New girls-only club stands for peace
By Lucy Richardson and Jenna Sullivan, Staff Writers
Some may be put on acronym overload when they first learn about WAND and STAND.
WAND, Women’s Action for New Directions, is a national organization of women who seek peace. WAND calls attention to the government’s big military budget and suggests redirecting the money to peaceful endeavors such as education. It also promotes women’s empowerment. Jean Gordon leads Arkansas’s WAND chapter.
STAND, Students Take Action for New Directions, is WAND’s daughter organization a girls-only group. STAND informs students about global issues and challenges them to think outside the box when solving conflicts.
“STAND is awesome,” junior Molly Roberts said. “It’s completely open to everyone and accepting and loving.”
Junior Bianca Craig, one of STAND’s treasurers agrees.
“STAND is great,” she said. “We have a good time. We ‘STAND’ for something.”
Central’s chapter, re-established by journalism teacher Laura Hardy and social studies teacher Celeste Archer, recently had the opportunity to take part in Israeli peace activist Gila Svirsky’s visit. The students worked at a reception for her, attended at lecture at the Clinton School of Public Service and gave her a tour of Central after she spoke in the library.
Born in 1946 in New Jersey, Svirsky has devoted her life to learning and working towards peace and reconciliation in the Middle East. She received a degree in philosophy from Brandeis University and an M.A. from Hebrew University. When Svirsky, a devout Orthodox Jew, first moved to Israel she was unaware of what she came to see as severe injustice.
“I moved to Israel from the United States in 1966, a year before the fateful Six Day War broke out in the Middle East,” Svirsky said. “I was 20 years old, an Orthodox Jewish woman and very passionate about Israel and the importance of having a Jewish state.” Svirsky began studying at a university in Jerusalem, and at the end of the school year, the Six Day War broke out.
“What a shock for a young American to find herself in the midst of war, barely understanding what it was all about,” she said.
Later, Svirsky learned from a Palestinian friend that the Palestinian National Council had recognized Israel and wanted a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side.
“I told her ‘no that can’t be true. If that were true, I would have heard it from the Israeli media,’” she said. “And she said to me, ‘well you have a lot to learn. There is censorship on the Israeli media.”
From that point on, Svirsky continued to educate herself about the deep-seated conflict surrounding her. She began to attend Women in Black anti-war vigils and advocate peaceful practices.
“Israel has won many battles, but has yet to claim victory — the victory of peace,” she said.
Svirsky’s hope for peace challenged all who experienced her. Whether heard in the Clinton School or Central’s library, STAND girls agreed that Svirsky’s words inspired action.
Molly got to meet met Svirsky and heard her speak in the library.
“I initially didn’t know anything about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Molly said. “[Svirsky] opened my eyes to just how we can be affected by something that’s going on far away.”
Bianca Craig also went to Svirsky’s speech. She said her favorite part was heavy about high school students taking a stand against violence by refusing to report to the military for their mandatory one year of service.
“They were standing up against going to war with Palestinians,” she said.
STAND girls demonstrated that same protesting spirit by participating in a Women in Black vigil downtown. The vigil helped the students bring a global issue home to Little Rock.
“It challenged me to learn more about situations that would be seemingly irrelevant to me and my life in America,” Molly said.
Molly is passionate about STAND and wants other girls to get involved.
“If you care at all about the world or peace, then you should definitely be a part of it,” she said.
(To join STAND, see Archer in Room 341 or Ms. Hardy in Room 101.)
