By Siddarth Tumu’18, Section Editor

February 6 marked the start the start of Revolution Week, a week aimed at channeling the passions of the Newark Academy community into raising awareness and acting on important issues. Each day represented a different idea/theme, including Social Justice, Protest, Environment, and Celebration. Members from all facets of the community, from the middle to upper school and students to faculty, came together to learn more about and raise awareness of issues important to them. While there was a Revolution Week committee that laid out the causes of each day, the planning and executing of each day’s activities were at the hands of club leaders and student advocates. Throughout each day, discussions, videos, and installations throughout the school served as a way for students to participate and take action. On Protest Day, NA welcomed Paquito D’Rivera, a Cuban-born jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer extraordinaire, as part of the 2016-2017 Global Speaker Series, further adding to the success of the week.

Junior Elliot Zornitsky, who was not directly involved in the planning committee, thought that the week was really well run and organized. He especially liked how clubs were allowed to run events and that each day was assigned a different theme. He also talked about how the senior-faculty basketball game brought everyone together at the end of a productive week. However, Elliot mentioned that he felt that there was less participation this year specifically within the current junior grade, citing hectic and overloaded schedules as a possible reason why. To improve Revolution Week in future years, he suggests potentially having less events each day so that greater attention can be paid to each one while making sure each day culminates in one big event, such as a discussion or global speaker. Sanya Bery, upper school council president and Green Committee leader, echoed Elliot’s sentiments. She talked about how the student council opted to take on a more limited role in the running of Revolution Week so that the NA community would have the opportunity create what they wanted, culminating in the committee of volunteers that planned the week. Sanya went on to discuss the importance of Revolution Week and its impact on the NA community in allowing people to follow their interests and passions and providing them with a platform to share their ideas. As the leader of Green Committee, she especially enjoyed the ability to emphasize a singular goal: saving the bees. In future years Sanya thinks more effort should be put into involving members of the community otherwise disconnected with the issues being discussed and ensuring that lesser-known or frequently ignored issues are talked about and advocated for.

Revolution Week serves as a way for the NA community to put aside any differences and come together to show support and raise awareness for pertinent issues. The success of this year’s Revolution Week was reminiscent of the fervor and passion generated during Spirit Week. While Revolution Week is a more serious week centered around issues that impact the lives of millions, the same level of fervor and passion was present amongst student and faculty alike. Even though Revolution Week happens only once a year, it is important for everyone to realize that the issues being discussed are present throughout the year and members of the NA community have the potential to act and affect change at any time. This year’s success serves as a good sign for Revolution Weeks to come in the future. To put it in the words of Kiran Damodaran, a member of the planning committee for the week, Viva La Revolución!