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University High School (Los Angeles)

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Template:High School Infobox

Alternate meaning: University High School (disambiguation)

University High School (known as Uni) is a secondary school located in West Los Angeles, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California near the border of Santa Monica. University High School is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The campus also holds Indian Springs Continuation High School. The school contains the Gabrielino Tongva Springs, a California State Historical Landmark.

University High School's current mascot is the Wildcat, and the school colors are blue and persimmon (orange).

The weekly school newspaper, the Wildcat, is part of the High School National Ad Network. Print issues from the school's inception as Harding High are available in the journalism archives. More recent issues are archived online at the My High School Journalism site operated by ASNE (American Society of Newspaper Editors).

History

File:University High (Los Angeles) 1925.jpg
Exterior view of Warren G. Harding High School, 1925, later renamed University High School

Originally known as Warren G. Harding High School when built in 1924, the school was renamed in 1929 after UCLA moved its campus from East Hollywood to Westwood, and the reputation of former President Harding had declined. The name University is supposed to have originated because it became a site where teachers-in-training from nearby UCLA worked as assistant teachers.

One third of its class of 1942 did not graduate because of the internment of Japanese-Americans.

"Uni" was opened in 1924, and is one of very few pre-World War II high schools in Los Angeles which have been partially spared by three major earthquakes since its inception. Although the gymnasium and a beautiful and widely admired auditorium were condemned following the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, the school's original main building from 1924 remains in use to this day. The music building and gym (rebuilt in the early 1980s) are scheduled to be taken down because they sit on a fault line, against district policy. Although the music building is not in use, the gym currently is. Because the main building presents a very traditional and dignified appearance, with weathered brick and arched doorways, the campus is popular with film crews during vacations and holidays, and sometimes during school. The school is often used for filming with several TV shows (My So-Called Life, 7th Heaven) and various commercials and music videos.

Native American heritage

File:Gabrielino Tongva dancers at Kuruvunga Springs.jpg
Gabrielino Tongva dancers at the Kuruvunga Springs at a "Life Before Columbus Day Event"


Located on the grounds of University High are the Gabrielino Tongva Springs, California Historical Landmark #552. This natural spring (called Kuruvungna) was used by the native Gabrielino Tongva people, the descendants of whom continue to be active on the campus. The springs, which produce 22,000 gallons of water each day, have never failed, even in the driest years, and their presence suggests strongly that the site was a meeting and stopping place for Native Americans over thousands of years. In 1975 a grave was discovered, just below the southwest end of the main building, containing a small skeleton and soapstone bowls. This grave was dated to approximately 4000 BCE and the character of the bowls suggested kinship with the culture of Santa Catalina Island in the same era. The Kuruvungna springs are one of the last sacred sites to the Gabrielino Tongva people.

Mascot controversy

File:University High (LA) Warriors Logo.jpg
The Warrior, University High's mascot pre-controversy
File:University High (LA) Wildcats Logo.jpg
The Wildcat, University High's current mascot



The school's mascot was formerly the Warrior, but was changed after the Southern California Indian Center petitioned the LAUSD to eliminate the mascots and names of all schools that had American Indian mascot and names. In 1997 the LAUSD decided to eliminate all American Indian mascots. The LAUSD decision was upheld in federal court, but the California Racial Mascots Act, a bill which would eliminate American Indian mascots and names state wide, was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger twice.

Ficus Tree Preservation

File:Ficus roots (University High School).jpg
The ficus trees after the cement has been removed and before pruning.

Underground water from the Kuruvunga springs sustain seven mature Indian Laurel Ficus trees on the campus which line a walkway between the classroom building and one of the two teachers' parking lot. In September of 2002, LAUSD Area D announced that they would remove the seven ficus trees lining the outside of the classroom building, because the roots were had grown into and were pushing up the concrete in the parking lot causing a potential hazard. In response to the removal announcement a campaign was launched to stop the removal of the trees. Notably, a student petition got 1,200 signatures (almost half of the student population), and community involvment came from the city of Santa Monica and from the neighborhood councils of Brentwood and West Los Angles.

In response to the public outcry, the LAUSD held meetings to determine what would happen to the trees. Walter Warriner, the Arborist of the city of Santa Monica proposed installing rubber sidewalks, which could be easily lifted in order to prune the tree roots for maintainance. After months of negotions, the LAUSD decided not to remove the trees and agreed to install rubber sidewalks, making University High School the first high school in the country to use rubber sidewalks in order to preserve its trees. Installation for the rubber sidewalks started on November 20, 2003, over a year after the LAUSD had originally condemned the trees. Installation of the rubber sidewalks was covered by Huell Howser for California's Gold. The episode covering Uni High's rubber sidewalks aired on KCET on January 28, 2004. Uni High also used rubber asphalt to repave the pushed up concrete in the teachers' parking lot.

Neighborhoods served

Neighborhoods served by University High School include West Los Angeles, portions of Brentwood (including Brentwood Glen), Beverly Glen, Beverly Hills Post Office Westwood, Bel-Air, Sawtelle, Benedict Canyon, the Wilshire Corridor , and Holmby Hills. Also included in its service area are relatively distant canyon neighborhoods adjacent to the city of Beverly Hills; since the neighborhoods are in Los Angeles, the students are not in the Beverly Hills Unified School District boundaries.

Like other Westside high schools such as Westchester and Palisades, University High School enrolls a diverse mix of students from its enrollment area and various parts of the city. Much of its student body arrives by bus each morning from Koreatown and South Los Angeles. The school also enrolls many "Capacity Adjustment Program" students which come from areas zoned to heavily overcrowded high schools.

Two new LAUSD high schools opened in fall 2005 and four more in fall 2006, decreasing the number of transfer students in other high schools.

Notable alumni

References

Notes

  1. Recent issues of the Wildcat
  2. My So-Called Life at the Internet Movie Database
  3. Annual "Life Before Coumbus Day Event"
  4. Gabrielino / Tongva Springs Foundation
  5. Gabrieleno/Tongva Band of Mission Indians of San Gabriel
  6. Southern California Indian Center
  7. "MOTIONS/RESOLUTIONS PRESENTED TO THE LOS ANGELES CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR CONSIDERATION" (PDF). Elimination of American Indian Mascots. LAUSD. September 8, 1997. pp. 55–56. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  8. Willman, Martha L. (April 7, 1998). "District Ban on Indian Nicknames Is Upheld". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-12-29. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. California Racial Mascots Act - AB 858
  10. California Racial Mascots Act - AB 13
  11. Schwarzenegger vetoes bill banning 'Redskins'
  12. Lue, Ryan (9/19/2003). "Committee Seeks Arborist to Prune Trees". Wildcat. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Man, Shirley (4/28/2003). "Classroom Building Trees Saved". Wildcat. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. Berezin, Jacob (6/17/2003). "Theresa Gray". Wildcat. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. "Public Television Programs Highlight City's "Rubber Sidewalks"". Santa Monica SEASCAPE V.4 Issue 11. City of Santa Monica. Summer 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  16. Cite error: The named reference arborist needed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. "KCET Host Films Sidewalk Installation". Wildcat. 12/05/2003. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coathors= ignored (help)
  18. Visiting...With Huell Howser #1114 - High School Sidewalks
  19. ^ Aragon, Karen (01/16/2004). "Crews Repave Parking Lot". Wildcat. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. Spitz, H. May (July 11, 2004). "Canyon homes and that famous ZIP Code". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  21. ^ University High School, Los Angeles, CA at NNDB
  22. Brad Brunberg at IMDb
  23. Connie Marshall at IMDb

External links

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