Teens Get Trashy With New Digital And Media Program

These local high school students are taking on trash problems in Park Slope.

As part of a program sponsored by the LAMP (Learning About Multimedia Project), which promotes digital literacy and media criticism, ninth and 10th graders at John Jay Secondary School for Law (237 7th Avenue) will think up and create video public service announcements about recycling this spring.

Alan Berry, education director at The LAMP, said this topic was particularly timely given the neighborhood hubbub about the trash outside of John Jay. The school is part of an educational complex where the student body is made up of mostly commuters from neighborhoods like Brownsville and Canarsie, and it has been targeted as a zero-waste school by Mayor de Blasio.

“This school being particularly singled out as a zero-waste, which I think has to do with the people in that community complaining. So instead of the students being a target, you’re letting them talk,” said Berry.

The LAMP was founded in 2007 with the help of then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. The LAMP’s PSA program, which is mostly funded through Councilmember Brad Lander’s office, has been a way for the students to engage critically in topics like gun violence, teen pregnancy, and this year, recycling.

This program, which is influenced by thinkers like Marshall McLuhan and George Lakoff, bolsters the ability of students to harness digital media to critically consume, create, and respond to messages, regardless of medium, according to Berry.

“Our end goal is to get students to challenge perspective,” he told us.

Students will select their projects on April 21, and their final projects will be presented in June.