Some Northwestern students concerned about worldwide genocide aren’t stifled by strained town relations. Instead, they’re taking their message beyond the bounds of campus.
NU’s chapter of STAND, a student anti-genocide coalition, made presentations to Evanston Township High School students Tuesday and Wednesday to raise awareness about genocide.
The event, in its second year, came out of a partnership with ETHS global studies teacher Aaron Becker, who helped coordinate the event.
“We wanted to give more of a global context for genocide, and we thought we could use it as a teachable moment to cover those experiences (of genocide) in regions across the world,” Becker said. “I also wanted to make that connection and collaborate with students at Northwestern who are passionate about creating a more peaceful world. It just made perfect sense.”
The 40-minute presentations were given during sophomore history classes and consisted of two parts. On the first day, presenters provided a history of specific genocides throughout the world. The second day included information about the current Darfur genocide, the mission of STAND and how teenagers can get involved.
“Genocide has occurred all over the world, and it’s absolutely atrocious and nothing has been done to stop it,” said Zoya Kolkin, co-coordinator of STAND and a SESP junior. “In general, I think genocide in high school curriculums is not covered in depth except for the Holocaust, so it’s important to dig deeper into what genocide means.”
The goals of the program are raising awareness on genocide, stimulating interest to start an anti-genocide group at ETHS and improving town-gown relations.
Though the program coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Week at ETHS, STAND wanted to also address lesser-known atrocities that have occurred in countries around the world, such as in Cambodia and Armenia.
“We stretch the limits of what the definition of genocide is,” Kolkin said. “It’s really a dialogue to get students thinking about this issue to see it as a gray area rather than black and white.”
Presenter Sarah Freeman, who taught three different classes on the Rwandan genocide, said teaching about historical instances of genocide highlights mistakes the country and the world have made in dealing with these crises.
“By learning about (the history) we can prevent similar things from happening in the future,” the Weinberg freshman said. “I’ve always considered raising awareness to be the best way to combat and take action against genocide.”
Becker said he would like to see more collaboration from both ETHS and NU in the future. He added that both teachers and students gave positive feedback about the presentations.
“I think they were very stimulated and challenged,” he said. “Hopefully it inspires students to not just think about these things as an academic lesson but something like a life experience that they can do something about.”
Kolkin said the program has been “under the radar” and is still in its developmental stages. However, she said the program may become more institutionalized and will hopefully gain more publicity.
“There’s definitely room for improvement, but overall it went really well,” she said. “The hope is that (students’) wheels are turning, and they’re starting to develop their own ideas about what genocide means.”
