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YMCA Teen Task Force
 On Monday January 11, Pankow, our contractors, took the Teen Task Force on a tour of the pre-construction building. The previous week, Sterling Environmental, one of our demolition contractors, removed all of the drywall, ceiling and floor tiles, and basically everything else that had made up the interior of the old PG&E payment Center. When I first walked in, I noticed that there were no longer and walls or doors, it was just one big empty room. The tiles were gone, the walls were just cement, and there were huge holes in the ceilings! The room seemed very empty, and pretty large. We even were lucky enough to climb a ladder to the second floor (the stairs have been removed) and look around. On the 2nd floor, there were a bunch of holes in the ceilings and very few walls. Overall, the experience was really neat to be able to see the building in its demolition phases. I can’t wait to see what it looks like at the next walk through!  
 Change. It may sound cliché, but what we need now is change. Change to create a just and equal society. Change in our Berkeley schools. On Thursday afternoon the team crammed into Tracy's car and ventured over to the Young Adult Project building on Oregon Street. We arrived to meet a diverse group of youth from various Berkeley groups, including Youth Together, BYA and Jewish Youth for Community Action for a 2020 Vision meeting. The meeting was meant for Berkeley teens to provide input and suggestions on the draft vision plan made by the 2020 Vision's adult committee. We began by listening to a series of inspirational speeches and stories on the need for change. Then, the group leader from BYA pointed out an important truth. Even though everyone in the room was there to close the achievement gap and integrate classes, we were still separated by race in where we had chosen to sit. This important picture just proves the need for change in Berkeley. By targeting components of Berkeley that affect the lives of students we are taking steps to: provide everyone with the opportunity to thrive, instill the motivation to progress, create healthy living environments, and prepare young children to enter elementary school ready to learn. Eventually we split up into well diversified groups and entered into a deep discussion on how to reform these core causes of the racial achievement gap. We plan to meet next week to present our thoughts and further our discussions. I know, for me, the driving force through this whole process is the hope that I may one day return to Berkeley High and see a racially blended school yard, rather than a concrete slab blotted with different colors in different corners, separated by the walls of racism, paranoia, and hopelessness. To read more about the 2020 Vision for Berkeley's Children & Youth, click here.
 A couple of weeks ago, the first YMCA-PG&E Teen Center board convened. A core group of members (including me!) with a mission. We've set out on an early start to oversee the growth of the board, finances, and program development to benefit the Center. Meeting everyone was great. But meeting unfamiliar faces was even better because it's pretty cool to get to work with people who've just learned about the project but are just as excited about it as me. The first meeting was just introductory, so we haven't officially started anything intense yet, but don't be disappointed, because we will! Now that I’m also a board member, I feel that I have an even bigger responsibility because I have a dual role: a board member and liaison between the Teen Center Task Force and the board. However, I do not feel that this responsibility extends only towards my two positions but also to the community. As Peter Parker’s (Spider-Man) uncle Ben once said, “Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility.” It'll be great to stick around on the board and see how the Teen Center develops after the Task Force is done with construction. I'm sure we'll be pioneering the Teen Center to new heights.
 Since the first day that I started working on the Teen Center Task Force, I have wondered when we would to start construction. Well, now is the time. I am so excited to see how we are going to transform the PG&E payment center into a beautiful teen center. Throughout these two years that I have been working on this project, we have gone through many fun, interesting, disappointing, and sometimes stressful moments, but we have always kept our goals clear. We need to get this project done; we need to provide a safe place for teens to go. Now that construction is coming up, I feel very happy because all the hard work the Teen Task Force has put into to this project will finally turn into a successful teen center. Luckily, our contractor will take us through the building once a month and take time to explain the renovation process. Their work seemed easy initially; but when we started talking about how we were going to keep parts of the building and at the same time build new things, I just wanted to hide. Still, the entire Teen Center Task Force is looking forward to starting construction and excited to see our dream come true. Here are a couple of pictures of what the building looks like now. Obviously I can’t wait to see how much this place changes. Let us know if you want a tour before construction is in full force!  
 Telegraph is famous for a lot of things. Cal, Hippies, and the home to revolution. A few weeks ago we visited The Green Youth Media Arts Center at 2781 Telegraph Ave in Oakland. The center advocates for a green lifestyle. It also aims to create a positive place for teens to go and channel their energy into positive and green activities. I liked that most of its interior was recycled and remade from old bits and pieces to fit the needs of the new center. Each room also had a theme: the entrance cove was painted black to represent the womb while the next room was a light airy blue to represent one's first breath. But the thing I liked most about the center was that it was personal and sincere. Everyone we met working there believed in their cause and their compassion was evident everywhere. It was this sincerity that made me feel welcomed, which is an important part of a teen center. Visiting The Green Media Arts Center made me realize how important it is that our teen center be personal and most important, welcoming. Luckily, with all the close work we've done so far, I know we're on our way to create a great center for teens! Also! A special thanks to Galen Peterson for showing us around The Green Youth Media Arts Center! Check out their blog here!
 Just yesterday, we found out that the cost of constructing the Teen Center in its current design is much higher than we can afford. In other words, were simply over-budgeted. As a result, there are some adjustments Pankow has provided. They recommended we take out the permeable pavement and the sun shades in front of the south and west side windows. When Tracy told us the news, I was shocked. These are two defining features of the building which I refuse to just let go of. The permeable pavement is by far one of the coolest features of our building because it allows any water on top of it to seep into the ground and the sun shades help to block out some of the sun, while adding some bold lines to increase the aesthetics. On top of all this, we’ve always been clearly on target for LEED Gold with Platinum at our fingertips. But getting rid of these items might mean we probably won’t reach our dream of Platinum. I don’t want to see these great things about our building lost. They’re some of the features we pushed for, because we wanted them, and I want them back. So once again, we’re attempting to bring in more donations through phone calls and grant writing. Wish us luck!
 Oh it is a colorful world…But what color is it? Last week we had the pleasure of journeying to the offices of Noll & Tam to discuss the colors and designs of our inside walls and ceilings. Coming in, we only knew we wanted the building to be different and artistic. We had only planned the “go” green outside as well as the stairway mural. So when we arrived, our immediate reaction to the mound of color and design samples was to be overwhelmed. There was every color imaginable and an array of what looked like hard bubble wrap, mirrors, wooden replicas of Swiss cheese, and hundreds of different tiles. After a couple hours and a bowl of cheese puffs, we had formulated some ideas. On each of the three floors would be a wall with a separate shade of blue and in large letters one of the words VISION, GROWTH, or AMP (our nickname for the Center – Aspirations Made Possible). We chose a red floored elevator with the possibility of black walls (I call this the scheming room). And we decided to theme each floor’s restrooms with different colored tiles. Teens will walk into the center, see the hip UFO chandelier, and know they are in a special place designed for a new era of leaders. Here is a sample of what we were thinking. The original image looks much more blue. What do you think? 
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