Although they have shown incredible courage in the past few weeks, the students of Parkland, FL, are not the only ones pursuing activism for causes they believe in. Here at WHS, teens are going out of their way to make a difference. Hi’s Eye sat down with a few of them to discuss why they’ve chosen to be activists.

Katie Clark ’18

“I’m the oldest of three girls, so being a feminist and fighting for equal rights for women is so important not only for me but also so I can provide a better future for my sisters. If I can just inspire one kid to be an activist, I feel like I’m making progress.

“I involve myself with things such as the Women’s March on Washington. I call my senators and write letters when it applies to women’s rights and things such as equal pay.”

Peter & JT ’18

Peter Morariu and Jordan (JT) Binkowitz are coordinating the Teens Tackle Homelessness conference tomorrow in Summit with Bridges Outreach.

“My grandfather had experiences with homelessness, so I started to connect with the organization,” said Binkowitz.

Added Morariu: “I’m involved with service more than activism. It is more what I do with my hands than what I do with my voice.”

Hanna Zakharenko ’19

“I’m co-president of the Girls Learn International Club. Our goal is to educate girls on feminist issues worldwide, focusing on girls’ access to education.

“Every year we do a panel. This year the focus was on women in politics [see story, Page 1]. We wanted to take a more domestic issue this year because of all of the feminist events that have occurred in the past year and we thought a lot of people might find this panel specifically interesting.”

Yara Assadi ’18

“I’m an advocate for education on the Syrian refugee crisis. I have family overseas in Syria and most of them still live in Damascus, which is controlled by the government.

“I figured out a way to make it more comprehensive for students. I worked with the Project ’79 teachers to create this big installation that was up in the hallway for two months, which gave a sort of timeline of events as well as information on key people and groups involved in the refugee crisis.”

Dexter Cypress ’18

“I ran a city council office in Jersey City where I assisted constituents with everyday issues. In Jersey City a huge part of my job was to assist people who had very little and needed help with everyday problems.

“I worked for the Brooklyn borough president in the office of cultural programs. My team put on the largest celebration of diversity in New York City last summer on the International Day of Friendship.”

Alyssa Milrod ’19

“I founded the Rare Disease Club this year. We meet generally two times a month and make sure that we learn everything there is to know about a certain disease. I wanted to get involved because my dad is a neurologist.

“We have many fundraisers, like bake sales, and we held a Rare Disease Day [on Feb. 22]. We had a speaker with myocarditis come in, which is a heart inflammatory disease. We got to discuss the importance of rare disease awareness.”

Samantha Miele ’18

“I’m an activist for rape and sexual assault and sexual harassment, specifically in high school with kids my age. The work I do is more teen-oriented.

“As of right now I’m doing a lot online and talking to a lot of people. I’m in the process of making T-shirts. I have a lot of connections with bigger accounts and I’m getting in touch with companies and different organizations, so hopefully I can start a charity one day.”

Colin Sumner ’20

“I’m the president of the Young Democrats Club at school. I’m mostly involved with interning on campaigns and New Jersey Citizen Action, which is a group in Newark I was involved with last year.

“I’m organizing a march this month for all of Union County. It’s March for Our Lives, which advocates for gun control. I’ve also gone to Trenton and lobbied with the teachers’ union to government officials with New Jersey Citizen Action.”

Linzy Rosen ’18

“I’m an environmental activist. I care about protecting the environment, combating climate change and increasing sustainability.

“I founded the Global Environmentalists’ Club my sophomore year [now called the Westfield High School Green Team] and we started the district’s first battery recycling program.

“I get the opportunity to promote battery recycling and help plan town events.”