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Photograph by Zachary Beecher
If Saratoga High School students Kaveh Hemati (left) and Sivakami Sambasivam have their way, the Memorial Arch in Blaney Plaza will include a memorial plaque dedicated to the veterans of World War II from Saratoga.
School's out, but students still hard at work
Incoming seniors hope to get plaque placed for World War II vets
By Jennifer McBride
Some Advanced Placement students might think the lessons end with the final exam.
Not in Matt Torrens' AP U.S. History class.
After the last few bubbles are filled in on the Scantrons, Torrens ushers his AP students into one of his favorite units in the class--Saratoga history.
"I've been teaching this class for five years now. Since meeting local historians like Willys Peck and his son Bill Peck, who teaches here, I've gained a real interest in local history," Torrens says.
Since there's a gap between the date of the final AP exams and the last day of school, Torrens fills that space with a mini-local history unit. Together, the class reads literature on the history of the city, such as Florence Cunningham's book, Saratoga's First Hundred Years; Willys Peck's pamphlet, "Why Is It Called Saratoga?" and various websites. The students are required to serve one hour of community service at the Saratoga History Museum, and complete a class project on something related to the city and its past.
Some students, like future seniors Sivakami Sambasivam and Kaveh Hemati, are taking that assignment a bit further than others--and the projects they're completing may just change the face of Saratoga.
From time to time, since beginning his local history unit, Torrens has sought out veterans who live in Saratoga to speak about their war experiences. This past school year, Torrens says he noticed Sivakami and Kaveh seemed to take particular interest in the veterans' stories.
When it came time to choose a subject for their Saratoga history project, Torrens suggested the two students might want to pair up and take on a project a group of former students had started. The project involved seeking out additional veterans to come and speak to the class, and creating a local memorial to Saratoga veterans of World War II. The teens jumped at the chance.
Currently, in the Memorial Arch in Blaney Plaza, there is a memorial dedicated to Saratoga veterans of World War I, but not for World War II.
"There were so many people that went to World War II, and we were so successful in that war, so I thought we should honor those veterans, too," says Kaveh.
So, the two students came up with an idea--having a memorial plaque added to the arch. They started out by contacting April Halberstadt, director of the Saratoga History Museum, and Councilwoman Kathleen King.
"We met with them at the arch with Mr. Torrens," says Sivakami. "We presented them with two ideas. One was to have a plate embedded in the Memorial Arch. So since the arch has a semicircular base, the back of the plaque would be semicircular as well, so it would fit in the arch. You would be able to see the plaque through the arch. It would be a plaque with the names of all the veterans from Saratoga."
Sivakami says King suggested they also draft a second proposal, of a way to create a separate memorial without altering the Memorial Arch, which she thought some residents would oppose.
"So, we had another idea as well," Sivakami explains. "The lower part of the plaza is currently being remodeled, so we're going to make another proposal where the plaque would be on the outside of the boundary that separates the lower part of the plaza from the sidewalk."
The last day of school came and went, but Torrens says his two students are still hard at work on the project.
"I graded them on this project several weeks ago now, so what they're doing at this point is of no academic consequence," he says. "This was totally motivated by their desire to give back to the community."
Sivakami and Kaveh say their next step is to speak with Morgan Kessler, who is in charge of the renovations to the lower part of Blaney Plaza, and discuss the feasibility of their two proposals. Once they have the feasibility and cost estimates, they will come before the city council to make the official proposal.
Torrens says his students' newfound civic-mindedness is leading to much more than just a possible new veteran memorial. Through his connections with King, Kaveh is reportedly also at work drafting a proposal regarding a stop sign near his Saratoga home that he says drivers keep running. Torrens says Kaveh will appear before the council to discuss his feelings about that soon, as well.
In the meantime, Torrens says he plans to continue the mini local history unit with his classes.
"A lot of the students [at Saratoga High] come from immigrant families and don't have a connection to the heritage, traditions and history of the community," he says, "so this is one way for them to gain that."
Kaveh Hemati and Sivakami Sambasivam are still searching for additional World War II veterans from Saratoga to include in their project. Email saratoga.memorial@gmail.com.
