Introduction:
Hello, everyone! This is Perry and today isthe last issue of our A Different Christmas special edition. As we all know,campus bullying is one of the hottest topics we are hearing these days, especiallyafter the movie 『cry me a sad river悲伤逆流成河』. The girl was bullied because of her STD. But have you everconsidered being bullied at school just because your clothes are not clean enoughand your body smells. This is the situation in West Side High School inAmerica. And this leads to students’ frequent absence from school each month.But Akbar Cook, the school principal, will not take this as it is and he did somethingwithin his power to help the students. Today, I will bring you “The Principal’sLaundromat”, and let’s find out in details.
Audioscript
Reporter: Students at West Side High Schoolare picking up a new skill this year, a new life skill—doing their laundry.
Principal: I’ve seen a few kids in the backof the class talk about one of the people in front of the class, and how theysmelled, and how their clothes looked dirty.
Reporter: Students are limited at whatcolors they can wear because of the school dress code. Rising senior DashawnLatham said he only gets to the Laundromat once every two weeks.
Deshawn: The money, my mummy wouldn’t behome. She working. And I gotta call the… She sometimes she don’t get paid.
Reporter: The barrier, so bad, PrincipalAkbar Cook says kids were missing school. 85 percent of kids missing 3 to 5days of school a month.
Interviewer: Over and over again, parentsand students were telling you they weren’t coming to school because they couldn’twash their clothes.
Akbar Cook: Yes, they were being bullied.And it wasn’t just on like in the building. It was on Snapchat. I’m sitting behindyou, I’m taking a picture of you collar and dear lord, look at this dirty guy!
Reporter: So he spent the last two years securinga 20,000 dollar grant from PSE&G ( one of Newark’s main utility companies)and getting labor from the newer school system to turn the old football lockerroom into a free on-campus Laundromat with commercial grade machines.
Akbar Cook: Five washers, five dryers. Igot a slop sink right here. These are the washers.
Interviewer: The laundry room will beavailable to the students every day after school from 3 to 6 and they can getescorted by a teacher if they have an urgent need. Plus, they don’t need toworry about laundry supplies. Donations have poured in.
School Social WorkerJamila Hammond: There are many times thatthe students may come in because they're embarrassed, they don't look the same,somebody's complaining about body odor,". "I would say, 'OK baby,we're going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. You have soap, you havewater.' But now with this laundry room, we don't have to do that."
Reporter: The principal hoping this willwash away the vicious cycle of bullying.
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