LEAP Center – Page 13 – Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics

Learning by Watching: Board of Adjustments

May 26, 2022, Morgan Robertson

Although it is summer, the LEAP Ambassadors look for ways to learn. Thus, when Ken Holland, Chairman of the Board of Adjustments (and HISD Trustee), invited us to attend a board meeting to see how the City works, we jumped at the chance.

Mr. Holland prepped us for the meeting by supplying the agenda ahead of time and explained to Yvette and me what a Board of Adjustments does. He told us that the board is made up of citizens who wish to serve their community (much like City Council, which is also a board). The seven members of the board meet when there are cases to be discussed, and they do not get paid for their time.

Before the start of the meeting, we spoke with Aron Kulhavy, City Manager, for a while and I was also able to introduce Yvette to Kevin Byal, Director of Development Services for the city.

The meeting began, just like City Council, with the pledges and an invocation. The next item on the agenda was a Public Hearing for a variance request.

A public hearing consists of three parts: (1) a description of the variance, (2) comments in favor and (3) comments against. Public hearings for a variance are a time in the meeting in which a representative from the city will explain the issue and why the citizen is requesting a variance. Once the representative from the city explained the facts of the variance, the Chairman, Mr. Holland, opened the floor up for comments from the public.

The second part in the public hearing calls for comments in favor of the variance, and a representative for the citizen gave a detailed description in favor of the variance, which involved property on a setback line for the construction of a new structure. Previously, on the land in which the new structure was to be built, there was a structurally unsound shed that has since been removed. The owners of the property are looking to build a pool house on the site of the previously existing structure. However, due to the layout of the property and usage of the land, the structure would encroach on the setback line by 4 feet.

The property owner then spoke in favor of the variance, as did a neighbor who believed it to be in the best interest of her property as well.

The third part of a public hearing calls for comments against approval of the variance, and at this meeting there were none.

Mr. Holland closed the Public Hearing, and then began the 6^th item on the agenda; for members of the board to discuss and decide on approval or denial of the variance.

After some deliberation and discussion, the Board of Adjustment decided to approve the variance with the staff recommendation of a four-foot setback with a 1-hour fire-rated wall assembly required.

The meeting was interesting from start to finish, and I am grateful we were invited to watch our community at work!

The LEAP Ambassadors would like to thank Chairman Holland and the City of Huntsville for inviting and welcoming us to learn!

Learning in a Time of Pandemics and Misinformation

By Bella Urbani

As our first day came to an end, we attended another fantastic Houston World Affairs Council event at the Amegy Tower featuring Joel Simon, who discussed topics from his book Infodemic regarding censorship associated with COVID-19. As a nice bonus, we also had a chance to meet former LEAP Ambassador Esme Mata, who after graduating from SHSU, went to the Bush School at TAMU, and is now working for Harris County. And we had a chance to see Amegy Tower for the first time!

As we know, COVID-19 is still a very controversial and confusing topic, but Simon–with skillful moderating by Ronan O’Malley–was able to articulate how the COVID-19 pandemic led to various types of censorship across the globe.

The most fascinating subject Simon talked about was how some countries installed tracking apps on their subjects’ phones, so that they could see where they travel, whom they interact with, and whether they have potentially been exposed to COVID. If a person has interacted with a COVID patient, that individual is given mandates to stay at home or go to quarantine, and if they don’t, they can be fined or otherwise penalized. In some cases–as in Russa–individuals were given notifications in the middle of the night, and if they did not respond in time, they were assumed to have broken quarantine, and fined.

It was interesting to learn more about how other nations responded to the pandemic and how censorship policies, in most cases, hurt their country.

One item of particular interest was the importance of local news and leadership. National news figures and media have the “reach,” but they lack the trust, the sense of shared identification with locals. Local newspapers, local reporters, and local leaders share that identity, but almost thirty years after the advent of the internet, they no longer exist in many communities. They lack the reach. So, citizens were not getting information from people they trusted in many cases, and they also lacked information that the national media could not give: such as where to go locally for vaccines, or where medical supplies could be purchased, and the like.

The whole experience was very informative and easy to understand and Simon’s answers to our questions were very knowledgeable regarding censorship, which I appreciated.

