Firing up their keyboards, students in Ryan Young’s classes at Escalon High School have sent off their traditional ‘Letters to the Editor’ as part of an assignment.

The focus is on highlighting what the student perceives as a problem, either on the local, state, or national level, and offer some suggestions as to what corrective steps could be taken.

Young said it goes back to the early days of investigative journalism and how bringing issues to light can often help bring about a solution.

Students could choose their topic and they run the gamut, from school lunches to artificial intelligence.

“AI has become a big issue, we see that kids are using it for everything and same with adults,” wrote student Jayden Abram. “Kids are using it to write their essays, to cheat on their test or even finals.”

Abram also noted the ongoing concern over the impact of data centers needed to power AI.

As far as offering a solution, the student put it on the individual.

“How we can stop with AI is limit the use of AI and not use it, only if we really need it,” Abram suggested. “Kids should start thinking for themselves.”

On a much more local level, student Brandon Beltran raised concerns about the state of Escalon High School’s soccer fields. His letter reads, in part, “The fields have a bunch of holes, and uneven patches throughout the field. The team has gotten complaints from other schools saying, the fields are too small, and the fields are terrible to play on due to the conditions.”

Beltran said some injuries can be attributable to the conditions and he suggested the school “should completely renovate the grass” on both the JV and varsity fields.

“Another proposition is that the school should allow all the soccer teams to use the Engel Field for games, and not just some sports use the stadium,” Beltran added.

Touching on the topic of immigration enforcement, student Allisson Galvan appealed for a more humane approach.

“Illegal immigrants should not be separated from their families, especially when they have young children. The news often shows families being separated in front of their children who don’t understand what’s happening,” Galvan wrote. “Yes immigration laws are important but the way they are enforced also matters.”

She went on to add that many legal citizens “get mistaken as illegal” based on race, nationality, ethnicity, and appearance.

“Even when someone is being detained, they should still be treated like a human being and they should not be unnecessarily harmed or killed,” Galvan said.

On the topic of school lunches, student Amelia Robinson offered some thoughts in her letter.

“Many students eat cafeteria food often, or even daily, but some schools serve prepacked, processed food full of preservatives. Although an occasional junk food meal is ok, daily consumption could be unhealthy for students,” Robinson said. “Schools especially should provide safe and healthy snack and lunch options for their students because not all kids have access to healthy food otherwise.”

The Times will feature a few student letters in their entirety throughout the rest of October, with the letters running in the Oct. 14, 21 and 28 issues.