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Pilibos JSA One-Day


   
The student run organization JSA, or Junior State of America, is a safe place where high school students across the country can passionately express themselves through speech and debate on topics they deem interesting and significant. On March 3rd, Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian School hosted its very own JSA One Day, a day in which students in the Los Angeles Region visited the Pilibos campus for a single day to take part in controversial debates and creative discussions. One Days are incredibly important, since they allow JSA members to practice and debate their beliefs outside of the standard conventions, which take place seasonally. The day was introduced by Councilwoman Nury Martinez of the 6th District on her works to solve the ongoing problems of human trafficking, and Anna Menedjian, who explained her life in the legal world. The Pilibos One Day’s agenda included important and relevant subject matter such as the significance of standardized testing on the current education system, contemporary feminism, cannabis legalization, and other controversial issues that current political officials critically discuss today. Candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of Assembly, AR Mayor, and AR Senator also explained their platforms in fuller detail to all who attended.
Due to the recent, and unfortunate, school shooting that took place in Parkland, Florida, Pilibos dedicated an entire segment of the One Day’s schedule commemorating the heroes who sacrificed themselves to save their classmates’ lives. Pilibos student Ara Yacoubian also spoke about new efforts that must be taken under consideration during the process of purchasing and owning firearms in order to prevent future mass shootings from taking the lives of others.
Four students, all from different schools, won awards for their outstanding debate presentations. Grace Chung, from Faith Baptist, won an award for her display of excellence and properness on her debate: “A fetus should be considered a living person.” Siding with the “Pro” side, she used both facts and statistics discovered by the leading scientists of the world towards her advantage, which aided her victory in the end. David Chibokhdoyan, from Glendale High School, won an award on his debate, “Teachers are not allowed to receive tenure.” Anthony Antonyan from Rose & Alex Pilibos won an award on his debate about standardized testing significance on the current education system. And finally, Daniel Efrat, from Santa Susana, won an award for his debate on the matter of cannabis legalization, in which he debated the usefulness and positive outcomes it has.
Chapter President Aren Melkonian stated, “The long-awaited and highly anticipated Pilibos One Day was a significant step for our school. We are one of the smallest schools participating in JSA; however, our chapter comprises the largest delegation in Southern California JSA.” He continued, “We were able to show our success as a chapter, as a school, and as a community. We debated controversies, campaigned, advocated, and, most importantly, we were able to be the people.”
Aren Melkonian and Pilibos JSA Vice President Areni Chorbajian declare this One Day to be a major success. The Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian School, despite its size, was able to host an impactful One Day. Hopefully, more schools would be willing to host their own One Days to further the JSA experience outside of the standard conventions.




Anthony Antonyan

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