by Emily Taylor
On the weekend of December 1-3, 21 New England YouthPeace members came together for a conference of discussions and workshops at the Equity Trust center in Voluntown, CT. Among the topics we discussed were violence and nonviolence, racism, homophobia, the struggle to oust the U.S. Navy from Vieques, Puerto Rico, and gender equality.
It was the Third YouthPeace Experiment Weekend Training organized by the New England War Resisters League. Students came from Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and, although we only stayed over for two nights, ended up creating strong friendships and connections that will last a long time.
On Friday, everybody met at the center, all both a little nervous and excited about what was to happen in the next few days. To loosen up, we played “getting-to-know-you” games, and, within a few hours, we were all more comfortable with each other. It was refreshing to be with a group of people who shared common interests and could voice their opinions and views with such clarity.
Patches made during the “creative expressions” evening
at Youthpeace Experiment 3. Photo by Joanne Sheehan.
On Saturday, after a fabulous breakfast, we had five workshops, three presented by longtime War Resisters League activists and two by members of local anti-homophobia and -racism groups. Then, on Saturday evening, it was time for “creative expressions.” We were all encouraged to write a song or poem, paint a picture or create a skit. We broke up into small groups and had a blast just creating—you can see some of the results on these pages.
On Sunday we worked on our organizing skills—such as running a successful meeting—and made plans for people from different schools to continue to work together. We’re creating our own web page and an e-mail list, and we started planning a community service project, a benefit concert and a party.
Overall the weekend was an incredible amount of fun and enlightenment. It was good to meet new and intelligent people and to have such well-presented workshops. We’re all looking forward to the next YouthPeace conference, which will be in New Hampshire in February.
Emily Taylor, a senior at Norwich Free Academy in Connecticut, has been active with YouthPeace for two years.
Frozen
The haggard expression of 9000 graven faces
Drifted from media attention
Like countless other cases
Eternal war,
Waged only in practice
Now adapted to struggle
Like the beating sun
Upon a desert cactus
An outside force
To leave all in rags, with spirits tattered
Bombs fall carelessly, just as
An erratic weather pattern.
So I must call you now
To aid our urgent cause
So we may quickly save Vieques
From the Navy’s violent jaws.
—Poem by Dan Clausen
(L-R) Zack Potter-Vose, Emily Taylor and Lisa Yednorowicz at the premiere performance of “People In America,” one of the songs written for the YouthPeace Experiment 3 weekend. Photo by Joanne Sheehan.
Untitled
Yo I break ground like construction crews
Takin’ out sweatshops and Nike shoes
We all up in the place throwin’ words diverse
As knowledge is the key to earth
Cuz the station road crew is in effect
It’s rhymes we bust and closed minds we wreck
We be layin’ down bricks to pave the way
Peacefully resistin’ enemies away
Nonviolence,
Breakin’ silence,
Hear the sirens
It’s the lions
In the flock of sheep
Slowly they creep.
—Rap by Alex Holmes
People in America
Don’t ask us to be your slave girl
Our ideas are modern and our lives aren’t rural
Our opinions are voiced
And we make it our choice
To be strong, to stand tall, and rejoice
Chorus (1)
Because we are women in America
Livin’ our lives one day at a time
Doin’ what we want to do, no reason, no rhyme
Bein’ a girl shouldn’t be a crime
We go about life intelligently
Creating truth through art and poetry
We don’t take no shit
We don’t take no guff
So stop your lies
We’ve heard enough
[Repeat Chorus (1)]
Men, we have the ability
To promote more gender equality
Ending the stereotypes, the struggle, the pain
Treating women like this is insane
Chorus (2)
Cuz we’re men in America
Livin’ our life one day at a time
Doin’ what we want to do, enlightening the mind
Being male shouldn’t be a crime
It’s time to stop the oppression
Of ourselves and of our women
It’s time to raise hell
From within our masculine cell
We’ve all got a story to tell
Chorus (3)
Cuz we’re people in America
Livin’ our lives one day at a time
Defy conformity; we’ll do it all the time
Livin’ our lives won’t be a crime.
—Song by Zack Potter-Vose, Lisa Yednorowicz and Emily Taylor
