Carlisle High School is working to eliminate prejudice and hatred through student leadership.

CHS students were invited to attend the YWCA Annual Youth Leadership Conference, which took place on Thursday, October 27 at the Carlisle YWCA, to discuss racial issues, the importance of social justice, and leadership within their schools. Matthew Fahnestock and Michael Gavazzi attended the conference with the students. 

Freshmen Maya Neiberg and Renzo Sotomayor were two of the students invited to attend. Both of them had high expectations for the conference.

“I expected a better point of view of how the world is on racism and other things,” said Sotomayor, prior to the conference. “I also expected to gain a lot of skills to help me in my life.”

Neiberg said she was looking forward to “interacting with other students and discussing matters about racism in schools.”

During the conference, students learned about issues regarding social justice, mainly focusing on the topic of racism. They then discussed how to integrate what they learned into leadership at their school. Activities done by students at the conference included a self-assessment and other activities that depicted their place in the issues being spoken about.

The students had an overall positive review of the conference and left more knowledgeable of racial issues in the school and how they can be a leader to create more acceptance and diversity.

“The instructor really helped with my understanding of the situations occurring in our schools,” said sophomore Ryan Jin. “It really shed some light on the issues of discrimination and offenses to minority groups.”

Jin added, “I gained new perspectives from different groups, and with our sharing of experiences, I learned skills of communication and how to handle certain situations, or how to approach them at least.”

The students and teachers that attended are planning to continue advocating for social justice within the school and community, as they felt inspired by the YWCA Annual Youth Leadership Conference.

Jin said, “I will try to create a new atmosphere where people of minority groups and other targeted groups can feel safe and comfortable in their own skin.”