Bre tt Mou n ta in
Hopeful For Future
Teen Forum panelist reflects on
experience of sharing cultures.
Brandon Grodman
Walled Lake Central student Maggie Schwanitz, 17, of West Bloomfield asks a question.
break g Stereotypes
Teen Forum panelist pushes students to
leave their comfort zones.
Athraa Hannawa
STEREOTYPES DO EXIST,
are flawed or different in some way.
but we have to walk through them.
The open teen forum got a lot of
The Building Community Initiative/
the students more interested because
Walled Lake Schools Teen Forum in
they participated by asking questions;
February taught me that Judaism,
they wanted to learn more about these
Catholicism and Islam all have some-
religions and how they could break the
thing in common: We all have faith
stereotypes at their own school.
in ourselves to stand up for what we
I have never noticed how the Jewish
believe in.
and Chaldean communities were so
I grew up in Baghdad, Iraq. My fam-
alike. We are all close-knit, family-ori-
ily is very old-fashioned when it comes
ented, hardworking and of good faith.
to raising me, but they did a great job.
Just because our religions do believe
They taught me how to respect myself
in different things, it doesn't mean that
and others, no matter where
we act differently toward each
they came from.
other. We embrace each other.
I have had to deal with
We need to start educating
many misconceptions about
the students of Walled Lake
my religion and all the stereo-
about giving people of differ-
types about how my parents
ent beliefs a chance instead of
own a liquor store and how I
shutting them down.
won't end up going to college
At the teen forum, we dis-
after high school. They don't
cussed why staying within
know that my parents work
Athraa H annawa our own groups is easier then
seven days a week so I can
breaking out and hanging out
have a better life and educa-
with other groups. Its impor-
tion.
tant that we try and break away
The teen forum, where I was a pan-
from our comfort zone to appreciate
elist, showed students from all three
the diversity that we are surrounded by
Walled Lake high schools that we
daily.
shouldn't judge a book by its cover or
It has taught me to interact with
a person by their religion. After listen-
people I normally wouldn't — if I
ing to all the speakers at the forum, it
hadn't gone to that forum. The more
got me thinking about how I can start
time you spend with anyone different
breaking these stereotypes at my school. from yourself, the more you see past his
Our society has become so accus-
or her religion, background or anything
tomed to stereotypes that when some-
else. BC
one uses a racial slur we barely think
twice about it. We need to not have
Athraa Hannawa, 18, of West
that mindset of accepting and allowing
Bloomfield is a student at Walled
people to ridicule others because they
Lake Western High SchooL
BEING PART OF THE BUILDING
COMMUNITY MUTATIVE/
Walled Lake Schools' Teen Forum in
February was a highlight of my school
year. It was an honor to share my ideas and
opinions and to hear those of the religious
leaders and of my fellow students.
It was a fun atmosphere, yet it
was still extremely informational.
I enjoyed how the teen forum
was set up. Each student on the
panel was introduced, along with
the different religious leaders.
Each student had a chance to
identify a couple of stereotypes
he or she has faced from students
Brandon
at school. After the students
Grodman
spoke, the religious leaders gave
a summary of their religions —
Jewish, Catholic and Muslim.
Then it was time for the question-
and-answer portion. The questions and
responses gave every student in the crowd
a chance to understand their peers better.
I also liked the presence of the religious
leaders, who offered a sense of guidance
and leadership in the room. If any kids on
the panel didn't know an answer, they were
there to back them up.
At the forum, I also found it useful
that students from all three district high
schools were there. It gave students a
view of the diversity present in each high
school. I also learned about the similari-
ties in stereotyping that other Jewish kids
endure at Walled Lake high schools.
It is human nature to judge and catego-
rize other people without getting to know
them well. This is why stereotyping and
bullying is such a large part of our society
today. Unfortunately, stereotyping also has
been taught from generation to genera-
tion through parents, peers and
neighbors.
This forum gave us, as stu-
dents, the opportunity to get to
know each other better and to
appreciate our differences.
Something I learned was
that both cultures, Jewish and
Chaldean, are truly more similar
than the eye may suggest. In both
cultures, we choose to imitate our
parents; we use what they have
taught us in order to work hard
and earn our own fortunes. Both cultures
also truly appreciate family, close and far.
Learning about each other's cultures is
big step. The only improvement I wish to
see in the forum is to take what we have
learned about each other and to expand
that to the other cultures, including
African Americans and Asians as well as
other cultures present in our district. If our
district were able to do this, I think they
would take a giant step toward putting a
stop to stereotyping and bullying. BC
Brandon Grodman, 17, of West
Bloomfield is a student at Walled
Lake Northern High SchooL
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May 3 • 2012
39