Photo Courtesy of Daryl Stewart
Dwayne Clark of South Orange plays Ray Charles in ‘A Portrait of Ray,’ which will be performed this weekend at South Orange Middle School.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — This Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, South Orange Middle School in partnership with the Vanguard Theater Company will host a community event celebrating the life of pioneering musician Ray Charles with the musical production “A Portrait of Ray,” which will feature Broadway star and South Orange resident Dwayne Clark.

Clark currently stars on Broadway in “The Color Purple,” and has previously appeared in “Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark,” “In the Heights,” “Rent” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”

The performance will be held at South Orange Middle School, 70 N. Ridgewood Road, on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 17, at 3 p.m., and will mark the first of what the company hopes to be many community co-productions.

The production will also feature the sounds of world-class musician and South Orange resident Don Braden as he portrays a member of Charles’ band in the show.

In a recent interview with the News-Record, Daryl Stewart, co-artistic director for the Vanguard Theater Company, discussed his vision for the growing nonprofit organization.

“Both (fellow co-artistic director) Janeece Freeman-Clark and I have been professional actors and directors for some time now, and we started to collaborate consistently a few years ago,” Stewart said. “We have also been professional partners for a while, and we noticed that we saw a lack of diversity in the New Jersey theater scene, and there were only sprinkles of diversity on the stage.”

Stewart says the two decided to build a theater company dedicated to community engagement, diversity and professional development, which they believe are paramount to true success.

“We also wanted to bridge the gap between young artists and seasoned professionals,” he said. “Many times when you go to see theater, you either see people just starting out or someone really good. You don’t see anyone in between, and we want to create a space for that, a space for people that might have only performed professionally a few times but are still learning their craft and looking for a place to do so.”

“A Portrait of Ray” was initially produced as Vanguard Theater Company’s first gala fundraiser. Both the show and its accompanying fundraiser last June were a success and the company decided to put it away. They next did a successful production of “Hairspray” and put that show away as well.

But that was not the last they would see of their first production.
According to Stewart, South Orange Middle School Principal Lynn Irby, who also serves on the board for the Vanguard Theater Company, discussed with them the challenges with diversity that exist in the South Orange and Maplewood area and asked them to consider bringing the production to the community.

Stewart said Irby spoke to the school district about the idea, and the district agreed to sponsor the show. The show is being presented through a special community partnership with the MLK Clubs of South Orange and Maplewood Schools.

Irby has long been an advocate of the arts, and has made it one of the focal points of her administration to highlight the arts and expose her students to all forms of art.

The event will also feature the presentation of two “modern-day hero” Vanguard Visionary awards: the Humanitarian Award to Bishop Donald Hilliard and the Civil Rights Award to Junius W. Williams. Hilliard is the senior pastor of Cathedral International, and an artist; Williams is an attorney, musician and veteran civil rights activist.

Stewart also spoke about the significance of presenting a show about Ray Charles during a weekend that is dedicated to another well-known figure in history.

“Ray Charles was a monumental artist, but he also embodied equality and tolerance and that’s what we wanted to bring to the community,” he said. “We’re really excited to bring the community together with such an important day and weekend.

“Martin Luther King Jr. weekend is often overlooked as a weekend for vacation, to clean the house and a free weekend to do other things. Because of the climate in our country, in our state, in our communities, we wanted to bring a different option,” Stewart said. “The show and Ray’s life speak about disability, equality and civil rights.”

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend event will also host an art exhibition showcasing the top 10 finalists of the Vanguard’s Vision of Equality Art Competition. This competition, open to all high school-aged artists in the greater New Jersey area, invited artists to submit original pieces on the topic of “Civil Rights.” The exhibition aims to showcase varying perspectives on civil rights equality of the past, present and future. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners.

“We wanted to present this as another option to engage and be a part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy,” Stewart said. “We could have picked February during Black History Month, or some other equally important time, but we thought that there is no better time than now to honor his legacy with this unique work.”

