An Impassioned Call to End Genocide
Thank you to all of you who came out and challenged the horrors of genocide in Sudan on Friday night May 29.
- Take a look at our photos of the Die In.
- WGVU Radio reports live from the OHS Die In.
- Oakridge Student insight to the genocide in Darfur.
- Continue to read, to inform yourself, to take on injustice.
Over 110 people - students (current and graduates) mom’s and dads’s and teachers and little brothers and little sisters – laid down in the grass across from Hackley Park on Friday night. The site was a striking backdrop, as Jake and Nyssa, Amber, Joe, Tyler, and Angelina spread out on the sidewalk and woke up Muskegon to the horrors of genocide in Sudan.
Your dedication to be there, to support those who have nobody to protect them, speaks volumes for the awareness and compassion of young people in the Oakridge School District. Your discipline to not twitch a muscle even as legions of ants crawled all over your head, provided an eerie scene…that some in that park and walking by had never ever in their life contemplated.
You represented your school and your generation with class.
And it wasn’t only Friday afternoon …to seniors who spent the week coming back to school to make signs, copy posters, and drum up media coverage – I am so impressed. To Jake and Parksie, you graduated two years ago, yet you came into our classroom these past seven days and inspired us to push hard to the end. To those of you who were at the movie on Thursday night, and you who brought your parents and your friends, these are small sacrifices that we must make in order to aid our brothers and sisters who live in dire circumstances around the world. To underclassman who asked questions, who got involved, and covered the lunches with flyers with seniors gone; good work. Some of you already have immersed yourselves in issues of the world. Some of you have taken a first step.
I think Jake Gibson summed things up best at the Die In, when afterwards he acknowledged what we had all done, yet called on each of us to do more. Jake said on Friday, that whatever we had done to prepare for Friday’s event, it wasn’t enough. He implored all of us, to “keep moving.”
There is so much work to do.
Keep your eyes and hearts open, be willing to lay down, stand up, to think and act and shout out for those less fortunate. Uncover your ears and keep your mind open. Hold your government accountable to its Charter of 1787 – which calls for we the people to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” for humans beings all over the world.
Well done Oakridge.
Salam Alaykum.
PS…don’t forget these phone numbers – for as we breathe, genocide continues to ravage the people of Darfur.
- Representative Hoekstra (202) 225-4401.
- Senator Levin (202) 224-6201
- Senator Stabenow (202) 224-4822
- President Barack Obama
Filed under: Weekly LP's 09
Wow, the pictures are some powerful things. The ones where you can see everyone are the most shocking. I didn’t know how we all looked laying on the ground, but just wow. So many people, we looked so creepy, at least to me, if I had been someone on the street I definitely would have come over to see what was going on. I can’t even believe the number of people who showed up, I thought that only the people who were in your classes would show up, and not many of them either. I was happily surprised.
It’s nice to see you happy Shelby.
Mr. Wood….
I was so happy to be apart of something so amazing. I thank you with all that I am for the things you care about and the knowledge you share with us of the world and of your own personal adventures. It makes us more aware of who we need to be as a person. I feel like I have taken so much with me as I walked across that stage as Brent Hartman gave me my diploma. As he shook my hand, it was like going through a door, and all that was behind me was all things that I have done, good and bad, throughout highschool. The diploma doesn’t matter, but our knowledge as a whole of everything we have experienced, little or big. So, Mr. Wood….thanks. Keep inspiring, motivating, and moving the youth of Oakridge. I will use the skills you have taught me to change the way others think and impact the world like I’ve always set out to. I hope to see you soon.
Peace and much love Mr. Wood….
- The New and Improved, Happy to be alive and changing the world, future Mrs. Geissinger, the one who eats anything and everything, who gets on Mr. Wood’s nerves ALL THE TIME but also helps him very much in which he must depend on, Charity Wilde :0)
New and Improved One…thank you so much. I will always remember our first real deep talk…about can you believe it – Jesus – in the dark, strolling by the Tidal Basin, over to visit Mr. Jefferson’s memorial. It has been my pleasure to be a part of your journey up to now. I so look forward to watching your path unfold. Lets have coffee.
Deal. I hope your paying because I don’t have a job anymore. :0)
wow Mr. wood did you see on Google genocide in Tamils its much bad pictures I feel worthless and confuse about why would someone do that to people and that just not right to see and having lil children see it that is worse because that images that they see will stick with them for the rest of there lives and ya that can be really sad……. I feel what we can really do…… I mean do to help and by help I mean is there a way of saving young ones and getting them out and put them in a foster home because they don’t need that when they grow up and deal with this. I just saying what else can we do…….? Lives should not be taking away because of this Lives are ment to live happy and peaceful
It’s an ugly world. I don’t know what we can do…it’s hard enough to get anybody to look even a little at Darfur – let alone Shri Lanka and the Tamils. People are cruel. The strong need to protect the weak. That doesn’t happen unless the most powerful government in the world is pushed by it’s citizens to take an active role in stopping genocide the world over.
Thank you for your activism. I was out of town or I would have been there.
State Representative Mary Valentine
Thanks for all of your support for our students through the years. It’s nice to know that our representative truly cares that young people are involved and informed and active when it comes to the world. We’ll have another, I’m sure next year! And you are certainly invited to attend! Have a great summer.
Mr. Wood,
Did we get any media coverage on the Die In? Just wondering….
So how was the last week of school? I actually didn’t show up :0)
New and Improved one…we did get media coverage – WGVU Radio did a show on us. I will link it as soon as it is aired. It’s coming. And so, have you changed the world yet as a graduate…or are you “busy” laying on the couch, remote in hand, drooling and shoving Doritoes in your mouth? Just wondering.
Just wondering if you’re still out there changing the world. If you are let me know so I can join you or find a tall building on the off chance that i dont win a victory for humanity.
Celeste…I am doing my very best. The tall building isn’t currently necessary. For you? How’s class? I’m headed to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the West Bank in July. So I gotta read…and write. Which I guess counts for doing my best at changing the world because I am changing me. How bout you?????? You changing you????? So nice to hear from you.
This is truly disturbing as to what is going on around the world involving genocide. President Obama needs to live up to his promise and help the people out. The longer we put it off, the smaller their race is becoming and eventually their race will be next to no more because of the massive genocide. History is seeming to repeat itself and will continue to do so if something isn’t done. Keep up the good work Mr. Wood and continue to be the change you want to see in the world (took the quote from Gandhi but kind of re-worded it).