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Teen activists take message of hope back to communities

By Hope Green

One teenager dreams of taking poor Appalachian children to a science museum. Another hopes to end hunger in his town. Still another wants to build trust among diverse ethnic groups at her high school.

	High school students (left to right) Nickole Evans of Kennewick, Wash., Antonio Velarde of Greensboro, N.C., and Starcricia Scott of Birmingham, Ala., take a break between panels and workshops at the Tomorrow's Leaders conference. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

These were just a few of 40 young community organizers from around the country who recently gathered at BU for Tomorrow's Leaders: From Indifference to Action, a conference sponsored by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. For five days, the young adults traded stories and strategies and sought guidance from inspirational role models, including Wiesel.

"What does one do when one sees indifference?" he asked his audience at the opening ceremonies. "We fight it through education. We diminish it through compassion. So we brought you here, my young friends, not so much to talk to you, really, as to listen to you. . . . Your search for improving the human condition is important to us. Your quest for meaning is our quest."

Joining the participants for a portion of the conference proceedings were 115 students from the Boston University Academy, many of whom, like the visitors to Boston, volunteer with community agencies and social action groups. "The conference was a fantastic experience for them," says BUA Headmaster James Tracy. "At the end of the day they kept coming back to my door with very different and thoughtful responses to it. One girl said she was moved to tears."

Wiesel later signed copies of his Holocaust memoir, Night, for BUA students who are reading the book as a class assignment.

Exploring social ills

Wiesel, a UNI professor and BU's Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity with his wife, Marion, shortly after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The foundation sponsors a variety of public forums on ethical and moral issues. A previous Tomorrow's Leaders conference was held five years ago in Venice, bringing together 30 teenagers from different nations at war.

At the BU event, December 2 through 6, participants explored issues of violence, poverty, racism, drug abuse, family instability, and social alienation. First Lady and Senator-elect Hillary Clinton, who met with the students via teleconference at the SMG auditorium, and Richard Holbrooke, permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, were among the distinguished guests.

Shared passion for betterment

In panels and workshops, the young activists explored ways to overcome apathy in their hometowns and make the media their ally in causes such as anti-drunk driving campaigns, book drives for needy children, and educational programs for migrant workers.

Participants said they found it rejuvenating to meet other young people who share their passion for bettering the world, a quest that can be lonely at times. Jessica Gipson, a junior at Upper St. Clair High School in Pennsylvania, knows that isolation well. As copresident of a three-year-old organization called the Pediatric AIDS Awareness Committee, she raises money to send HIV-positive children and teenagers to a summer camp.

"I live in a fairly conservative community," she said. "People at my school are refusing to join the committee for fear of other people considering them to be homosexual. They don't realize that AIDS is actually most prevalent among people who aren't gay. Even the media in my hometown don't recognize the importance of what we're trying to do."

Bonding for activism

Before the more structured events began, the 40 visiting students spent a weekend together getting acquainted. "There's this incredible bond all of us have had," Gipson said later. "We've known each other for, what, four days? And we're all best friends. And they've had the most amazing people talk to us. It makes me feel that even with the opposition I've encountered, I can go home and still have the strength to do what needs to be done."

Julia Pollack, a BUA sophomore and member of a social action committee run by the National Federation of Temple Youth, also found the conference invigorating. She was especially moved by a speech by William Johnston, retired deputy superintendent of the Boston Police Department, who recounted some of the hate crimes he investigated during his career.

"The speakers encouraged us by saying that you have to stay strong, and you have to be persistent," Pollack said. "They said if you have a small organization and the government isn't listening to you, try to form alliances with a bigger organization that's more well-known."

Jonathan Aderson, a high school junior who serves as a mentor and athletic coach to younger students in Pittsburgh, Pa., said he was heartened to meet other civic-minded teenagers. "I was curious to see how everyone else goes about volunteering in their communities, and how we can improve the image of young adults and children, because right now we're not being taken seriously," he says. "All we hear are the bad things teenagers are doing. We're trying to emphasize the positive things."

15 December 2000
Boston University
Office of University Relations