oints of view

EDITORIAL BOARD:
Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz
Chief Operating Officer: F. Kevin Browett
Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar

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Guest Column

Editorial

Call Me Impatient

The time is here for our Jewish community's
emerging young leadership to reach high.

W

e should not sit and
wait — America's
"next" generation of
Jewish leaders. We should be, and
need to be, Jewish leaders today.
Our future, our world and our city
are at stake. We need to be part of
the conversation. And
sometimes, we need to
lead the conversation.
ACCESS, the
American Jewish
Committee's new gen-
eration program, is led
by those in their 20s
and 30s with the goal
of empowering global
Jewish advocates to
effectively and thought-
fully interface within
the Jewish community
and with ethnic and
religious leaders, young
opinion makers and diplomats
about issues of importance to
Jews around the world. We are
not training to be leaders tomor-
row. We are not sitting at the kids'
table waiting for our turn. We are
informed and involved, advocating
for our Jewish future today.
The reality is our generation
will not tolerate being told what
we are supposed to believe or what
we need to do. Our strength is not
waiting in line. We will be engaged
on our terms — or we will not be
engaged. While this may present
frustrations, it also presents great
opportunities, as I have discovered
over my past three years with
ACCESS.

Corning To Terms
Before ACCESS, when I heard
arguments that made me
uncomfortable — Israel was
an apartheid state, Israel had a
tragic human rights records — I
was trapped. Was I betraying
my Jewish identity if I didn't
defend Israel? Was I betraying my
beliefs in human rights and self-
determination if I didn't criticize
Israel? Could I be thoughtful and
articulate on issues that are both
incredibly important and incred-
ibly complex? Often, I just sat
silent, afraid to speak up.
I quickly realized I was not

52

December 15 2011

alone in this struggle. Many of

my peers — even those highly
educated in Jewish history — did
not feel that they knew enough
about the current issues facing
the Jewish people to thoughtfully
engage. So they, too, stayed silent.
But we feared that if we
stayed silent, what does
that mean for the future
of our community?
We need to become
better informed on
the issues that we care
about, and we need the
opportunity to find
our own voices. That
is what ACCESS has
done for me. Before
ACCESS, I could not
have imagined traveling
to Geneva, Switzerland,
in 2008 as a delegate to
the Durban Review Conference.
I would not have thought myself
capable of moderating a panel
about coalitions and coop-
eration at the first ACCESS 20/20
Weekend. I would never have
thought that I would have tea with
the counsel general from Japan
and espresso with the counsel
general of Italy in the same day.

Becoming Attuned
ACCESS helped me become
informed, helped me find my
voice. It has given me access to
journalists, intellectuals, diplo-
mats and leaders (as it has for
other leaders here in Detroit and
around the world). Knowing the
talent, the intellect and the drive
that exists within this community,
I hope more of you will join us.
Whether your involvement
means attending our monthly
book club where we have created
a safe forum for our members
to debate issues as an exercise
in becoming effective advocates,
joining us in Washington, D.C., for

We need to become
better informed
on the issues that
we care about,
and we need the
opportunity to find
our own voices.

our annual 20/20 conference or
traveling on one of our interna-
tional trips such as our upcoming
trips to Germany, Israel and our
first-ever trip to Austria next sum-
mer, there are many opportunities
for you to join with other ACCESS
supporters from around the world
to find your voice, discover what
you believe and learn what impact
you can have.
To the next generation of lead-
ers, now is the time to become
informed, become engaged and
have an impact. It is time to have
courageous conversations. It is
time to ask hard questions about
what we believe and what we can
do to help the Jewish people. It is
time to push our boundaries. It
is time to get involved. There is
so much good work being done
within our generation, but there
also are so many of us with tal-
ent and energy still sitting on the
sidelines.
It is time to get impatient. We
should not wait until tomorrow to
get involved. We need to become
leaders today. Fl

Alicia Blumenfeld Chandler of

Birmingham is co-chair of the ACCESS

Global Steering Committee and co-

founder of Bloomfield Township-based

AJC ACCESS Detroit.

For more information about ACCESS, go to www.ajc-access.org .
Become a friend at www.facebook.com/ajcaccessdetroit .
Slingshot '11-12 named ACCESS one of the 50 most-innovative
North American Jewish nonprofits, stating: "With ACCESS, [the
American Jewish Committee] has cracked the magic formula to
make young leadership work..."

Anti-Bullying Law
Is Only A Start

B

etter late than never.
On Dec. 6, Michigan
Gov. Rick Snyder
signed long-awaited,
anti-bullying legislation.
Michigan had been one of
only three states without
an anti-bullying law. The new
law, however, is only a start to
the bullying problem.
Thankfully, the law does not contain the highly criti-
cized language of an earlier Senate version, led by
Republicans, which made an exception for bullies who
have "sincerely held religious belief or moral convic-
tion." That exception, which many said gave a license
to bully, drew negative national attention to the state.
House Republicans demonstrated better sense, pass
ing House Bill 4163 on Nov.10 on an 88-18 vote. The
bill passed the Senate Nov. 29 on a vote of 35-2.
The legislation gives state schools six months to
implement strict anti-bullying policies and develop
procedures for notifying parents. It requires schools to
outline clear punishment for bullying behavior.
It was named after Matt Epling of East Lansing, a ga
teen who killed himself in 2002 after being harassed
relentlessly. He was one of many young Michiganians
who committed suicide after suffering bullying. Matt's
father, Kevin, said he is "confident Michigan is mov-
ing in the right direction." But, he added, the new law
doesn't go far enough: "It needs to address cyber bully
ing and bullying from adults, too."
Katy Butler and Carson Borbely, two bullied Michiga
students who started a petition for strong anti-bullyin g
legislation that garnered 50,000 signatures, told
Livonia-based PrideSource/Between The Lines they
were disappointed that lawmakers failed to pass a
stronger bill. Not only does the new law not address
cyber bullying, it has no requirements for reporting bul
lying incidents to the state and does not contain a list
of protected groups, such as gays or religious minori-
ties. Republicans had argued including such language
would exclude some groups. Butler and Borbely say
those provisions are necessary to protect students
from bullies.
According to Emily Dievendorf, policy director for
Equality Michigan, a Detroit-based advocacy organiza-
tion for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people,
the new law "will do little to stem the tide of bullying
because it doesn't enumerate commonly targeted char-
acteristics."
Bullying in schools is a growing problem. According
to the U.S. Department of Education, 28 percent of stu-
dents surveyed reported they were victims of bullies.
Recent figures from the National Center for Education
Statistics find that 25 percent of high school students
reported they had been bullied at least once during the
2008-09 school year; 7 percent of those students were
the targets of online harassment.
While passage of an anti-bullying law – any anti-bul-
lying law – does bring Michigan in line with the rest of
the country, it is only the first step to protecting kids
from bullying. Proponents of stamping out this scourge
cannot rest on their laurels. More must be done. Li