On Friday, Nov. 21, Lenape High School’s Chapter of Amnesty International announced the winner of an essay contest on the importance of universal education in honor of the United Nations’ Universal Children’s Day. Christina Cover, who received the award on Lenape’s student-run live television program Lenape Live, wrote her essay on how essential it is for students to care about public education.
“Education means potential,” Cover wrote. “It means a world opening up for an individual; it means a life of expanding knowledge and exploration.”
Incorporating references to activist Malala Yousafzai, she argued “It is our job here in America, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, to promote education for all.”
Her essay will soon be made available on UNESCO’s Voices of Youth website for the entire world to see. This United Nations-run service provides a voice to children in every nation, allowing them to author articles on a range of topics from human rights to education.
Other Lenape students wrote essays as well, arguing that education was essential to raising sound citizens and that it was necessary to support education in schools across the world. On Wednesday, Nov. 19, each one of them was invited to a special meeting of Amnesty International, where two petitions were signed and a small reception was held for them to present their essays to the rest of the club.
This contest kicks off a year of events with the theme of “Youth Across the World.” “We aim to raise awareness of numerous issues affecting youth in our community, nation, and world, such as access to education, through activities occurring every month,” said Jacob Demree, president of the club.
“Our club has been in the process of organizing and brainstorming activities, such as the Human Rights Symposium, which will bring greater attention to problems affecting youth,” added Caleb Demree, vice president of the club.
Jocelyn Klein, a Spanish teacher at Lenape High School, is the advisor for Amnesty International. She has brought a wealth of new ideas to the club’s attention, and provides great experience and knowledge to different activities, such as the recent essay contest.
In the month to come, Lenape’s chapter of Amnesty International will be holding a holiday party where students can participate in the organization’s “Write for Rights” initiative. Everyone will have the chance to write letters to individuals whose rights have been trampled upon across the world. For more information about this event, visit www.amnestyusa.org/write4rights.
