In times of crisis and frustration, Westridge has historically rallied together to provide a space to mourn and take action. Most recently, when Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, students, faculty, and administration came prepared with numerous ways to address the sensitive subject matter and to grieve collectively. Students participated in conversations in their respective classrooms, administrators organized a viewing area to watch Kamala Harris’ concession speech, and some teachers even preemptively scheduled work days weeks in advance in preparation for an unfavorable outcome.
We know the Westridge community is capable of a thoughtful and thorough response when met with hardships or loss, but it failed to do so this month with the Eaton Fire.
Westridge emphasizes “us[ing] education and talents for the betterment of their community.” But truthfully, some students’ focus remained on college admissions, semester grades, social activities, and other priorities outside the Eaton Fire’s aftermath. In order for Westridge students to uphold the values of being a “compassionate leader,” administration must lead by example and hold the Westridge student body to a higher standard of altruism. While that doesn’t mean de-emphasizing academics completely, school leadership should push us to broaden our scope of care and concern for our broader community—not just ourselves.
When Westridge students returned to school on January 14, they first attended 45 minutes of advisory before heading to one-hour classes filled with anything from Lego-building and Mario Kart to lectures and essay prompts. Rather than filling class time with scattered activities, students and adults could have been meaningfully contributing to local service efforts—whether through organizations like Altadena Girls or independent volunteer work.
Within days of the emergency, peer institutions like Mayfield Senior School, Polytechnic School, and Flintridge Preparatory School all hosted distribution drive events open to the wider Pasadena community, even garnering attention from important community figures like Congresswoman Judy Chu.
The only drive Westridge hosted for the greater Los Angeles area was launched by a Westridge parent and local organization, Partnership for Success, and it was not directly initiated by Westridge administration. Although Westridge recently announced a local drive on February 8, the school’s immediate and current response—centered on uniform and gift card drives as well as a community relief fund—is well-intentioned but sadly insular. These efforts benefit members of the Westridge community, but they fail to extend the support necessary for the rest of our Pasadena and Altadena neighbors.
As a well-resourced independent school whose campus remained untouched by the fires, Westridge has both the means and the responsibility to widen its scope of support, especially in times of crisis. Our privilege as an institution should translate into tangible action that uplifts the wider community, not just those within our immediate school network. Volunteering as a school at Altadena Girls, an organization founded by a fellow Los Angeles teen that provides free clothing, sanitary products, and cosmetics to help victims regain a sense of normalcy feels particularly mission-aligned and relevant to our student body, tying back to the idea of Westridge being a “forward-thinking girls’ school.”
We know that Westridge is capable of doing better because we have done better—even just a few months ago. In the immediate—albeit preparable—aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, the Westridge administration recognized the emotional weight of the moment. While the election undoubtedly impacts our Westridge community, many of our freedoms will remain protected on a state-level.
In comparison, the Eaton and Pacific Palisades Fires were in our backyard—our own neighborhood. Each of us knows at least one family, friend, or colleague who has faced immeasurable loss in the past few weeks. We call upon our Westridge community to extend, at the very least, the same–if not greater—care, generosity, and empathy to the victims of the tragedy that has devastated our city. It comes down to both priority and principle.
Westridge’s response to adversity in the past testifies to our ability to create space for students to process and reflect in moments of collective grief. We need that same leadership and response now. Westridge has done better in the past, and we can do better moving forward. There is still time to mourn and stand together as a community.