After learning about poverty and crime in the classroom, students spent a day learning in action. On Friday Oct. 16, the law and society class took a field trip to the St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) society in Oakland.

Law and society teacher Janine Sohn said that the trip allowed students to see the services that SVdP provides surrounding poverty and prison populations.

“I thought it would be a good fit for the law and society class to see what goes on in the West Oakland community which is not only close to us but is also a community that is often plagued by high crime rates,” Sohn said.

First, staff members introduced the students to the West Oakland community. Then students were split into groups that either helped in the kitchen or served lunch to people in need.

“They call it an ‘immersion day,’” Sohn said. “The whole point is for students to really be there and be immersed in the activities that they do on a day-to-day basis there.”

Sophomore Sam White worked with a group in the kitchen.

“My group chopped vegetables in preparation for the meal that they were going to serve the next day,” White said.

While White’s group prepared food, junior Halley Wolin wiped down tables in the dining room where the clients ate.

“It was surprising because I would walk by someone who didn’t look very friendly and then I would say something like ‘hi, how are you doing?’” Wolin said. “Their face would light up and they would become friendly and  eager to talk to me.”

In the afternoon, students had a classroom session with SVdP staff members in which they discussed the experiences of people living with different incomes in West Oakland.

People who are impoverished often have no leftover money after paying for a house and food, White said.

“A lot of people are struggling, which is why it’s necessary to have a place like SVdP,” White said. “As a community we need to show support for them.”

PHS began its relationship with SVdP last year when members of the senior class went for the off-campus service learning component of Day on the Green, service learning coordinator Courtney Goen said. When SVdP decided to pilot a service learning immersion day, they reached out to Goen, who offered to organize the field trip for any teachers.

“Going on a field trip is a game changer,” Goen said. “This is a really unique opportunity where students can combine what they’re doing in law and society with community service.”

Senior Meredith Aebi participated in the field trip as a member of the Service Learning Club. Aebi went on the trip because it sounded interesting and she wanted to learn more about organizations that the Service Learning Club can partner with on service learning day next May.

“It was really enriching to actually go out and do something rather than just sitting in a classroom and talking about it,” Aebi said.

Goen said that she hopes students saw the real life connections to what they are studying.

“It’s one thing to talk about poverty or the reentry of a prison population into mainstream society or gentrification,” Goen said. “But by physically going and eating lunch alongside the people we serve, that makes all of those things more real and meaningful.”

Wolin said that her interactions with the clients made her more eager to fill their needs in the future.

“A lot of times people group the homeless and the needy as a one group of people,” Wolin said. “It made me see that each person has an individual story.”

Aebi said that the trip reinforced her belief that people should help their communities.

“You have to be the change,” Aebi said.