For more information, visit www.vanguardtheater.org.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Like most teenage guys who are into cars, Joseph Sehwani hoped to one day drive his very own dream car — in his case, a Nissan GT-R.

He longed to hear the purr of the vehicle’s 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, to see the sun glint off the hood’s sleek chrome as he seamlessly handled the dual-clutch transmission. He wanted to feel the power that only a 545 horsepower “supercar” can provide.

But unlike most teenage guys into cars, Sehwani did not have his whole life ahead of him to save enough money to buy his dream car. Midway through high school, he was diagnosed with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy — a rare and incurable disease that causes the optic nerve to atrophy, resulting in a sudden and rapid loss of central vision — meaning he would have mere months to drive any vehicle before becoming legally blind. So his father made his dream come true early, gifting him with a GT-R of his very own.

And though he only had the vehicle for roughly two months before losing his vision, being able to drive his dream car was an experience Sehwani will never forget.

“It was always my dream car, I always liked it,” Sehwani, who is now a management student in his third year at Seton Hall University, told the News-Record in a Jan. 8 phone interview. “It was a lot of fun.”

Sehwani went on to create the Dreamscape Foundation in 2013 as a way of raising money for people struggling with disabilities and for finding a cure to ailments like cancer, HIV/AIDS and his own LHON. Through creative fundraisers like videogame-streaming events and selling computer-generated artwork, the foundation has raised thousands of dollars for various causes. But his foundation’s latest initiative promises to be its biggest and most personal yet.

Inspired by his father’s generous gift, Sehwani and Lynnes Automotive Group in Bloomfield are now hoping to make other car lovers’ dreams come true through the recently-launched DreamCar campaign, a charity raffle in which brand-new Nissan vehicles and leases are up for grabs — all to raise money for LHON research.

Anyone age 16 and older who is interested in participating buys a ticket for whichever vehicle they hope to win at https://dreamscapefoundation.com/dreamcars/ or at Lynnes Nissan West, with prices ranging from $1 for a
24-month Nissan Sentra lease to $20 for the right to own a new Nissan GT-R. When enough money is collected in ticket sales to cover vehicle costs and make a substantial contribution to LHON research, one ticket will be selected; the winner will be given their chosen vehicle, with sales tax and shipping paid, and also receive up to $2,000 toward insurance costs and $800 for servicing. Entrants are limited to purchasing 150 tickets, though they can receive a 20-percent discount for buying five to nine tickets and a 40-percent discount for buying 10 or more.

The winner also has the option of trading in the vehicle for 75 percent of its list price, excluding sales tax.

Since launching in December, Sehwani said the campaign has sold a total of 524 tickets. He said the drawing will probably be held in March. But those who do not win a vehicle then should not be too disappointed — he said he hopes to make the DreamCar campaign a continual fixture of his foundation moving forward.

“It’s giving back in a unique way,” Sehwani said. “As long as we’re giving back to the community and we’re making a difference and people jump on, then I’m happy.”

Julie Tozzo, vice president of Lynnes Auto Group, is happy to give back as well, especially to a cause benefiting LOHN research. Having been diagnosed with the disease a year ago, Tozzo knows firsthand how difficult it is to live without clear vision, describing her eyesight as being so blurry it is as if wax paper is covering her eyes. And she is more fortunate than others, she said, because she is currently taking part in a clinical trial for an injection that has stabilized her eyesight and can also afford visual aids that help her read. She pointed out that many people do not have such options.

Meanwhile, she said very little funding goes into LOHN research because the disease is so rare; according to the official LOHN community website, only about 4,000 Americans are afflicted with it, with an average of 100 people diagnosed every year. And without money, it is difficult for medical advancements to take place. The fact that a young man like Sehwani is working to help the situation is commendable, Tozzo said.

“He’s an amazing, incredible old soul,” Tozzo told the News-Record in a Jan. 11 phone interview. “His (positive) attitude is just like mine, and that’s what makes you grow and rise above adversity. He’s an idol of mine. We both lost our sight, but we didn’t lose our insight into life.”

