Central Islip High School students were invited to Brentwood High School to kick off the Ambassador program through the Town of Islip’s Unity Council. They joined other students from other districts in the Town of Islip including Bay Shore, Islip, East Islip, West Islip, Connetquot, Bayport Blue Point, and of course Brentwood. In this program, students work together to figure out ways to end prejudice and hate crimes against others. Through some activities and surveys offered, we discovered that we have a lot in common both personally and when it comes to larger issues we see day-to-day.
The event also included guest speakers including Suffolk County Sherriff Errol Toulon, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, and the Deputy Commissioner of Suffolk County Police Department, Risco Mention-Lewis. They all shared stories from both their personal and professional lives that demonstrated how difficult facing the ugliness of humanity can be, but how much power we all have to make the world brighter. Deputy Commissioner Mention-Lewis had a message for all in attendance: “People only push you down when they are afraid of you rising. So keep rising.”
The last guest speaker of the day, Edith Gross, a 95 year old Holocaust survivor,
was kind enough to share her difficult story with everyone. It was surreal to have someone who lived through such a time share her story with students who might have only ever read about it. When asked what gave her hope in such a dark time, she said, “I didn’t really have any. I just needed to go home…” To hear the story of a woman who survived an atrocity without any hope was extremely powerful and gave the students the motivation necessary to make changes in their own school communities, even if the task seems insurmountable.
The day ended with each school brainstorming ideas about what issues they would like to address in their schools. The group will reconvene in December at Connetquot High School to continue working on bringing their ideas to life. Stay tuned for updates!
