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Being there for classmates

By William Inman Daily Planet Staff
Tuesday August 29, 2000

Meet Niles Xi ‘An Liechtenstein, the freshly sworn-in student director for the Berkeley Unified School District.  

Choosing the articulate, earring-wearing 4.0 student-transcendentalist for the high-profile student position was surely a no-brainer for the kids at Berkeley High. The poetry-slammer and former football player – he gave up the game to focus on academics – is the embodiment of the diversity one sees at Berkeley High, with a Malaysian-Chinese mother and German-Jewish father.  

The 17-year-old senior is poised and hyped to be a leader in a school that has suffered through difficult times.  

Like the fire-scorched school, Niles has a few scars himself. 

When asked what shaped his engaging and determined personality, he brings up the two years he spent helping his father when he was sick with brain cancer.  

“I was going into ninth grade, and I had to do things like pump food into his stomach, and put needles into his arm...It was tough, I admired him a lot.” 

But Niles persevered. Not only was he a starting middle linebacker his sophomore year for the football team and straight A student, he also embarked on bringing his fellow students together into organizations like the Hapa Club, a multi-cultural club that puts on fund-raisers for his beloved poetry-slams – something he says “could change the world and bring all kinds of people together.” In fact the poetry slams give other clubs at the school a forum to get together. 

“I definitely want to get all the ethnic clubs together,” he said of his plans as member of the school board for the upcoming year.  

“Separated, they can only do so much. I mean, you have the Asian Student Union, the Black Student Union, the La Rassa, the Jewish Student Union, and so on and so forth. 

“Together there’s a lot they can do for the school, community-wise, and they’re just a lot stronger together and they should be on the same page. We did that a little bit last year. We give them an outlet, a voice.” 

Don’t call him a figure-head. The young man has plans of bringing a sense of community to the 3,200 students.  

“I have a free period, fifth period, so one of the things I’m going to do is to personally visit each class and talk to kids, get to know kids, make sure that they know I’m there for them, and really, be able to get a lot of perspectives. I grew up playing ball in South Berkeley, and I played football, but I’m friends with kids in the hills. So I think I have the ability to, kind of, relate to a lot of different kids at Berkeley High.”  

Bridging the achievement gap is the daunting task he’s focusing on. He’s worked with youths in a couple of different programs. Although they are described as “high risk,” he says he’s seen the potential. It’s a matter of getting them involved and giving them an outlet. 

“There are a lot of people in the cuts and the shadows. They’re the ones that the school is affecting a lot. 

“I hope to outreach to more kids, I want to give them an outlet to the authority and the bureaucracy. I’m a Pacific Islander, and a lot of my friends are Southeast Asians who aren’t doing so well. I want kids to get serious about issues, and maybe come to a school board meeting and talk about it.” 

He says one project he’s mulled over is publishing poetry for everyone, so students who may not be studying Dylan Thomas and poetry theory in their regular English classes can “come and publish something and tell themselves, ‘Yea, I’m good enough to have my voice heard by the whole school,’” he says. 

Poetry, he says, can be a rallying cry for the Berkeley High students.  

“I’ve seen kids who are getting F’s in their English classes turn out incredible poetry,” he said 

And organizing kids to be involved in poetry slams, like the one he and other students from the school were involved in last year that drew 2,000 people to “hear what kids have to say,” is something that can bring the school together, he said.  

He plans on organizing campus slams early on in the year. 

“I think poetry crosses and infuses all lines,” he said. “It’s getting people to express and to listen. It’s a revolution of words and culture.” 

“Poetry slam isn’t something that you have to sit down and analyze, it’s something that you feel,” he said. “ I’ve seen it change people’s lives, because it brings together people and it brings together community.” 

Niles said that he’s learning to juggle his idealistic side and his practical side. Besides bringing together his schoolmates for things such as poetry slams, he’s quick to say that the school simply needs more structure. 

Everyone has their own idea of what Berkeley High should be like,” he said.  

“I’ve had students, even parents, come to me saying that the principal doesn’t know what he’s in for. It really has to be a community thing. There’s too much apathy, an ‘I’ll get mine and you get yours’ attitude.”  

Niles said that the students need to live by what he’s dubbed the three C’s: Communication, community and cohesiveness.  

“Last year, you got a bad feeling just walking down the halls,” he said. “Just being a student there, it seemed that there was no communication between the levels... the administration, teachers, students. There was a lot of miscommunication and no support.” 

“It was the culmination of counseling problems, no communication and a sense of apathy. We need more structure, and to get to know who the principals are. Last year, people didn’t know who they could turn to.” 

He also hopes to break down the walls between school security and the kids.  

“Rules and regulations need to be enforced without bias. I think there needs to be a step-by-step process on how security officers should approach students, and how students should respond so kids can really know how the system works.” 

Forgive him if he’s not terribly familiar with school board issues, he’s only spent one week on the board because he’s been in a mountain village in Nepal building houses and schools on a scholarship with the Berkeley-based Global Roots.  

“It was an incredible experience,” he said.  

“ I was able to learn to meditate, and to deal with my situation better. I was able to take myself out of the context of this life and give myself a new perspective.” 

All of this and he doesn’t even know where he wants to go to college, or what he wants to study. 

“I kind of want to stay here because of my little brother,” he said. “I really don’t know at this point... I’m too busy getting myself ready for this school year.”