By Jocelyn Tolpin ’17, Staff Writer
We all want to have the opportunity to make a difference and now, as a school community, we are receiving the chance. Revolution Week is a five-day event that aims to raise awareness and funds for different causes in fun and different ways.
Revolution Week came to the mind of president Matt Thekkethala ‘15 in a dream over the summer. “I was at school, and everyone was yelling. Literally every word everyone said was impassioned and loud. It was the exact opposite of the Day of Silence. And when I woke up, I realized I wanted to try that out in real life. I called it “The Day of Fury.”” He returned to the Academy in the fall with an idea to create a tradition. He worked with the student council, Ms. Galvin, and Mrs. Fischer to make this idea a reality, albeit with a different name.
Revolution Week is taking place from Monday, February 2nd to Friday, February 6th with each day hosting a different fundraiser, discussion, and activity for their respective cause. Monday will be a day focused on education, Tuesday on medicine, Wednesday on homelessness, Thursday on the environment, and Friday on social justice.
The revolution will start on Monday, with a two dollar Red and Black Casual Day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Newark Academy’s move to the current Livingston campus and to raise money for the Newark Scholars Fund. As students enter school, name tags will be given out urging students to write “I am Malala” in dedication to the work of Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Prize winner for her education advocacy. A book drive will additionally be hosted on Monday to raise resources to educate those who aren’t fortunate enough to go to schools or live in districts that can afford any books. During 4th and 5th periods, TED talks about education will be shown and after school, Mr. Ball will present on Mind, Brain, Education, and Science.
Coinciding with the first day of Revolution Week is also the Academy’s 24 hour “Day of Giving.” Hosted by the advancement office, the day aims to connect the focus on education with student outreach events like an all day phone-a-thon starting at 9am and ending at 9pm, hoping to raise funds for the school and the power of education in general. Students are also encouraged to call, text, and email anyone to support the Newark Academy Annual Fund, awarding any student organization with the most participation with a $250 prize. More information about the day can be seen in the video below:
On Tuesday, a coin drive will be held and an inflatable colon will be brought in to raise funds for Doctor’s Without Borders and colon cancer research respectively; several health-related clubs at the Academy will also be constructing a “Coin Mural” to spread awareness. In advisor group, students will play trivia games with little knickknacks as prizes. Lastly, after school, ThinkTank and Newark Anatomy will lead a discussion about healthcare in the developing world.
Wednesday is dedicated to homelessness. There will be blanket drive for the Bridges Foundation and during 4th and 5th periods, with blanket forts built with those collected while a movie about homelessness is screened. Additionally, facts about homelessness will be ironed onto shirts and printed on bulletin boards that will be hung around the school.
Thursday will be a day that will hope to produce “zero waste”. The printers will only print double sided throughout the day. During 4th and 5th periods, Organic, non-GMO smoothies will be sold only to people with reusable water bottles; at the same time, mason jars will be sold and recycled computer stickers will be given out. Games of “trashketball” and environment trivia will be hosted to promote recycling as well as a “count the compost” campaign. After school, the movie, Mission Blue will be shown.
Finally, Friday is a day centered on social justice, and will host a global speaker named Zainab Salbi. Sailbi is “an Iraqi-American author, women’s rights activist, humanitarian, social entrepreneur, and media commentator who is the founder and former CEO of Washington-based Women for Women International.” Throughout the day, supplies and toiletries will be collected and sent to the Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBT youth. In the Octagon, a visual structure will be built to broadcast headlines of oppression. The day will end in a Revolution Week March in which individuals and groups are invited to participate in a march around the school’s perimeter to show support for causes that they are personally involved in by making signs and posters.
The week will be officially capped off with the Student Council’s Rave for Research on Friday night– “It’s gonna be so ravin!” The rave will be a silent rave, with headphones provided, to benefit Cancer Research Institute with $10 for admission and $10 suggested donation. It will last from 7:30pm to 10pm in the Black Box.
Revolution Week is an opportunity to truly learn and help. With each day of the week, the Newark Academy community will be impacted with a new, important cause that we are eager to aid. In Matt’s words, “The official, main reason why we’re having Revolution Week is to unite the Academy through causes and initiatives that we’re all individually and collectively passionate about, and to prove that we are capable of coming up with new, revolutionary ideas to make our world a better place.”
The student body is buzzed with excitement for this new tradition. Meghna Padmanabhan ’17 explained, “I am extremely excited to be a part of Revolution Week where I can talk about how I feel about the issue of homelessness and actually do something about it instead of feeling helpless. I hope that this week encourages people to get more involved in solving not only homelessness but all the issues that reside outside our school.” Megha Gupta ’17 agreed, saying, “I think it is an amazing way for people to learn about some of the most important global and local issues in our community today. I am involved in the education aspect of the week, because I think not only the lack of local, but also global education is a major issue that can be fixed with time and small contributions from people all over the world.” Erin Eagle ’15 pointed out another benefit of Revolution Week. She said, “[It] is a perfect idea to bring the community together through issues that are truly important to give attention.”
Revolution Week will be an groundbreaking and exciting way to discuss and contribute to causes that we are truly passionate about. It is the beginning of a legacy and tradition at Newark Academy to unite the student body to put our energy and ideas towards bettering not only the area around us, but also our country and our world.
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