BIRMINGHAM PROGRAM NAMED FOR SLAIN PEARL.Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer LAKE BALBOA Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). -- Danny Pearl never wrote for his high school newspaper. When the reporter -- murdered by terrorists while on assignment for The Wall Street Journal in Pakistan in 2002 -- roamed the halls of Birmingham High School Birmingham High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of District One of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). , there was no paper. Back in 1981, an English class was the closest thing the violin-playing teen could find to journalism. It was enough to get him hooked. His alma mater ma·ter n. Chiefly British Mother. [Latin m  ter; see m has changed dramatically over the years, adding a
paper, a film studio and television production facility. On Wednesday,
it took things one step further and renamed its entire magnet program
the Daniel Pearl Journalism and Communications Magnet The Daniel Pearl Journalism and Communications Magnet is a magnet school within Birmingham High School in Los Angeles, California.The magnet is named after alumnus Daniel Pearl 81', a slain Wall Street Journal reporter. in his honor. "Danny's name is not on a building as a gravestone," said his mother, Ruth Pearl. "It's a cornerstone, a marker for where new journalists can grow." Birmingham's magnet program dates back 14 years and boasts an enrollment of 500 students in writing, editing, film and animation classes. In addition to the name he lends to the course work, Pearl's legacy also serves as inspiration to the students. "He was tolerant and courageous," said Emmanuel Ponce, 18, of Panorama City, a senior who works on the school's television station. "He never gave up, never went back. He stood for bravery Bravery See also Heroism. Achilles foremost Greek hero of Trojan War; brave and formidable warrior. [Gk. Hist.: NCE, 12] Adrastus courageous Indian prince; Rinaldo’s enemy. [Ital. Lit. and I think that as students, we could all learn from that." At the Wednesday morning ceremony, family and admirers remembered Pearl as a sensitive, empathetic em·pa·thet·ic adj. Empathic. em  pa·thet i·cal·ly adv. chronicler of the ignored, forgotten
and marginalized. He could, they recalled, make the most boring story
pop with enthusiasm or coax Same as coaxial cable. coax - coaxial cable a quote from the most reticent source. The son of an Israeli and an Iraqi Jew, Pearl traveled extensively in the Middle East, drawing on his background to spin tales of Iranian carpet makers, the Queen of Sheba Queen of Sheba sultry Biblical queen who visits Solomon. [O.T.: I Kings 10] See : Beauty, Sensual , and ultimately, terrorism. As he investigated alleged links between al-Qaida and the Pakistani government, kidnappers calling themselves the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty grabbed him. A week later, Feb. 1, 2002, they murdered him in an anti-Semitic propaganda video circulated on the Internet. The school program, outgoing magnet coordinator David Jay said, will ensure that students remember Pearl more for his work than for his murder. "It gives them a role model," he said. "He had ideals and he remained true to them. He had courage in all that he did." brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3738 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: David Jay and Lindsey Surendranath unveil the sign on the side of a classroom during the dedication ceremony for the Daniel Pearl Journalism and Communications Magnet. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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