ISHIKAWA-GONZALEZ SPEAKS AT HSTA RALLY. Senior Garrison Ishikawa-Gonzalez was chosen to speak at the “Schools Our Keiki Deserve” rally held at the State Capitol on Feb. 5. The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) proposed SB 2586, a bill containing multiple solutions to problems schools in Hawaii face today, such as adding air conditioning to classrooms, providing new desks and chairs, buying new computers for students and reducing class sizes to help enhance student performance. “Basically (the rally) was about this new piece of legislation that the HSTA had put out. They touched upon a lot of issues within the different schools. Some of which include more funding for schools, abolishing standardized testing and a lot of other student related issues,” Ishikawa-Gonzalez stated. For Ishikawa-Gonzalez, it was not only an honor to be given such an important role, it was also a responsibility. “I was chosen by (Social Studies teacher Dr. Amy Perruso) to speak at the rally,” said Ishikawa-Gonzalez. “My job was to give a student’s points of view, a student’s voice. I had to explain why I thought students would support the bill and what aspects we supported.” As of Feb. 17, SB 2586 passed its second reading and was referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

Compiled by Shelby Haygood