A mayor’s job is to really see what’s related ...if

we can change this, that or the other thing, how does it really make life

better overall?- Mayor Gary Norton

A SHAW AND HAWKEN STUDENT JOURNALISM PARTNERSHIP VOLUME I ISSUE IAPRIL 3, 2013

What Does It Take To Run A City?Shaw and Hawken Students Interview East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton

Jawuan Arnold, Alphonso Beaty - Shaw ‘15s, Mayor Gary Norton, Bruce Morgan - Shaw ‘13, and Rachel McKay - Hawken ‘13, visit the mayor’s office this past December.

East Cleveland “has very hard-core urban problems in some cases,” Mayor Gary Norton explained in an interview with students from both Hawken School and Shaw High School on December 12th. Every city has its challenges, whether well run or poorly run, low income or high income, but what exactly do these challenges look like and how are they prioritized in the city of East Cleveland?

Safety first. Norton didn’t hesitate when speaking to this first priority. Many of the city’s following priorities can be encompassed in this first one. As the mayor put it, “A mayor’s job is to really see what’s related to each other, and if we change this, that, or the other thing, how does it really make life better overall?”

After safety, comes vacant and abandoned houses. These forgotten houses are prominent in East Cleveland, whether sitting between two vacant lots, or tucked between two proudly cared-for homes. The city has faced this problem for years, but no one has taken care of it. “At some point,” Norton said, “somebody just has to say, ‘It’s not my fault, but I can’t be just the next person on the lists who let it go by again.’” Despite many problems residents call in for that are not the responsibility of the city, vacant and abandoned houses are one issue that the city is happy and willing to tackle, said Norton. “The proud homeowner keeps up everything in their house, and the best things we can do for

that homeowner that’s been here for so long and put so much into their house, is to tear down the ragged one next to it. And it helps the whole street.”

These houses must also be taken down to keep the city safer. “If the police and firefighters are there to protect people, I don’t want them spending their time at places where people don’t live,” said Norton. “So the more vacant houses and vacant buildings we can wipe off the face of the earth, means that every one we can take

away is one less possibility that there will be a fire…that there will be a crime…So for every one we tear down, that’s the crime element that we’re trying to eliminate.”

Next on the mayor’s list is to ensure that plenty of police are patrolling the city, keeping it safe. Norton cited the accepted standard that every city should have one police officer for every 1000 residents. Thus, East Cleveland should have a police force of 18. The city has a force of 80, or about four police officers for every 1000 residents. People say Norton is wasting money, spending four times the amount on such a large police force. However, he emphasized that East Cleveland cannot be compared to other cities. “If you think about

photo by Kate Klonowski

by Rachel McKay - Hawken ‘13

see NORTON p. 3

by Bruce Morgan - Shaw ‘13

The United States, arguably, has one of the most successful governments in the world. But have you ever considered the government to be distant with its power? Do you wish you could ask some questions about the city or the law with a politician who matters to your city or people? Gary Norton, Mayor of East Cleveland, has a belief that the government should talk to the people they protect, and accepted a request from student journalists from Shaw and Hawken for an interview on the morning of Dec. 12. Norton has been working in the Mayor’s office since his election in Nov. 2009.

Norton believes that the biggest factors of being a good mayor are responsiveness and trust. It’s being able to relate and communicate with the public, talking to them and making sure that they feel free to speak to him about the troubles of the city, as

well as help them believe that he is doing his best for the City of East Cleveland. He also admits that people have learned not to trust the government--with good reason. “Government should face criticism and give help to the people, but it doesn’t exist [in the law],” he said.

After introductions the Shaw and Hawken interviewers and Norton all took a seat and opened up with questions about the water, crime and buildings of East Cleveland. Norton sat back for a moment before starting to answer each of the questions. “Cities are an amazing thing,” he replied. “Government, city government in particular, can do amazing things from a safety standpoint.”

“If there were gunshots going off as you were walking down the street, people would run away. It’s only natural,” Norton says. “There’s a group who don’t run from gunshots [they move towards them], it’s the police.” He also

see MAYOR p. 3

SHAWKEN NEWSPage 2 April 3, 2013

High School is the place where everyone starts figuring out who they really are no matter what school they chose to attend. Wheth-er it’s public or private, on the east side or the west, the urban areas or the suburbs. Not only is it a place of getting to know yourself, it’s a place to prepare for bigger and better plac-es after high school—like college. High school is also a place of many com-p e t i t i o n s . Who has the best sports teams, who wears the latest shoes, who’s dating who, whose school is better, whose grades and test scores are better, even. But when it’s all said and done—or even in the pro-cess of it—we wonder, “what if?” What if I would have gone to this school or if I would have made this decision or this change?

