By Marisa Ferriera
Head Photographer
On March 1, Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) discussed views and opinions from various speakers on religious, LGBTQ and racial views at Costa, and announced the drop of mask mandates in MBUSD schools.
Several Costa students spoke at the meeting. Five students presented their statements and opinions in front of the board. Senior Daniel Block spoke on the topic of the stress room at Costa, claiming it has a positive impact on students’ wellbeing.
“This room has been a great addition to the school,” Block said. “It’s a place people can relax. One thing to notice that is really helpful is on top of a room that can help kids study, the room helps kids with stress management.”
A main topic of conversation during the MBUSD board meeting was racial and LGBTQ discrimination at school. This topic, being very broad, has gained the general attention of many parents and students. Junior Jay Barile spoke on books the community is banning from MBUSD.
“The book ‘Gender Queer’ is about a non-binary person finding their identity,” Barile said. “I have read the three most inflammatory lines of that book and as a student who has attended three MBUSD schools, I can confirm that the author says nothing worse than the sexually harassing comments people make on our campuses.”
Two anonymous citizens of Manhattan Beach recently spread flyers around the city telling parents to “tune in before it’s too late” and encouraged all MBUSD families to flee the district. These individuals wrote that the focus of MBUSD has become not to teach math, science, English, and history, but instead is focused on equity, social justice, race, gender, and proper pronouns.
“My friends who are English teachers would strongly object to the accusation [of MBUSD focusing more on equity, diversity, social justice and inclusion (EDSJI) than school education], and I am confident that Costa AP test scores, SAT/ ACT scores, and college admissions statistics also prove how false these claims are,” MBUSD resident Kim Brentlusich said.
MBUSD also discussed that L.A. County health guidelines regarding COVID-19 will continue to be imposed. Starting the week of March 14, students were not required to wear masks indoors or outdoors.
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