And the DreamCar campaign is not the only way in which Sehwani is making a difference. Most recently, he said the Dreamscape Foundation collected and donated more than 100 toys to Toys for Tots and raised approximately $750 through a videogame-streaming event for LHON research and the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. And he is far from finished — this young nonprofit founder said he is already planning initiatives for 2016.

In the meantime, Sehwani encouraged people to buy tickets for the DreamCar campaign, pointing out that it is a rare opportunity to make their dreams come true while benefiting a great cause.

Madhu Pai

Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad

Elizabeth Baker

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education saw some big changes at its first meeting of 2016. Not only were new board members Annemarie Maini and Chris Sabin sworn in at the Jan. 4 meeting, but Elizabeth Baker was unanimously chosen as the board’s new president.
Baker, who is in the second year of her first board term, took over the position from Wayne Eastman, who lost his bid for re-election in November 2015.

“The privilege of being able to serve as board president, the responsibility that it entails and the challenges of the work that lies ahead are humbling,” Baker told the News-Record in an email. “At the same time, I am hopeful about the coming year. As a board, we are already functioning with greater cohesiveness, which will allow us to work more effectively with our new superintendent, Dr. John Ramos, and the larger school community. I am also very excited about the energy and perspectives that our new members, Annemarie Maini and Chris Sabin, bring to the board.”

And the 2016 board certainly seems more cohesive than last year’s: the vote to make Baker president was unanimous as were the two votes for vice presidents. Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad, who is entering the third and final year of her first term, was chosen as the first vice president; Madhu Pai, who was re-elected in November and served last year as first vice president, was elected second vice president.

Baker sees the synchronicity of this year’s board, even with its eclectic views, as being positive.

“I think the range of views represented in our executive officers and committee leadership will result in a more cohesive approach with the board and better results for our school community,” Baker said. “We will be focused on finding common ground and getting the work done.”

Lawson-Muhammad is eager to begin her work as first vice president.

“I’m pleased to be recognized by my fellow board members and to be able to serve on the board’s executive committee,” Lawson-Muhammad told the News-Record via email. “More importantly, in my third year on the board, I look forward to leveraging the experience I’ve gained to help shape the direction of the district, mentor our two new board members and work especially on building a productive relationship between the board and the superintendent.”

Pai, who is entering her second term, is excited by what lies ahead and is ready to get started.

“I feel very honored to have been elected second vice president by my colleagues,” Pai told the News-Record via email. “With three working parents on the new executive committee, I believe there is an opportunity to modify the work and responsibilities of the board officers so that we are working more as a team working toward common goals. We started that under the leadership of Mr. Eastman and I believe we’ll continue to improve upon the process under the leadership of Ms. Baker.”

When asked what she thinks the district’s greatest challenge in 2016 will be, Pai pointed to successfully implementing the recently passed Access and Equity Policy, which is meant to remove barriers keeping students from higher classes.

“The policy was written to be purposely broad so that the implementation would not be directed, but informed and crafted through a collaborative process with stakeholders,” Pai said. “I’m excited to see how (the) administration brings that to life, and of course for the final output.”

For Lawson-Muhammad, the biggest challenge will be maintaining the district’s forward momentum by working with Ramos to form a new strategic plan.

“The biggest challenge will be making sure we work with Dr. Ramos to decide how to prioritize and what to focus on first,” Lawson-Muhammad said. “I am hopeful that the strategic planning process now under way will help us as a community achieve broader consensus on where we need to focus the district’s limited financial resources and human capacity, as well as identifying creative approaches to extend our means.”

Baker agrees with both vice presidents, though she sees both challenges as one and the same.