After Simon spoke, we were able to get a signed copy of his book, followed by a picture! It was a great opportunity to see old friends (LEAP students and WAC staff), learn something new (from Joel Simon), and make new friends (Esme Mata).

A Presidential Tour: Jean Becker and President G. H. W. Bush

Isabel Behm

It is not every day that you get a tour of a presidential office, and even less common to get one from a presidential chief of staff. But on a busy Wednesday in the middle of summer, LEAP students had just that opportunity: Jean Becker offered a wonderful two-hour tour of former President George H. W. Bush’s office in Houston, TX. Coincidentally, the tour occurred on Barbara Bush’s birthday, one of many connections we would make over the course of an educational afternoon.

Although we didn’t personally know Ms. Becker, we felt like we did from discussions with Professor Yawn and our reading of her book, “The Man I Knew.” And in the conversational, warm manner of her book, Ms. Becker welcomed us with open arms and was full of enthusiasm upon our arrival.

One of the first stories she shared with us was about the christening of the USS George H W Bush. Ms. Becker stressed how important it was to President Bush that the christening happen while his son (George W Bush) was still president. While the Navy said that this wasn’t possible, being a former President (and father of another) has its perks, and with a few phone calls, Ms. Becker was able to make it happen. The office is full of photos, and each photo has a story, and no one is better at bringing these stories to life than Jean Becker.

Another treat of the afternoon was having the opportunity to sit in the chair that President Bush sat in during Cabinet meetings in the White House. Each of us took our turn in the chair, and all of us enjoyed looking over the items that President Bush had on his desk. For a moment, we felt a bit presidential.

The conversation with Ms. Becker ranged across many topics, from international security to the friendships that President Bush developed over the years. One of those with an unlikely individual: Bill Clinton. This is somewhat surprising, of course, because President Clinton beat President Bush in the 1992 election, so one might expect some animosity. But following an international emergency in 2004, President George W. Bush asked his father and Clinton fundraise to help those affected by the disaster. This sparked a friendship that lasted until President Bush’s death.

While we learned a lot about the man President George H.W. Bush was, we also learned about how Ms. Becker came to be his Chief of Staff and how her life was drastically changed. She grew up in a small town, went to college in her home state, and upon graduating, worked her way up with various newspapers to USA Today. In 1988, she was assigned to cover the wives of the presidential candidates. When George H. W. Bush was elected, she was offered the role of Deputy Press Secretary to the first lady.

When this job ended following President Bush’s loss in 1992, he offered her the position of his “interim” post-presidency chief of staff. The interim position lasted for more than 25 years–until his death in 2018.

In a very relatable way, Ms. Becker shared many thoughts about her career, offering us valuable advice for our own careers. In particular, she reminded us it was okay to stray away from our “plan,” which is what she did when she was offered a job at the White House.

We were there for more than two hours, and time flew by. When we left, we all agreed that we could have listened to her all day, if schedules and time permitted. She was a wealth of knowledge, we absolutely enjoyed every second of it, and we were impressed by her example of hospitality and generosity.

Side Note: It wouldn’t be a LEAP trip, if we didn’t learn something about art. So it was interesting that, when we entered the building, we encountered a bust of George Bush done by Huntsville artist David Adickes.

Moreover, we also saw a work by George Rodrigue, an artist LEAP is familiar with through trips to Austin and New Orleans. Here the work was on President Bush’s wall, and it was signed to him by George Rodrigue!

Venezuelan Refugees: A health, economic, and educational crisis

Morgan Robertson

Although summer is often a time for students taking time off, Izabella (Bella) Urbani, Isabel Behm, former LEAP Ambassador Quinn Kobrin, and the LEAP Ambassadors braved the Houston summer traffic to attend The World Affairs Council Event “Combating Venezuela’s Refugee Crisis.”

We were excited to be invited to the Palm Restaurant, a nice steakhouse in downtown Houston. We ventured through the dining room and into a private room that was decorated with murals featuring scenes of Houston.

The room was full of doctors and medical professionals from Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation, Chevron employees, and interested citizens of Houston. Jessica, Saara, and I introduced Bella and Isabel to Sandija Bayot, the Chief Development Officer for WAC, and someone we can always count on for a warm greeting.

