Lights. Camera. Action. Senior Cicely Rhodin was featured on NBC News on May 17 for her civics bill on diacritical marks, symbols added to letters to indicate a different pronunciation.
Rhodin’s bill, AB2528, permits people in California to have diacritical marks in their names on documents like birth certificates, marriage licenses, and driver’s licenses.
“I’m still pretty surprised that my bill has gotten this far,” Rhodin said. “Its amazing how something so small and seemingly insignificant can be so powerful.”
Civics teacher David Keller also made it onto the news to discuss the civics bill writing project and how Rhodin’s bill came about.
“The news coverage that this [bill] has created about the issue of state regulation and cultural sensitivity has been great,” Keller said. “I feel like the more people know about the institutional biases against minority language groups the better.”
Senior Eric Hung said that the publicity that Rhodin’s bill has received goes to show the impact that an individual can have on their government.
“It feels good knowing that a fellow classmate made it onto the news,” Hung said. “We have ideas worth believing in when we want to impact society.”
Hung said that the progress Rhodin’s bill has made in fostering change in California laws shows that students’ ideas are worth presenting.
“It’s nice to know that with the right tools, we can make little changes to our society,” Hung said. “Who knows, when the time comes, perhaps we can all be motivated to do something big.”
Rhodin said that she has been surprised and extremely pleased with the amount of support her bill has received.
“I’m just really happy that there are people out there who really support my bill and are trying to institute the change,” Rhodin said. “It shows that anyone can make something happen.”
Keller said that the change that the bill makes will have to outweigh its price tag of $20 million, as bills in California ultimately become a question of money.
“[I’m] not sure the state can afford the expense when there are so many priorities,” Keller said.
Keller said that while passing the bill would be costly, the idea is wonderful and has increased discussion about cultural sensitivity.
“It is thrilling to see that the work of a PHS student can have such a dramatic impact on state politics,” Keller said.
Rhodin said that she was grateful to have the opportunity to be on the news.
“Being on T.V. was daunting at first, but as I went through the interview, it wasn’t that bad,” Rhodin said.