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With so much negativity and misunderstanding in the world, it can be difficult to believe that change can happen. However, one group not only believes it can effect change, but is also ready to take action鈥攖oday鈥檚 youth.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to bring high school students to campus around critical issues and they can then associate Adelphi with taking these issues seriously,鈥� said Jane Ashdown, Ph.D., dean of the .More than 300 high school students and educators came to the at on February 6 for the 28th annual Human Rights Awareness Conference presented by the .

Students from the Family and Career Community Leaders of America performed a skit addressing cyberbullying, a major problem among high school students. By simulating a TV newscast, students discussed several cyberbullying suicides, .

鈥淧art of our mandate is to bring people together and teach them,鈥� said Daniel Russell, executive director of the Nassau County Commission on Human Rights. 鈥淲e want to give [students] a better understanding of the human rights movement and give them a scope into what could go wrong.鈥�

Held at Adelphi for the fifth consecutive year, Human Rights Awareness Day allowed students to meet their peers and address acts of intolerance in their communities. Students could attend three workshops of their choice, focusing on topics such as racial and gender stereotyping, human trafficking and religious intolerance. In one workshop, 鈥淭he Global Day of Listening,鈥� presented by the Student Civic Association of , students talked via Skype with Afghan Peace Volunteers about issues of human rights and war. Because the workshop was so successful, plans to incorporate it into its Changing Nature of War and Peace initiative.

鈥淭he kids really love it and we use it as a moment to reflect,鈥� said Natalia McMillan, English teacher and Gay Straight Alliance adviser at in Old Westbury, New York. 鈥淭he kids get a lot out of it and we bring ideas back to our club.鈥�

Tonille Watkis and Blake Wales and alumna Caitlin Belforti 鈥�13 performed at the conference. The presentations poignantly highlighted topics ranging from racism to respect for the disabled.

Human rights advocates at the conference hope students understand that to create a better world, students must take an active role in eliminating stereotypes and promoting acceptance among their peers.

鈥淲e are here to provide the framework for how they can take action in their communities,鈥� said Yana Kusayeva 鈥�08, president and executive director of Dialogue Beyond Borders, a human rights group based in Garden City, New York. 鈥淲e give them the tools to plan actions and get them to see solutions and be change makers.鈥