“Honestly, the moment I got inside Alcatraz, I got goosebumps,” said Skyler Kim, a seventh-grader on the Majestics team. “I could feel the history, both good and bad.”
Alcatraz, a former maximum security federal penitentiary, is a tourist attraction, but that may soon change. President Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the US, posted on Truth Social on May 4 that he has directed the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, the FBI and Homeland Security to reopen Alcatraz.
Mrs. Natalie DeBaldo, a seventh-grade math teacher on the Champions team, agrees with Skyler’s sentiment.
“It’s eerie because it’s closed,” said Mrs. DeBaldo. “If you’ve ever been to the Holocaust museum in DC it gives you that feeling.”
President Trump said while talking to the press that Alcatraz has a lengthy past.
“It’s got quite a history, frankly,” said President Trump.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, Alcatraz held less than 1% of the federal prison population, with the average population being 260-275 inmates. Each of the cells would, at max, contain one inmate. This facility was far more comfortable than other prisons at the time, so much so that many wanted to transfer to Alcatraz.
Skyler was shocked when she heard this, mentioning that she couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to come to Alcatraz.
“I can’t even think about being there,” said Skyler, “but wanting to be there? They must have been desperate.”
President Trump vocalized a similar thought in a press conference, saying that it was a myriad of characteristics.
“[It’s] something both horrible and beautiful,” said President Trump, “and strong and miserable.”
In the same press conference, President Trump was asked about his plan to reopen Alcatraz. He responded by saying that Alcatraz represents something very powerful and is a representation of justice.
“Alcatraz represents something very strong, very powerful in the terms of law and order,” said President Trump. “Alcatraz is the ultimate.”
Mrs. DeBaldo agrees, saying that she prefers to keep law and order in her classroom.
“Law and order might seem like being mean and some people think that,” said Mrs. DeBaldo, “but if we don’t have it then it will be chaos.”
Vivi Karki, 13, a seventh-grader on the Champions team, mentioned that opening Alcatraz would be expensive.
“Opening it would mean that we would lose funding for other things,” said Vivi. “It means that we might be funding something that isn’t sustainable.”
According to the Bureau of Prisons, three to five million dollars would be needed for restoration and President Trump did mention that he also plans to enlarge Alcatraz. This would most likely lead to a few more million dollars being spent.
Mrs. DeBaldo said that we’ve been funding other countries for years and giving them large sums of money.
“I would feel much better about my money going to Alcatraz instead of other foreign countries,” said Mrs. DeBaldo.
Siena Tan, 12, a seventh-grader on the Trailblazers team, observed that multiple people had different opinions on the plans that are being made for Alcatraz.
“We all have the ability to have our own opinions,” said Siena, “but I hope this doesn’t separate friends, family, or even classmates.”
