The 300-plus area high school students who attended the Human Rights Awareness Day Conference on Adelphi鈥檚 Garden City campus left with useful information about the various forms of discrimination, sexual harassment, mental health and immigration.
The 300-plus area high school seniors and juniors who attended the Human Rights Awareness Day (HRAD) Conference for the 12th year on 鈥檚 Garden City campus on February 1 gained fresh perspectives about how discrimination and sexual harassment pertain to all people, including recent immigrants, LGBTQ individuals and people with mental health issues.
That was, at least, the intention of interim dean Anne Mungai. 鈥淚 hope that all the students will learn to respect all people and how to negotiate issues that arise about diversity,鈥� she said before the event. 鈥淭his conference should help change attitudes toward others.鈥�
天美传媒鈥檚 Ammon School and the Nassau County Human Rights Commission collaborate on the annual daylong conference, which this year carried the theme 鈥淵our Rights Are My Responsibility.鈥� Sessions were designed to promote human rights, respect and sensitivity for people of all races, religions, cultures, ages and genders.
Students from more than 20 Nassau County school districts were welcomed by Dr. Mungai and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. They were then invited to participate in a variety of workshops, including: Addressing Racism, presented by the Ammon School鈥檚 Patrice Armstrong-Leach, assistant dean, also a member of the Adelphi Diversity Program; Interacting with the Police presented by Nassau County police officer Joseph Monez; Students United for Safe Schools, presented by Kara Santucci from the Child Abuse Prevention Services; and Targeted Teens: Discrimination and Diversity in our School, presented by Students of Mepham High School鈥檚 School and Community Leadership.
Other sessions were: Immigrant Youth on Long Island: Do They Have Rights? presented by ADA Silvia Pastor Finkelstein, the director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs; Addressing the Mental Health Gap in the LBBTQ+ Community, presented by Peer Navigators; LGBT+ Around the World, presented by the students of the Wheatley High School鈥檚 Gender-Identity Sexual-Orientation Acceptance Club; and The Power of Symbols Deconstructing Hate, presented by Helen Turner from The Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County.
The event concluded with a performance of 鈥淣ow You Hear Me,鈥� an original dramatic piece created with six theatre majors including Carson Ferguson, Rachel Hernstat, Crystal Hernandez, Billy Meurer, Brianna Carella and senior Isuri Wijesundara, who co-directed with Margaret Lally 鈥�82, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� Department of Theatre.
The performance, a multimedia presentation created by the ensemble addressing issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault, featured performers who wrote monologues based on their personal experiences.
鈥淭he message is, 鈥榃e’re listening and we believe you,鈥�” explained Lally, who creates a new piece for HRAD each year on a social justice issue that resonates with her theater students. 鈥淲e hope students left with a clearer understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment and assault and will seek out help.鈥�
For further information, please contact:
Todd Wilson
Strategic Communications Director听
p 鈥� 516.237.8634
e 鈥� twilson@adelphi.edu