“I think the greatest challenge and opportunity this year will be the development of the strategic plan that will guide our district in both the short and longer term,” Baker said. “As a district, we need to ensure that each of our schools is a learning community in which every child is welcomed, respected and nurtured. Towards that end, we must be both timely and intentional in the implementation of the Access and Equity Policy that was adopted in November, and we need a strategic plan that will ensure that this policy and all the goals we set for our schools move out of Academy Street and into every classroom.”

Baker cautioned, however, that such changes will not happen overnight. They require conversation, collaboration, respect and community input.

Despite these challenges, the executive board members feel the district has many strengths that will assist the board and administration in effecting positive change in the coming year.

Without missing a beat, Pai told the News-Record that the district’s greatest strength is the addition of Ramos as superintendent.

“A strong leader at the helm of the district who knows how to balance input with experience and thoughtful decision-making is exactly what we need during this important time in our history,” Pai said. “I also believe a strong board that respects policy governance, which is the board I believe we will be, will be a net positive to the work that needs to be done.”

Lawson-Muhammad agreed that Ramos is a vital component of the district’s anticipated future successes in 2016.

“We have an experienced and energetic superintendent who had demonstrated that he knows how to get the community’s attention on major issues facing the district,” Lawson-Muhammad said. “We have a board in unanimous support of an Access and Equity Policy passed last November that provides clear direction for where we want the district to go. The challenge will of course be in implementation, but I am optimistic that Dr. Ramos is prepared to drive the level of focus necessary while encouraging and incorporating feedback across the board, throughout the process.”

Just as Lawson-Muhammad praised Ramos for engaging the community, Baker feels the district’s greatest asset is the caring residents of South Orange and Maplewood.

“While the past year and a half have been incredibly challenging for our district, this period of transition has resulted in a high level of engagement that — when combined with thoughtfulness and goodwill — will allow us to come together and work through the difficult issues and inequities that have bogged us down,” Baker said.“I think the Education Summit in November embodied that engagement, not to mention the wealth of expertise and generosity that make our towns so unique. We need to harness and maintain that energy, talent and civic engagement in our schools.”

Tommy Donaldson

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — When the YMCA of the USA launched “Togetherhood,” its social responsibility initiative, in 2014, longtime South Mountain YMCA employee Tommy Donaldson led the effort at the Maplewood-based branch. The South Mountain Y was one of only 50 out of more than 2,700 YMCAs nationwide chosen to pilot the program, according to a release from the Y.

Donaldson has now been tapped to help bring Togetherhood to YMCAs across the country as a volunteer coach, while continuing to run the program at South Mountain Y.

“I’ve always had a passion for giving back, and Togetherhood is the epitome of that, with Y members developing and carrying out service projects that benefit the community,” Donaldson, the 38-year-old assistant director of school age child care and director of teens’ programs at the South Mountain Y, said in the release.

“This is a well-earned honor for Tommy, who puts his heart and soul into everything he does at the Y,” Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges CEO and President Richard K. Gorab said in the release. The South Mountain Y is one of six branches of the Metro Y, based in Livingston.

“Tommy is a tremendous leader, always looking for ways to take the Y to a higher level,” South Mountain Y Executive Director James Goodger added about Donaldson, who is a West Orange native. “When he sees a need, he steps up to the plate, and that has been his approach throughout his 20-year career here.”

When the South Mountain Y was short-staffed in 2014, Donaldson took on several roles and kept programs running while he was launching the Togetherhood program.

Donaldson recruited and trained Jeff Goldsmith, who serves on the South Mountain Board of Managers, to chair the Togetherhood committee. The group launched four successful initiatives that impacted the lives of hundreds of children and their families. The committee, for example, partnered with an organization called Soccerhood, raising funds and awareness to provide immigrant children the opportunity to play in South Orange’s soccer program.

The South Mountain Y’s Togetherhood committee now has 15 members who have been brainstorming new community projects, Donaldson said. They plan to begin launching programs in early 2016.

Donaldson was in high school when he began volunteering for the South Mountain Y after-school program. He worked part-time while attending Montclair State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in computer science. When he graduated, the Y hired him full-time as the enrichment director.
“The Y is a second home to me,” Donaldson said. “It’s where I feel comfortable and accepted.”

