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OPEN LETTER: To the Editors of The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin regarding their Recent Article on the Chino Valley USD’s New Policy Concerning Transgender Students

Photography Courtesy of Julian Lucas ©2023

Published August 7, 2023 8:30 Am PST

Dear Editors,

Tensions are running high with Chino Valley USD’s Board recent adoption of their transgender student policy. That said, your recent article about our State’s Attorney General probe into the legality of this new policy made erroneous statements about what happened in the CVUSD’s Board meeting of July 20th. Our editorial board is asking that you correct the article. In matters as controversial as this one, your newspaper should show no explicit or implicit bias - you should simply print the facts as documented. What is disconcerting is that this  article, with misleading information,  was picked up by the Southern California News Group and circulated all over the Southland, including in the Pasadena Star News.  

The 13th paragraph of your article reads,

"The school board approved the policy at the end of a tense four-hour meeting. The meeting drew a crowd of more than 300 people, including state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who left the meeting after exchanging heated remarks with Shaw."

To be clear, Superintendent Tony Thurmond did NOT ‘leave’ the meeting, he was escorted out by 4 school security officers at the behest of the Chino Valley USD Board President Shaw. In addition, Supt. Thurmond did NOT ‘exchange heated remarks’ with CVUSD Board President Shaw. Thurmond, after delivering a respectful public comment expressing the state’s concern for the safety of schoolchildren with such a policy, was returning to his seat, when CVUSD began heckling and shouting at him. At that point, Thurmond returned to the podium reserved for public comment to call for ‘point of order.’ As a former school board member himself, he is well aware of the protocols. It is in violation of Roberts’ Rules of Order for public elected officials to address the public from across the dais asking for anything beyond  basic information needed for clarification purposes. Public officials are NOT supposed to attempt to engage members of the public in back-and-forth dialogue.

This editorial board watched the video numerous times, sent two people to attend the meeting, and transcribed CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw's comments to CA State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond.



Transcription of Video Where CVUSD President Sonja Shaw, breaks District protocols and addresses Supt. Tony Thurmond directly.  (Time stamp around 1:24)

CVUSD President: Time. Time. Time. And I learned something from a previous Board president . . .(California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is returning to his seat after finishing his one minute public comment. The crowd is shouting.)

Guys - be respectful.

I am going to do a point of order which I learned from a previous Board President. (The CVUSD President at various points from here on raises her voice to shout.)

Tony Thurmond, I appreciate you being here - tremendously - but here is the problem -we are here because of people like you. You are in Sacramento proposing things that (raises voice) PERVERT CHILDREN. You had a chance to come and talk to me, Tony. By all means - you had a chance to talk with me. Why was it so important for you to walk with my opponent? YOU are the very reason why we are in this. 

I am going to do a point of order which I learned from a previous Board President. (The CVUSD President at various points from here on out raises her voice to shout.) 

Tony Thurmond, I appreciate you being here - tremendously - but here is the problem -we are here because of people like you. You are in Sacramento proposing things that (raises voice) PERVERT CHILDREN. You had a chance to come and talk to me, Tony. By all means - you had a chance to talk with me. Why was it so important for you to walk with my opponent? YOU are the very reason why we are in this. 

Tony Thurmond: (returns to podium): May I have - as a Point of Order, as the Board President . . . .

CVUSD President: (interrupts, shouting, talking fast): No, this is not your meeting. You can have a seat. Because if I did that to you in Sacramento, you would not accept it. Please sit.

Tony Thurmond: Point of Order.

CVUSD President: You are not going to blackmail us. You have already sent us a blackmailing letter on previous . . . You will not bully us here in Chino! Please sit.

Tony Thurmond: Point of Order!

CVUSD President: in Chino!

Tony Thurmond: Point of Order!

CVUSD Board President: 5 Minute Break!  (CVUSD President exits the dais through a curtain behind her.

(On tape, Tony Thurmond, at the podium, is surrounded by at least four school police.)

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The Secret Behind My Empathy

By Michael Tennant
Illustration Rebecca Ustrell
This was produced by Curious Publishing The Pomonan is Co-Publishing this article.
Published 5/17/2022 10:03Am PST

Michael Tennant, is an award-winning media, advertising, and nonprofit veteran for companies like MTV, VICE Media, P&G, CocaCola, and Google. In the 2000s, he sat front seat to the rise of VICE, today’s leading voice in millennial media, and brought with him a dedicated approach to long-term authentic community building. He created Curiosity Lab to be a radical example in media and advertising of business diversification and progressively inclusive hiring practices. Today, Curiosity Lab is a growing product, content, and consulting business that uses storytelling to drive change.

Empathy and consistency have been my guide and the secret to my recent good fortune. At first, this routine of consistent empathy check-ins with myself literally saved my life. When I learned of the passing of my older brother, I turned to the habits that gave me a guaranteed instant escape, drugs, and alcohol.


It was when my body seized up and I thought I’d have a heart attack if I went to sleep, that I knew I needed to form some other habits or it would cost me my life.


From a life or death situation to living every day as though it might be my last. Reflective questions became my default. Questions like, if today was my last on this earth, how would I want to spend it? Or, if the way I’m spending my time, with this person, or that task, doesn’t feel good to me, then what’s the point in me doing it?

Empathy, my dear friends, is not about how I treat other people. It’s a part of it, yes, but the real daily consistent work is more about how I respond to the emotional quality of what I encounter. How am I feeling? How are those who are involved feeling?
It is a different orientation toward the world than what I was taught, or what I know naturally, so it really does take daily practice.

The good news is that this approach has allowed me to work at a high level, while also listening in for signals that I need a break in order to remain resilient. My body has some consistent ways of warning me about burnout. My shoulders might get tense. My skin might be sensitive to the touch. These are extreme cases that I’ve only recently learned.

Some relatable ones to most people might be the pit that might develop at the top of my abdomen every time a name or situation is brought up. Or a situation that visits me in my sleep, my meditation, or when I’m trying to rest and be at play. These were once the very situations that I drowned in a bottle and obsessed over with willing commiserates and some lines. Today, these are the uncomfortable situations that I address head-on with myself and the ones that I love.

Rebecca Ustrell is an artist and the Founder and Director at Curious Publishing, Project Manager for Curiosity Lab, and Event & Engagement Coordinator The Arts Area.

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