The Westside Gazette Newspaper is honored to feature these editorial contributions made by local students.

Growing the Voices of Our Future

Community Services

By Brielle Henry

Helping others makes me feel good. This past weekend, all of the people in the photo helped to stuff hygiene bags for students in need. We packed over 1,000 bags! Some of us wrote “Notes of Hope” (which are encouraging words for students to read when they open their bags). The Beauty Initiative Inc. hosted this event in Lauderdale Manors, FL.

ICE raids are inhumane

By Layla Davidson

A young 11-year-old girl named Magdelena Gomez Gregorio begged for her dad’s release after he was detained with almost 700 workers during a massive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. The raid was in a small town near Jackson, MS with a workforce made up mostly of Latino workers. The tearful young girl cried uncontrollably after discovering her father was taken away by ICE. According to Fox KTVU, Magdelena said through her tears, “These Hispanic people aren’t doing nothing bad. They’re not stealing nothing. The immigrants just want jobs inside the company. Just get our dads out of there. My dad didn’t do nothing. He is not a criminal.” She told reporters she was “scared and sad,” and because her father was taken away, she won’t have any supplies for the first day of school. “My dad bought everything for me,” she said. “Now I don’t know where I am going to eat.”  She added: “I’m so lonely right now. I need my dad.” This is a sad to see and hear.  However, it seems we have a new hashtag, and it is #HistoryRepeatsItself!

Summer Adventures

By Samara Rawls

Over the summer, I went to Virginia and visited multiple places, but one of my favorite places was the Neptune Statue in Virginia Beach.

The statute is over 20 feet tall and  weighs 12 tons. It was created for the Neptune Festival, which is an event to celebrate the community.

I went with my grandmother and my two brothers. I enjoyed seeing that and would go back to see the other statues.

Homework

By Leja Williams

    Oh, well school is back in, it’s the second week, and the homework is on. Out of my eight classes, I have homework tonight from four of them, so that means I have to stay focused and keep busy.