As a Togetherhood coach, Donaldson will be assigned to help two YMCAs launch the program. He also is involved in organizing the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance’s 2016 conference on social responsibility in March.

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — South Mountain YMCA campers can reconnect with friends and relive summer fun, and all are invited to check out the array of Y camps — including three new options — on Friday, Feb. 5, at 13 Jefferson Road in Maplewood. The South Mountain Y is hosting a camp fair at 1 p.m. to introduce its 17 summer camps, followed by the Camp Connections reunion, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

This event was originally scheduled for Jan. 23, but the impending snow forced a delay.

Responding to feedback from parents and children, the Y has added three new camps, including the half-day YKnots Explorers for ages 3 and a half to 5 — children entering kindergarten — at the First Presbyterian and Trinity Church in South Orange. The new Glam Camp offers a hands-on introduction to fashion, with children ages 9 through 13 sketching and sewing as they learn to develop their own fashion sense; it will be held at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange. The Skateboard Half Day Clinic, a three-hour program, will be held at Maplecrest Park for children entering grades two through eight.

From the traditional to the specialized, South Mountain Y camps build campers’ self-esteem, confidence and social skills in a fun, safe and enriching environment. Participants develop independence and wellness awareness through developmentally appropriate activities and learning experiences in camps that are accredited by the American Camp Association, according to a release.

Traditional camps include Mini Y Knots, Y Knots, SOMAPY Camp, Preteen Adventure Camp, Teen Adventure Camp and the Counselor-in-Training program.  The Y offers specialty camps in drama, the environment, global arts, sports and golf. Reading time and STEM lessons are incorporated into all curriculums.

Visit www.SMountainYMCA.org and click on the 2016 Camp Guide or call 973-762-4145 for more details. Campers can send an email to estoddard@metroymcas.org to RSVP the reunion. The Y provides financial assistance to those who qualify.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Equality and integration is hard work, but luckily South Orange and Maplewood have the Community Coalition on Race to light the way. On Jan. 18, the CCR sponsored the 15th annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his message of equality, tolerance and freedom.

The event, held at Congregation Beth El in South Orange and co-hosted by the First Presbyterian & Trinity Church of South Orange, exemplified King’s message of working toward a brighter tomorrow through more than just speech.

With music provided by the Bufford School of Music faculty band and the Voices of Harmony choir, as well as dancing by the Columbia High School special dance team, the event flowed and drew the community together, regardless of attendees’ skin color, religion or any other possible difference.

The event ended poignantly when everyone gathered joined hands to sang “We Shall Overcome,” led by clergy leaders and officials such as Sen. Bob Menendez; Assemblywoman Mila Jasey; Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca; Maplewood Deputy Mayor Nancy Adams; Maplewood Committeeman Greg Lembrich; South Orange trustees Walter Clarke, Stephen Schnall and Deborah Davis Ford; Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino; Board of Education President Elizabeth Baker; BOE members Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad, Donna Smith, Maureen Jones, Chris Sabin and Annemarie Maini, among others.

South Orange resident Michelle Miller, an award-winning journalist, served as the featured speaker, calling upon everyone to make sure equality and integration is a reality rather than just “a dream.”

CCR Executive Director Nancy Gagnier drove that point home.
“People don’t always understand that (a diverse and integrated community) doesn’t just happen,” Gagnier said. “Diversity can be obvious and easy to many, but the path to integration is not always obvious and is rarely easy.”

Shelley Slafkes, who co-led the CCR’s MLK event-planning team, stressed the importance of such an event, especially in today’s world when in which racist speech and other types of vitriol are regularly spewed.

“Balanced against the hateful speech we hear every day on the news and outside these doors,” Slafkes said, “here in South Orange I have hope.”

Beth El’s Rabbi Jesse Olitzky agreed, adding that, with all the hate speech out there, “our voices of prayer need to be louder.”