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to set aside my Car-dinal Pride for a day and become a Hawken Hawk. I had the chance to experience life at Hawken from their intense academic standards to

by Sa’Randa Cummings - Shaw ‘13 their buffet-style lunch flow. And I can tell you my day at Hawken was nothing like my typical day at Shaw.

When I pulled up to Hawken, I felt as if I was pulling up to a college campus. There were multiple build-ings and open, grassy lands. Their window view was nothing like the one we have at Shaw.

When I first approached the building, I had no idea what to ex-pect. So many different emotions

were run-n i n g t h r o u g h my mind and body at once. I entered the b u i l d i n g and was welcomed

with many warm welcomes and smiles, but God knows I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. I felt as though I didn’t fit in at all. My first impression of the school was that it was very dimly lit and had a very relaxing feel to it. The interior de-sign of the school kind of reminded me of a college. Whereas at Shaw you’re welcomed with bright lights and even brighter hallways—it be-ing a newer school and all.

Trading Schools: Exchanging ExperiencesCollege Bound or College Ready?

This year, the AffNo has be-gun a partnership with Shaw High School in East Cleveland. We de-cided to get to know one another better by exchanging students for a day and sharing our experiences.

I was excited to have the oppor-tunity to shadow at Shaw. When I arrived, Mr. Wallingford, the facul-ty advisor of Shaw’s school news-paper, greeted me and informed me that I would be shadowing a senior named Chaza Banda.

On our way to class, Chaza gave me the basics about Shaw. The school has four floors which ac-commodate about one thousand stu-dents. All freshmen are confined to the bottom floor. All doors leading outside are locked during the school day. All classroom doors are locked too. The rest of the students choose which of the remaining floors is to be their “home floor.” This deter-mines who their “principal” will be.

Our first class was AP Liter-ature. I really understood how a school that large could get lonely at times. Each student had at most one friend in their class, and they sat together separated from all the other little groups. While we waited for the teacher to get set up, I asked Chaza a few more questions. She

What I Saw at Shaw: A Hawken Perspectiveby Erica Fearon - Hawken ‘14 told me that everyone has exactly

four classes a day which are an hour and a half each. There are no free periods. The only time students are in the hallway is when they are go-ing somewhere, and if they are out there during class a security guard will ask to see their hall pass.

This AP Lit class was very different from the one I take at Hawken. This class was taught in an entirely different style. The students spent most of the class filling out worksheets on vocabulary and plot points, while at Hawken the class is discussion based. I was also sur-prised to learn that while the teacher had asked the students to read about ten pages of a play during Thanks-giving break, only three students had completed the assignment. The remaining time was spent reading what had not been completed.

The next class was French II, which is taught by a native French speaker. The students spent the class writing down answers to ques-tions and then speaking the answers aloud to the teacher when called upon. The students were allowed to use their phones during class to translate words. I occupied myself by trying to read some simple post-ers on the walls. One poster said the

photo by Kate Klonowski

Sa’Randa Cummings - Shaw ‘13, Erica Fearon - Hawken ‘14 and other AffNo staffers at Hawken have an informal conversation about their respective schools. Some of the topics discussed included school expectations, daily life and conduct at student dances. It was determined that dancing “too close” was a universal concern of chaperones.

see HAWKEN p. 4 see SHAW p. 4

I had no idea what to expect. So many different emotions

were running through my body at once.

SHAWKEN NEWSApril 3, 2013 Page 3

East Cleveland’s history and you think about everything they’ve been through, from crack cocaine, to street crime, to shoot-outs, to vacant and abandoned houses…people are more likely to be victims of crime. We need more police. We’ve got to keep people safe.”

Following the police force is the importance of responsiveness to residents. Norton explained how citizens of the city have understandably become wary of trusting the city’s government, as various electives have gone to jail, and the city has often failed to follow through in providing services to its residents. “We want them to know that this mayor’s office does care about them and does respond to them…When people call here, we want to give them some response, and we want to call them back, because even when the answer is no, sometimes people are just so happy that you responded to them.”

Finally, Norton spoke to the need to change people’s perception of East Cleveland by focusing on the positive aspects of the city and making it inviting for investors. “A lot of these vacant and abandoned buildings can be turned around if somebody puts a business in them. A lot of the houses can be made

good if people live in them.”It is not to say that East

Cleveland is a city much separated from suburbs such as Solon, Shaker, Beachwood or Gates Mills. “There’s no difference between the people, and what they believe, what they love, what they value,” Norton delineated. “But there’s a difference between the money they make.” Tackling issues of money in the city comes with changing perceptions of East Cleveland, but these perceptions cannot be changed unless the city is kept safe. Hopefully the energy and optimism of Mayor Gary Norton will be enough to continue to do both.

mentioned that the fire department has an important role in this as well. “If this building were to catch on fire, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting out of here.” He joked, going back to the main point. “The people who save lives work for the city.”

