here.”
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