LASA kicked off 2021 with a Zoom meeting on water. Before we met, LASA students conducted research on the sources of their water as well as analyses of the taste. Reporting in, we heard the full range of answers from the Colorado River to a local provider and creative descriptions of the taste. We then welcomed Metropolitan Water District General …

What is civic memory? And how might LASA contribute to on-going conversations about civic memory in LA or create new ones? On November 14, we gathered via Zoom to think about these questions and to hear from LASA students. Bill started the day helping us better understand the concept and with a conversation about the city’s Civic Memory Working Group. …

LASA explored the San Pedro Port Complex via Zoom, a little expert help, and rapid research by the students. Given the breadth of issues at the core of the relationship between LA and the port(s), we launched a student research challenge. In Zoom breakout rooms, five groups tackled the history of Terminal Island, environmentalism, automation and labor, global trade in …

We gathered for September LASA with heavy and unsettled hearts after the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a small earthquake. Many of us have been engaged this past summer in conversations and activism towards racial justice and the role of policing in Los Angeles. For Saturday, we invited Eileen Decker, the President of the LA Police Commission, and …

LASA 2020-2021 kicked off the summer Zoom sessions with spirit, curiosity, and gratitude for the chance to explore LA together. Using break out rooms, we met each other and mapped routes amongst homes and schools. This largest class of LASA reaches across the county and the maps revealed their creativity and that IKEA Burbank is a point of common knowledge …

In May, we gathered again via Zoom to conclude our time together and think about the future. We welcomed three college counselors from Harvard Westlake – Nia Kilgore, Jennifer Cardillo, and Jamie Chan – to discuss steps and questions the students could consider this summer and fall as they move into the college application process. We are so grateful for …

LASA gathered online in April to check in with each other and to learn about the global economic and environmental issues around plastics and recycling. We considered how LA fits into this larger system – and how previous LASA days, like our trip to the Port, are a part of the puzzle.  As we checked in with each other about …

LASA gathered in February to consider Health and Human Rights in Los Angeles. We visited Dr. Cynthia Willard, Medical Director of Program for Torture Victims and consultant for the USC-Keck Human Rights Clinic.  Dr. Willard’s critical and life-changing work broadened our understandings of the relationship between healthcare and law. Daniel P. shared, “This most recent LASA trip was my favorite …

Happy 2020, LASA! We gathered in LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes to kick off the year together and consider transportation in LA. Thank you to LA Plaza for hosting us. For some, it was their first time at LA Plaza. Daniel P. shared of his visit, “there are rich historical sites that display Hispanic presence in the early days …

LASA considered law and justice this month. We visited LAPD Rampart and welcomed Isaac Bryan, Director of Public Policy of UCLA’s Million Dollar Hoods Project. Instead of reflecting on the day after we gather, this month LASA reviewed Million Dollar Hoods’ website and mapping room and framed questions for LAPD and Isaac that they shared in advance our of Saturday …