Senior Abdul Wake and a group of friends are bringing a branch of Amnesty International to South. “We hope to raise global awareness about conflicted areas in the world,” he explained. “A lot of people don’t know about ethnic groups or… why conflicts are happening. We’re hoping to get rid of that… eliminate stereotypes…create a very proactive and aware student body… teach people about the world.”

Wake believes South could benefit from Amnesty International because, “there is a lack of awareness and general knowledge in a school that’s very diverse.” He is excited about the work that he think Amnesty can do for South.

Many student groups, such as SUSOSH (Stand Up Speak Out  South High), are leaders in anti-racism work at South. Wake explained that Amnesty International is a little different than those groups. He explained, “[It is] a human rights group that goes around the world to find convicted areas and they try to bring a swift amount of global awareness to it…Amnesty is very pro-active and very productive. . . their main goal is to [fight] injustice in all parts of the world.”

“I’ve actually been meaning to start it for a really long time,” Wake said. “I talked to [my friends] to ask if they’re interested and they all are… Our facilitator is Ms. Ashby.”

The group is just waiting to hear from the Amnesty International Parent group. “After we get the ‘go’ from Amnesty. . . we will begin it right away. . .  Anyone who is interested or feels strongly about human rights. . . is encouraged to come and attend our sessions, which will most likely be held after school.”