Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Friday April 20, 2007

Bay Area teens’ Judaism compels them to act on Darfur

by stacey palevsky
staff writer

Sir Francis Drake High School juniors Maggie Polachek and Rebecca Kannett were sure their peers would vote unanimously in favor of starting a Save Darfur club.

Until they didn’t.

The 17-year-olds were incredulous. How could anyone not support a club seeking to end genocide in Sudan? “To me, it’s like, why would anyone even think twice about it?” Kannett said.

Turns out, the kind of people who think twice are those who mistakenly hear “Save fake fur” during a student council meeting, or who have never even heard of Darfur.

“I asked the students to raise their hands if they knew about the issue, and only one person did,” Kannett recalled.

So she gave a brief presentation about the violence in Darfur. They had another vote. The students unanimously approved the club.

Since their first official meeting in December, which drew about 60 students, the club has raised nearly $3,000 through fundraisers, donations and T-shirt sales.

But it’s not just about the money. The two Marin teens, who both attend the San Anselmo high school and Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael, want to transform the culture of their school to one that thinks beyond its walls and to the other side of the globe.

“I know I can’t do everything, but what I can do is incredible,” Polachek said. “So many teens have that power and don’t use it.”

“A lot of teenagers just haven’t come to the realization that they can do something,” Kannett added.

The smiley brunettes with a fondness for Starbucks frappuccinos are old friends from their middle school days. They both attend Midrasha in Marin, spent summers at Camp Tawonga and are active members of National Federation of Temple Youth, where they first learned about Darfur.

“I owe Judaism for my social action,” Polachek said. “I love how Jews are commanded to repair the world. What an amazing value.”

As they talked about their club, and the surprising amount of student and community support they have received, they smiled so much you would think they had just won the lottery. (Which, if they did, they would probably give to Darfur.)

In March, they asked San Francisco-based war photographer Mark Brecke to talk about his work in Darfur. They lobbied the school administration to make the assembly mandatory. Though that request is rarely granted, administrators and staff said yes. The entire student body attended the assembly, as did the girls’ rabbi, Michael Lezak, who said he, too, has been inspired by their energy and effort.

“They bring a healthy measure of idealism that has not been shut down by life’s experience — that is a gift to all of us, I believe,” Lezak said.

He’s not the only one. When Jennifer Carlson, their English teacher, heard about the club, she asked if she could attend the meeting — as a member. She ended up serving as one of two faculty advisers.

“So often kids get sad, throw arms up, feel guilty,” she said. “But these kids are saying, ‘We’re not okay with what’s happening and we’re going to do something about it.’ And because of the way they’ve conducted themselves, people take them very seriously.”

They take themselves seriously, too. Their next goal is to make all Drake High apparel printed on sweatshop-free fabrics.

But they’re not quite done with Darfur. The girls eventually hope to have a benefit concert and dance. In the meantime, on April 30, the public is invited to their school to hear from Valentino Achak Deng. The Sudanese refugee, now living in the United States, is the subject of S.F.-based author Dave Eggers’ recent book “What is the What.”

They’d also like to start a project called “Drake High Reads” that engages students and their families in a book club of sorts starting, of course, with Eggers’ “What is the What.”

Eventually, they’d like the Save Darfur Club to evolve into a humanitarian action club, perhaps focusing on one international or domestic injustice each month.

“There needs to be social consciousness on every campus, at every school, so students are active citizens when they graduate,” Polachek said.

“There’s such a big world around us,” Kannett added. “Eventually, you’ll venture out of your own community, and you need to open your eyes to what’s going on.”

Back to main story

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.