On March 16, nine students from New Rochelle High School participated in the annual Human Rights Institute for High School Student Leaders, a regional conference sponsored by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC). Sophomores from more than 30 area high schools attended this year’s event, which, while held in recent years at Iona College, took place virtually this year due to COVID-19.
“They considered critical issues in the world today, heard from extraordinary speakers, met other exceptional NRHS students, and explored how they can make positive changes on issues that they care about in their lives,” said Social Studies teacher and Human Rights Club advisor Eric Katz.
The sophomores who participated from New Rochelle High School were Raechel Chang, Melvina Cann, Nathaniel Davis, Alejandro Diaz, Ariel Esposito, Jasmine Marentes, Ronny Perez, Eileen Weisner, and Veronica Yu. The students were selected by their Social Studies teachers for their outstanding work, leadership potential, and interest in human rights. They also participated in student-led workshops and discussions focused on becoming more engaged global citizens.
"It was an enlightening experience. We definitely learned a lot from inspirational figures and about important events and struggles in the world today," said Davis, a sophomore.
The day began with a keynote address by U.S. Olympian Peter Westbrook. As an African-American fencer, he has shattered racial barriers and through his NYC-based Peter Westbrook Foundation, introduced many young people in underserved communities to the sport of fencing. Students later heard from Judith Altmann, a native of Czechoslovakia who was arrested in 1944 and transported to Auschwitz by the Nazis. Altmann described her experience as a young Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust.
"Ms. Altmann went through so much, yet instead of putting her memories away, she shared them with us in order to raise awareness and prevent anyone else from going through the hate and discrimination she faced. I hope to take advantage of what I experienced during the conference to strengthen my community and do my part to improve the world,” said Weisner, a sophomore.
Students later had the opportunity to select from presentations on a wide variety of human rights issues, including Education in Developing Countries, Water Scarcity, the #MeToo Movement, Homelessness, Pipelines & Indigenous Rights, Women in Tigray, Ethiopia, Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, LGBTQ Issues, and Global Mental Health Issues.
One objective of the Human Rights Institute is to develop student leaders who will develop an interest and the motivation to take what they’ve learned to make positive change in the world. The HHREC promotes the concept of an Upstander Week in the spring in which each school does a project, however large or small, that springboards from Wednesday’s conference. (Last year’s New Rochelle High School attendees organized and facilitated a successful Forum on Racism and White Supremacy that was attended by more than 70 of their peers.) The conference wrapped up with the nine students discussing ideas for building upon the day’s work and how to meet the challenges that we all face.