Maryanne Maldonado, the Executive Director of the World Affairs Council…

….introduced Dr. Michael Mizwa, who is the Director of Global Health, Texas Children’s Hospital, and the CEO of Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatric AIDS Initiative.

Before actually speaking on the topic, Dr. Mizwa, offered us a friendly greeting of “Go Bearkats,” and then moved to an introduction of our featured speaker: Ana Maria Galvis, the Executive Director of Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation, Colombia.

Galvis began by explaining some of the issues that Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) face. However, Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Colombia operates somewhat differently than traditional NGOs. The program is run and operated by Colombians and, although the overall program objective is to promote health, they can’t do that without addressing related issues. Thus, they focus on four major issues: health, food, education, and nutrition.

Recently, there has been an influx of Venezuelans migrating to Columbia; many of whom require immediate or long-term medical care. The employment rate in La Guajira (a Department of Colombia0 is 26.1 % and only one-third have visas. To provide aid to the incoming Venezuelans, the current President of Colombia has offered 10-year permits. Galvis said this has helped to reduce the number of undocumented migrants, but there is still work to be done to track their medical needs.

Since the program is an NGO, it is held to a different standard than the privately funded healthcare centers. Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Colombia offers 25 health certified services, and they have a dedication to “not just treating the illness, [but] treating the human being.”

Since 2014 the program has provided treated 12,400 patients, administered 7,000 vaccinations, and is the only NGO in Colombia authorized to provide the Covid-19 vaccination. The program has done amazing work to provide aid for the current crisis, and their approach is what we, as social science majors, also aim for: the help communities, not just individuals.

The event was enormously educational, and it also moved us out of our comfort zones, prompting us to converse with professionals over lunch, discussing topics with which we aren’t overly familiar.

It is a recipe for growth, and one we enjoyed very much.

Ambassadors Come Together from Across Texas

May 29, 2022, Yvette Mendoza

One of the many wonderful programs offered by the Annette Strauss Institute at the University of Texas at Austin is the Texas Civic Ambassadors program, which I was fortunate to be selected for last year. I was one of approximately 30 such students selected, and this past weekend, many of us descended on Austin to participate in the TCA’s closing ceremonies.

I was able to meet with people from El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, north Texas, and I, of course, represented SHSU and East Texas.

The Institute brought in public servants to speak to us, including Austin’s Mayor, Steve Adler and Matt Glazer. Both provided insights into civic engagement, from Adler’s discussion of how he tackled a pandemic in Austin, and Glazer discussed how change occurs–by caring, by being present, by stepping up, contributing, being accountable, advocating, and planning.

While we learned from these public servants, we also learned from each other. Each TCA presented their project and what progress they have made thus far. It included creating a Latinx open house, voter registration drives, getting junior high and high schoolers civically involved, and the like.

My project, Beyond Bars, focuses explicitly on civically educating the students at Sam Houston and the citizens of Huntsville on the incarceration process–from arrest, to prosecution, to incarceration and alternatives to incarceration, to rehabilitation and reentry.

Along with listening to one another, we also had the opportunity to network with TCA alumni and other people who have significantly impacted our state with various nonprofit organizations.

To top off our ceremony, we didn’t leave without getting a taste of Austin at Kerbey Lane; this gave us a chance to say our goodbyes but never forgot our love for engagement.

I am incredibly grateful for the various opportunities I have been given in this program, and I will continue to use what I have learned at Annette Strauss Institute on my path of continuing civic engagement.

Honoring the Fallen: Raising Flags with the Lions Club

If it’s a holiday, expect that the Lions Club will be out pre-dawn planting flags on the square, 11th street, and Sam Houston Avenue. There’s a good chance the LEAP Ambassadors will be with them, helping.

Memorial Day was first observed in 1868, and for decades it was called Decoration Day, celebrating those lost in the Civil War. The casualties in World War I, however, prompted a need for a broader remembrance and the holiday became Memorial Day, and it now reflects lives lost in all wars. It was not until 1971 that it became a Federal Holiday.

World War I also contributed to the founding of the Lions Club. With problems besetting the world, Melvin Jones invited business clubs together, and the Lions Club was founded. The organization grew, becoming international by 1920, and expanded also in terms of its causes. Helen Keller spoke to the organization, challenging the Club to become “Knights of the Blind.” The Lions have championed the cause of vision since that day in 1925.

