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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Holiday, Youth Leader from Make the Road New York
9:05:20
ยท
3 min
Holiday, a senior at a Brooklyn community school and youth leader with Make the Road New York and Urban Youth Collaborative, testifies about the need for better support for students in NYC schools. She criticizes Mayor Adams' approach to school safety and advocates for more restorative programs and resources instead of increased policing and surveillance in schools.
- Holiday shares personal experiences of feeling criminalized by school security measures and emphasizes the importance of counseling and sports programs.
- She highlights the challenges seniors face in applying for college and financial aid, stressing the need for continued funding of student success centers.
- Holiday calls for cuts to police funding in schools and redirection of money to restorative programs and resources that help students succeed.
Holiday
9:05:20
Hello.
9:05:21
My name is Holiday, and my pronouns are sheher.
9:05:23
I'm a senior at the community school in Brooklyn and youth leader with Make the Road New York and the Urban Youth Collaborative.
9:05:30
I'm here today because our mayor has failed us throughout the entire his entire administration by investing in the wrong things.
9:05:37
Mayor Adams and the federal government keep saying they will cooperate with law enforcement to deport immigrants that have committed crimes.
9:05:46
This makes us worried about how schools can criminalize students by having school police respond to conflicts happening in schools using surveillance or harsh discipline policies instead of using proven alternatives like restorative justice and mental health support?
9:05:59
Instead of truly supporting our students and listening to us, the mayor continues to criminalize us by cutting funding from vital resources.
9:06:06
I 've been searched multiple times while going through scanning.
9:06:09
And for what?
9:06:10
I followed every role and did nothing wrong.
9:06:12
But the system was designed to make me feel like I had.
9:06:16
One time I was pulled aside by a school's cop and felt very nervous and embarrassed as I was the center of attention at that moment.
9:06:24
School should be a safe environment for all students.
9:06:27
The embarrassment I went through is something that no young person should go through.
9:06:30
We deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
9:06:33
We don't need metal detectors, random searches, or schools cops treating criminals.
9:06:38
We need more restorative programs, school success centers for college and career planning, and job opportunities in schools to build skills.
9:06:46
I've experienced it myself.
9:06:48
Counseling and sports have kept me grounded and healthy in high school.
9:06:52
When it comes to college, I'm on my own.
9:06:54
Being a senior is tough, and applying for college is even harder.
9:06:58
The youth leaders and counselors at the student success center help us navigate financial aid, but we will lose that support if funding is cut.
9:07:05
FAFSA and TAP are confusing, and without guidance, we are stuck.
9:07:09
I feel the pressure daily because failure is not an option when my future depends on getting it right the first time.
9:07:16
Without these resources, seniors will be left to fend for themselves and lose essential support.
9:07:21
We need these funds to give students a welcoming place to focus
Eric Dinowitz
9:07:23
and
Holiday
9:07:23
succeed.
9:07:25
This week, the US education department laid off nearly 50% of its workforce, something that shouldn't come as a surprise.
9:07:32
We all know president Trump's appointment of Linda McMahon is part of his plan to dismantle the education department.
9:07:38
What students like me need right now is for the New York City Council to help step, to step up and protect us and our education.
9:07:46
School is a place where all young people should feel free to learn, grow from mistakes, explore new interests, and be safe.
9:07:52
There is no proof that school police prevent conflict in our schools.
9:07:55
In fact, we have seen them mostly escalate any conflict that does happen, making things worse.
9:07:59
And reinforcing the school that to prison deportation pipeline.
9:08:04
Neither police nor ICE have a place in our school buildings.
9:08:07
We deserve better.
9:08:08
We deserve opportunities, not intimidation.
9:08:11
We need support.
9:08:13
In conclusion, we demand cuts to police funding in schools, vacant school cop positions, and redirect the money to restorative programs and resources that help us succeed.
9:08:22
Thank you.