Photo by Sue Suchyta
Members of the Dearborn Youth Affairs Commission meet Jan. 12 at the home of advisor Jacqui Rivait, Student Services Program specialist with Dearborn Public Schools. The high school student volunteer commissioners, who represent Dearborn, Edsel Ford and Fordson high schools, work together to initiate and carry out events and projects that serve the community while building bridges between the city’s public high schools. The group hopes to welcome representatives from Henry Ford Academy and Divine Child High Schools as well.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Giving local youth a voice with city officials and with peers from other city high schools while planning and carrying out events are goals of the Dearborn Youth Affairs Commission.
When teens from Dearborn, Edsel Ford and Fordson high schools met Jan. 12 at the home of Jacqui Rivait, Dearborn Public Schools student services program specialist, she said they hope to add students from Henry Ford Academy and Divine Child soon, and she spoke highly of the high school volunteers already involved.
“They are amazing,” Rivait said. “They are so organized. They are so on top of everything. They are a cut above the rest.”
Rivait said that while other communities have similar groups, the DYAC is not part of a national organization. She said the commission, which the teens lead, is a unique entity.
Dearborn High School teacher and group advisor Kassim Darwich said the DYAC does not follow a national model and its format responds to the group’s needs.
“We want the kids to get involved in the city and get to know one another from different schools,” Rivait said. “They don’t always have an opportunity to get to really sit down and talk about issues, about things they would like to see happen in the city, and this is a forum for them to do that.”
She said despite the schools being sports rivals, the DYAC members have discovered that they have more commonalities than differences.
Students, once nominated by school administrators and faculty, apply to join the DYAC if interested, Rivait said.
Rivait said she hopes this year’s group will pursue local projects, meet with state Rep. George Darany (D-Dearborn) and attend city council meetings.
DYAC’s current top priority is holding auditions for “Dearborn’s Got Talent,” a citywide high school talent show the DYAC hopes will bring together students from the city’s five high schools.
Jad Elharake, 17, a senior at Fordson, said the commission provides him with a direct way to support his community. He said holding events that include students from all of the city’s high schools, like the talent show, promotes unity among students by setting aside rivalries and bringing students together for a common cause.
Mohamed Bazzi, 17, a senior at Fordson, said he also joined the commission to make a difference in his community. He said bringing together students from the city’s high schools is a priority.
Julia Haidar, 17, a senior at Fordson, said the talent show is a good way to set the high school sports rivalries aside.
“(It) brings us together with things we are all passionate about,” Haidar said. “What we’re doing basically is this huge talent show, and I am sure anyone participating really cares about what they are doing, and we can appreciate each other in ways other than sports.”
Rasha Khanafer, 17, a senior at Dearborn High, hopes the group will be a resource by letting elected city officials know what teens want, and she said it is a reason she initially joined the DYAC.
“There are so many adults in Dearborn (who) want to make our lives better, and they are trying to improve the high schools constantly,” Khanafer said. “Most of us have been in Dearborn our whole lives, and we have been thinking of little different things that we could change but we have never really had the opportunity. Now that we have direct contact with leaders in the community we are able to put our ideas into motion.”
Unity among the high schools is a priority the group is addressing this year, Khanafer said. She said in upcoming years, she hopes the group will work for healthier school lunches and safe citywide bicycle trails.
“We are going to take it slowly but we want to make a big impact on whatever we focus on,” Khanafer said.
She said they met with Supt. Brian Whiston and Mayor John O’Reilly Jr.
“They have taken an interest in us, they have asked us questions, we are treated like adults and we are invited to outside events,” Khanafer said. “So I think they do take us seriously.”
Lena Bazzi, 17, a junior at Fordson, said that while DYAC members work hard to benefit and enhance the image of their own high schools, they realize that they are more likely to influence elected city officials and affect the city by working together with students from other city high schools.
Bazzi said classmates at Fordson have expressed interest in submitting city improvement ideas for her to share with DYAC members.
Aliah Sareini, 15, a sophomore at Dearborn High, said a willingness to volunteer — an example set by her family — encourages her to branch out and become more involved outside of her school.
She said her father, new Dearborn Councilman Mike Sareini, encourages her to volunteer in the community and to try new things.
Rami Kadouh, 16, a senior at Dearborn High, said he also believes teens have the ability to make a difference in their communities.
“We all want to make a difference in the community whether it is bringing unity, (or) organizing events that can go on for years to come, like Homecoming,” Kadouh said. “And also to maybe inspire others (to see), ‘These kids are my age – they are doing this in the community – maybe I could do something,’ maybe to empower other kids.”
Kadouh said the DYAC wants to build the group and include as many youth in the community as possible.
“If the youth are working along with adults, they are the next generation and they are the future,” Kadouh said.
Zena Fakhouri, 17, a senior at Dearborn High, said the group hopes to institute change and better the city.
“No matter how small the change is, doing something small one after another will add up to really make a bigger impact,” Fakhouri said.
Any person who attends a Dearborn high school who would like to become involved with the DYAC should contact Rivait at 313-827-3109 or by email at [email protected]