By Sam Wohlforth ’13, Staff Writer

We at Newark Academy strive for greatness. “Ad lumen,” we say. We claim to be the best of the best; often I hear someone praising the students or the faculty. With the recent shooting in Arizona has come a vast amount of national self-evaluation—are we as good as we claim?

In the recent installment of the Global Speaker Series, we saw a story both depressing and inspiring. I was depressed by the poverty and violence experienced by the kids at Weequahic. All is not well in our own backyard. At the same time, I was inspired by the message of the presentation: we can make a difference. So what are we waiting for? Why is Newark Academy not taking a leadership role in giving back? We hear about how NA was one of the first schools to have the IB program; why don’t we hear about how NA was one of the first schools to devote its time to service? Admittedly, we have a mandated 10 hours community service we all must perform yearly. However, this is not enough. We are Newark Academy, not Short Hills Academy. We must dedicate more time to Newark before we can claim the moral high ground.

To achieve enlightenment, we must help others to reach there who have not had the same opportunities as us. At NA, we have wonderful teachers and coaches, advisors for every student who are personally involved in our lives, and loving parents. At Weequahic, these traits are often lacking. With absent parents and overworked teachers scared of their students (the bulletproof vest strapped onto Mr. Stone in the documentary comes to mind), there is no safety net.

It is impossible to be perfect in all you do; even the smartest, most diligent students occasionally screw up. Here at NA, we have people who put us back on the right path; at Weequahic, students have no such support system. And so, I issue my challenge: NA must be Weequahic’s support group. With our tremendous resources, we must and we can effect a change. How about NA participation in after-school programs in inner-city Newark? Maybe some tutoring of Newark kids? If we can laud our students for having the intelligence for earning the IB diploma, surely these same students can tutor other students. As described by Rayvon in response to Senior Matt Willian’s question, education is the key to alleviating poverty. Newark Academy has a mandate to do that. We must take the lead in this, lest we fail to achieve our mission. No longer can we talk the talk of the moral high ground—we must walk the walk. It is time to act.