He also got to the point that the city does more than just take care of crime and emergencies. Norton makes it clear that this city is doing all of this, not the private industries, when asked why more

places such as Wendy’s, Rally’s or McDonalds are around East Cleveland. He says, “That in order to have more businesses, you have to make business want to come here. We have to get the tourism and interest in Cleveland up, first.” Services play an important role in getting businesses interested. “If every week your trash weren’t picked up, what would happen?” Norton questioned. “Cities are responsible for this [taking care of the trash everyday]. A private business won’t build Euclid Avenue for you to drive on.”

We then asked him the question of how he can make such big decisions, along with questions

of the abandoned buildings found along some streets. Though he admits that it’s a tad troubling to decide, he answered that, “The priority is normally to keep the people safe.” He continued by mentioning the fact that previous mayors didn’t really get around to it and lost the people’s trust. “One of the hardest things you can change in a person is their perception of something,” Norton said. “I can’t be the next person on that list [of East Cleveland mayors] to let these go undone.” Norton went on to say that though some residents wish he could, the mayor cannot tend to things such as run-down houses. He even mentioned that he gets calls about this matter daily. He then came up with a metaphor for such requests. “It’s like asking me to fix the button on your jacket,” Norton laughed. “It’s your jacket! You fix it!”

Under the name of law, the mayor does not have the power to take care of a household, because it does not belong to the city, but the owner. It is therefore their responsibility to keep it in shape. This led to a discussion about the abandoned buildings scattered around East Cleveland. He cannot do anything about a building that does not belong to the city, even if said building is abandoned. He harkened back to the 1980s, during which time crack cocaine hit the United States pretty hard. Due to all of the violence and prostitution

Norton

occurring in the city because crack cocaine addiction, many former residents left the city, abandoning their homes in the process. Norton suggested that since some of these empty buildings hold illegal activities, weapons or drugs and the best option is to tear down the buildings. “Nothing good comes from an abandoned building,” Norton said. “We can only move as fast as owners and absentee landlords allow us to move, whether commercial or residential.”

Although he showed interest in having a hand in the education system, he cannot be involved with it, as education is a different branch of local government. There are also several districts and branches of districts of government that are on different levels. While the city government, with Mayor Norton at the head, takes care of the city’s streets, buildings and law enforcement, there is also water supply government, as well as education. That is why the School Board of East Cleveland is called a “district” or “branch.” Norton also said that in order to have a good city, the residents need to be educated. However, he also stated that in order for there to be a good education system, there also needs to be a good city. “Cities are the entities that take care of things that private companies can’t make a profit off of. Cities do amazing things.”

Mayor

continued from p. 1

continued from p. 1

Journalists from Hawken and Shaw discussed issues that press the City of East Cleveland with Mayor Gary Norton. Students took turns asking the Mayor questions about everything from water treatment, crime, vacant houses, to how the city has changed over the years.

photo by Kate Klonowski

One of the hardest things you can change in a

person is their perception of something.

- Mayor Gary Norton

April 3, 2013Page 4 SHAWKEN NEWS

I’m used to starting my typical day at 10 a.m. because I don’t have a first block, but their day promptly starts at 8:05 with a mandatory as-sembly or a student body meeting where the daily attendance is taken (no skipping this assembly).

Much like Shaw, they are also on a block schedule, but their schedule rotates weekly. During the blocks where they don’t have classes, you can find students hanging around on their laptops, doing work, or help-ing someone else. All work is done on their tablets or laptops that they are permitted to have before starting school.

The underclassmen (9th, 10th and 11th graders) are most likely to be found in the AC lobby, which is sectioned by grades. There’s a spe-cific area in the hallway called the “senior benches” where only the se-niors are allowed to sit. They even have their own parking lot located closer to the main building.

Not only do they have free blocks, but they also have this thing called a flex period there they’re permitted a 40 minute break during or in between a class. In this school I noticed a lot of student hand-in-hand interaction. The students had a voice. Each class has two senators that represent them and talk about problems around the school. They also have an Integrative Council which is a council of students who address issues of student discipline. No principal’s office for them!

The same high school require-ments that apply for us also apply to them. But the biggest require-ment that applies for all high school students—the OGTs—is almost a non-issue for them. Don’t get me wrong, they have to take the test, too, but they don’t stress about it. I asked a freshman if she was ready for the test and she simply asked me what an OGT was! I asked a junior

word “Les Jours” which I inferred to mean “days” as in “days of the week.” I asked some students if I was correct in my translation. They did not know.

At Shaw students are required to take only two years of language, and most of them start their lan-guage classes during their junior year. Chaza was under the impres-sion that Shaw does not teach any AP language classes.

