Elmhurst Press
February 13, 2009
Students get messages of hope
By Hal Conick Correspondent
A young boy starts to yell at a Muslim exchange student from Kabul, Afghanistan, who was being introduced on stage at Bryan Middle School in Elmhurst.
Elmhurst Press
"Muslims are terrorists," the boy shouted. "And they ain’t got no right to be here."
There was quickly a revelation that the Muslim exchange student was, in fact, Niko Burton, an American and a performer with the Messages Which Are Hopeful! group.
Saturday, Feb. 7 morning at Bryan, the performing arts troupe MWAH! took the stage to spread its message at Operation Snowflake, a daylong team-building retreat for Elmhurst middle school students.
The audience of students from Bryan, Churchville and Sandburg middle schools quickly went from stunned silence to joining in on an anti-racism song called "We Shall Be Free."
"We help kids with different problems that we face every day," said Niko, an eighth-grade student at Richard Ira Jones Middle School in Plainfield. "It’s not just some adults explaining to them; it’s their peers explaining our problems to them so that it’s easy for them to understand."
MWAH! was formed in 1983 by Ray Moffitt to help keep young people off the streets. Moffitt, who prefers to let the youths and their performances do the talking, spent the show at the side of the stage making sure the sound was loud enough and everything was going as planned.
The backdrop for the day was Operation Snowflake, an anti-drug effort, organized by Kristen Kramer, a counselor at Bryan, and Julie Dufner, a teacher at Churchville.
"(Operation Snowflake) is a great thing for kids to participate in," said Kramer. "They always love it and rave about it when it’s done.
"It’s a great chance for them to just have positive experiences with each other."
The day, where students are allowed to call their teachers by their first name, goes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The attend workshops by the Elmhurst Rotary and the York High School Key Club and attend a social at the end of the day with a disc jockey spinning records.
"Anytime that we can provide any of our students with a message that is ... allowing them to think more positively about themselves and the things that they can possibly do in their future, I think that’s beneficial," said first-year Bryan Principal Brad Hillman. "There are people that they can go to in their own building (who) they see on a daily basis (who are) able to provide council if they needed it, or even just an ear to listen."
Mary Alex Japczyk, a junior at York High School, and Jonathan Koch, a senior at York, are both group leaders for the middle school students at Operation Snowflake.
"Today isn’t so much a day of ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that,’" said Koch. "It’s more of a day where we can just have the kids embrace who they are and be themselves."
Japczyk said the day’s message was "Reach for the Stars" and that students shouldn’t be afraid to set goals and go for them.
"We just hope that we can show them that it’s all right to be yourself no matter what they think high school has in store for them," said Japczyk. "It’s all right to just be who you are and love who you are."
The faculty at Operation Snowflake said the event is a great opportunity for young people to have fun, be able to make connections with high school students and their peers and, at the same time, learn something positive.
Niko hopes the program helps young people realize that they aren’t alone.
"This is a critical time for them. For me, it’s also a critical time. So I know how it is for the kids,” Niko said. “The kids need to know that they do have friends, and I want them to know that I can be a friend and they can lean on me whenever they need help.
On the Net: http://www.mwah.net/
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Daniel Leahy (left) of Downers Grove and Alex Oechsel of Naperville, both 13, perform February 7 with the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe at Bryan Middle School in Elmhurst as part of an Operation Snowflake conference for students from Elmhurst's three middle schools. The troupe addressed various teen-related issues, such as bigotry and bullying, and focused on facing challenges and realizing dreams.
(photo by Steve Bittinger of Suburban Life Publications)