500 high school students learn a better way to
disagree
Staten Island Advance - Saturday, May 20, 2006
Fifteen-year-old Yeison Lopez admitted he had
negative preconceived notions about his peers.
"And when people bring it up, I feel bad about it.
If it weren't for being here today, I would have never noticed it
and tried to change that," the Petrides student said.
 More
than 500 high school students took part in yesterday's Region 7
Office of Youth Development Third Annual School Leadership and
Conflict Resolution Conference at the College of Staten Island,
Willowbrook. The theme was " Leaders of Tomorrow, Today."
They shared experiences as well as workshops and
seminars headed by their peers.
The conference also featured a student-produced
video competition.
Port Richmond High School received a digital camera
for its leadership grant video project. A Brooklyn school took home
the grand prize, and all students received certificates.
"We are committed to having our students solve
conflicts peacefully and creatively," said Jodi Siegal, Region 7
school leadership team coordinator and regional youth leadership
liaison.
Juan Thomas Payero, 17, of Tottenville High School,
said the event helped him to become a better leader.
"Being here today taught me that with more
communication between the students and administration, we can
actually resolve and make better compromises with situations at
hand," he said.
Said Yaa Obeng, 17, of New Dorp High School: "It's
very rare that a group of students get to sit down and talk about
issues that we necessarily wouldn't be comfortable talking about on
an everyday basis -- like racism. We are part of a larger world and
our actions play a large role in the future."
Jessica McWilliams, 16, of New Dorp, echoed those
sentiments: "It was a really good experience because it was not
adults preaching from the pulpit. We got more realistic situations
that we would find ourselves in."
Freshman Kristina Sanzone, 15, of the College of
Staten Island School for International Studies, took away lessons
about stereotyping.
 "It
is a big problem in the world today, especially in high schools. And
since I was here today, I can make a change, because it only takes
one person to change something."
By Sametta M. Thompson
Reprinted here with permission
from the
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