Then it was time for lunch. I was swept along by a sea of students as we crowded along narrow hallways to the lunchroom. This was the same place where I had begun the day by going through a metal detector and bag search. At the opposite end of the cafeteria was a stage, and at the base of it a large man was yelling into a microphone that girls must sit on the right side and boys on the left side. Chaza informed me that this new segregation was the result of a food fight, which had occurred a couple of weeks prior, and that this was an attempt to maintain good be-havior.

I noticed some of the girls star-ing at me on our side of the cafete-ria. Chaza and her friends told me that the girls thought that I was a teacher when they first saw me. It baffled me that anyone could think that I was a teacher. I don’t look that old, do I? All things considered my theory for this is quite simple. If I was a new student then I would be the only white student in the entire school, while if I was a teacher I would be a member of a group of many different races.

We were locked in the cafeteria until it was the scheduled time to leave. There were even security of-ficers standing by the doors. When we were dismissed we travelled along the same crowded hallways to Chaza’s AP Environmental Sci-ence class.

All of a sudden someone came on the loudspeaker, used frequent-ly throughout the day, to announce that the Law floor, Chaza’s floor and one of the three “home floors,” was having their end of the quarter awards ceremony. This ceremony took place during class, meaning that APES continued despite the fact that many of its students were missing in order to attend the cer-emony.

The assembly began with a speech by one of the teachers about achievement, and then the awards were handed out. There were awards for straight “A”s, and for GPAs over a certain number. Out of 250 students, 13 had straight “A”s.

Chaza received an award for a high GPA, and after she accepted it she took me on a tour. She told the guard at one of the doors that I was a shadow, and he let us go. Chaza took me up to the top floor where I met a counselor who helps the stu-dents create their college plans. He asked me what my goal for college was, and when I responded that I had no idea, he gently chastised me for not having a concrete goal. He had three other students in his office at the time, and his fun personality plus the students’ attitude towards him made for a jovial environment. Chaza told me that he is not a tradi-tional college counselor but rather he is part of a government program designed for driven, college-bound students. These students must apply to get his help, and many students are denied this privilege.

When the day concluded, Cha-za took me back down to the first floor where I said my goodbyes. I walked outside and finally had the opportunity to learn why there were so many security guards. When my mother and I drove away, we had to wait in the driveway of the school because a mother and daughter were standing in front of us trying to punch each other. A few guards pulled them apart to each side of the road, and we drove away.

I don’t think that many Hawken students, especially the ones who have attended Hawken for many years, think about how much our school environment is different from that of most schools. We are so fortunate to have our Hawken community where we don’t need security guards and where we know most of the students we see in the hallways. I was very fortunate to visit Shaw and be reminded of how each school community is a unique environment.

which test she found the hardest: a course test or the Ohio Graduation Test and she said “the course test.” Hawken’s model for the OGT is that no one can fail it—period! The stu-dents are well prepared for this test. At Shaw, you hear little else but the standards and pressures of the OGT until it’s time to take them. I think it causes a lot of students to over-think the test.

Hawken students work at col-lege-level standards already. The expectations and pressure of their work is almost unbelievable. Bare-ly having time for anything extra or even fun, their students eat, sleep and breathe academics. But in the end, they’re more than prepared for college. At Shaw, it’s more of a bal-ance between good academics and fun. Although some students value their social status more than their school work (and vice versa), which I think prepares us to be college bound. But in my opinion, too much of either leaves you unaware and unprepared for the other in the case of both schools. Everyone needs some sort of balance in life.

The typical lunchroom consists of plastic lunch trays, long lunch lines, and—of course—“lunch-room” food. But what’s high school without it? Hawken’s lunch flow is nothing like the typical school. They eat off glass plates and have actual silverware. They have a buffet, a salad and fresh fruit bar every day. They can choose to have water, milk or hot tea. But the lunchroom itself is breathtaking. It’s the dining room of an old mansion! I could not be-lieve my eyes. I’ve never seen any-thing like what I saw at Hawken. I felt like a little kid in a candy store. I almost didn’t know what to do with myself.

Sadly, my day had to come to an end, but the students and staff were very welcoming and made my expe-rience there enjoyable. Every person I interacted with made it even better. I am grateful and positively changed for having had this experience.

ShawHawkencontinued from p. 2 continued from p. 2

Shawken News is a collaboration between journalism students at Shaw High School (Cardinal Matters) and Hawken Upper School (The Affirmative No) and is sponsored/moderated by the Urban Scholastic Media Initiative (USMI). All student work is published in a public forum without prior approval of the administration of either school and with the assistance of the journalism advisers of each school. Students themselves are responsible for its content and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of their respective schools, the Neighborhood Voice or USMI. Questions, concerns or letters to the editor may be directed to USMI at kate@urbansmi.org or (216) 200-8687. More information about the collaboration can be found at www.urbansmi.org.

About this project