Of course their public service goes beyond vision, which is how we came to be helping them plant flags. We first assisted the Lions Club on MLK Day of this year, and it has helped us form professional networks, develop skills, and make some new friends.

So, next time you see the flags out on a holiday, remember that it was members of the Lions Club that awoke before dawn to put them there.

And, of course, this Memorial Day, remember the fallen soldiers to which this day is dedicated.

Honoring Attendance Perfection at Year’s End

Morgan Robertson

COVID has hit everyone hard, and perfect attendance is difficult even in the best of times. But 39 students at Mance Park Middle School (MPMS) achieved that perfect attendance for the spring semester, and five of those students had perfect attendance for the entire 2021-2022 school year.

Every semester, a team of volunteers from First United Methodist Church (FUMC) provides lunch and a congratulatory ceremony for the students who prioritized their attendance to the tune of perfection. This year the volunteers–Donna Powell, Stacie Bible, Judy Freeman, Mary Ellen Sims, and Reverend Mark Crim–decorated the atrium of MPMS, provided a delicious lunch from Mr. Hamburger, and prepared to say a few words to congratulate the students, which is where we came in.

FUMC worked with 7^th grade Counselor, Deanna Jamison, to schedule two ceremonies that accommodated the students’ class and lunch schedules.

At the ceremonies, both Principal Josh Campbell and Vice-Principal Jamie Lorenz told the students how proud they were of the students. Principal Campbell stressed the importance of attendance, praised his staff, faculty, and, of course, especially the students.

I then congratulated the students, encouraged them to continue such positive traits, and I noted how important those were not only in high-school and college, but also the workplace.

Rev. Crim then closed the ceremony by expressing how proud he is of the students and encouraging them to keep up the good work.

The students received a certificate to commemorate their hard work, and we were even able to snap a picture of the second group of students!

On behalf of the LEAP Ambassadors, congratulations to all the MPMS students who kept up their perfect attendance records, and thank you for inviting us!

Civics, History, and Citizenship

Jessica Cuevas

Each Spring the LEAP Center partners with the Huntsville Public Library to provide a free citizenship preparatory course to aid immigrants in their naturalization process. This year, our program covered late March and all of April, and after two years of COVID, we had a smaller sized–but enthusiastic–class, led by Professor Mike Yawn, HPL intern Jocelyn Vazquez (and her supervisor, Mary Kokot), and the LEAP Ambassadors as volunteers.

Overall, we had about a dozen members representing several countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, and Canada! For the first meeting, Professor Yawn had everyone introduce themselves before he discussed the process of becoming a citizen and gave a rundown of the course–as well as the Naturalization interview and exam.

The course runs for five weeks, with each week covering a different era or topic addressed by the Civics portion of the Naturalization Exam. Professor Yawn spends about 20 minutes going over an era or a topic, and then we, as volunteers, break into groups and work directly with the immigrants.

There are 100 questions that can be asked as part of the civics exam, and the USCIS officer will ask up to ten of them (randomly selected), with the immigrant needing to get six of them correct to pass. These questions can range from questions about US History, to questions about holidays, to questions about governmental structure or even geographic features of the country (e.g. “What is one of the two longest rivers in the United States?”).

This year, we had a couple of special guests. On Week Four, we had Rosa Martinez from USCIS come in on Zoom and answer questions.

And, on Week 5, we had immigration Robert Cates join us, and he proved to be a favorite of the class. He went through the nuances of the process, some pitfalls, and some tips for going through that process. The night was also pleasant, in that we had some catering done, including desserts by Sam’s Table.

We concluded this evening, and the formal portion of the course, with group photos.

But, additional work continues. Jessica and Morgan, for example, assisted one of the students on some last minute questions, and Roxana Woychesin earned her citizenship!

In addition, one of our volunteers and LEAP Ambassadors, Saara Maknojia, got the call for her interview shortly after our course ended.

In addition to being a morale boost for our volunteerism, it was also a good reminder that a lot of work goes into citizenship for those not born here, and that our rights and obligations should not be taken for granted!

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