But, sticking with the event’s theme, he cautioned attendees that they must do more than just pray or speak out — they must act.

“It is no accident that after our interfaith service, we’ll have a volunteer fair, for we must do more than just pray,” Olitzky said. “We must pursue justice, we must chase justice, we must run after it, we must make it happen.”

The Rev. Valencia Norman of First Presbyterian & Trinity Church reminded those gathered that equality, integration and respect “is not just talk, it’s about walking together.” Norman then read excerpts from King’s inspirational “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

Coalition Chairwoman Leila Gonzalez Sullivan quoted President Barack Obama, who said, “One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city” — “or even a town or two towns,” Gonzalez Sullivan added — “and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it can change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world.”

“Your voice, each one of you in this room, and my voice can change the world,” Gonzalez Sullivan said.

No one hit these points harder than the featured speaker though, whom Gagnier called “a warm and delightful person who is a powerful journalist because of her passion in asking questions and listening.”

Miller — who is married to former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, a leader in the National Urban League — is an award-winning CBS News correspondent. She recently provided extensive coverage of the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., following the shooting death of the black Michael Brown by a white police officer; she has also covered school shootings and devastating storms, such as Sandy, Irene and Katrina. In 2015, Miller won an Emmy Award for her multiplatform series following a group of high school dropouts attempting to turn their lives around. In 1998, she received an Edward R. Murrow Award and was named Woman of the Year by the National Sports Foundation; she has also been the recipient of the Award of Excellence from the National Association of Black Journalists.

Nearly overcome with emotion, Miller spoke of King, calling him a man — a man with fears and flaws — who rose to the occasion, which is what makes him a hero.

“He was a man who pledged himself to the people, gave himself to the community,” Miller told the SOMA community.

While she praised the national celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day — excited that, as a paid national holiday, “we get paid to celebrate his life” — she also acknowledged that there is still much work to be done, especially as six states celebrate King’s birthday concurrently with Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s.

“I wonder what Dr. King would think of the issues of today,” Miller said. “Many of the issues he fought and died for are still present today,” she continued, naming issues such as racism, war, poverty, bullying, intolerance, injustice and many more.

While Miller acknowledged that she cannot know what King would say today if he had not been assassinated, she believes that he would certainly speak out if he considered something to be an injustice. According to Miller, King saw such problems as a failure of the country to protect its people.

“Today King is portrayed as a caricature of his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,” Miller said, “but it is really the ‘Broken Promises’ speech.

“He is so iconic and quoted so much because he pushed us to find the moral courage to speak up,” she continued. “We celebrate his courage, conviction, quest for peace, for a nation that keeps its faith with its people. … He is our hero because we need desperately to hear words of hope on the darkest of dark days.”

And these are certainly dark days. Miller related stories of racism and intolerance that were difficult to hear — stories of people assuming the economic class of another based on their skin color and stories of teens being taught that white is right. “It’s humiliating; it is being a bully,” Miller cried out.

“Dr. King reminds us of our responsibility to do, not just to be,” Miller said, citing recent examples of civil unrest as attempts that are being made to improve our country. “A riot is the language of the unheard. I have been to Ferguson and covered it; I’ve lived in South Central L.A. when my city was burning.”

Although she sees so much hatred and intolerance in the world, Miller praised the work done in South Orange and Maplewood, which she lauded as a place that is home to blended families of all types. She called Maplewood-South Orange a place where children thank the community for providing them the opportunity to grow up in such a diverse place.

“They see differences and it’s OK; they love it,” Miller said. “It is not colorblindness; it is seeing the world for all its beauty.

“Our job is keeping King’s dreams alive,” she concluded. “Let’s dig in and do the hard work of making it so.”

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power defended President Barack Obama’s foreign policy during a speech at Seton Hall University on Jan. 13, telling a packed auditorium that the United States’ willingness to form coalitions with other countries, engage with hostile states and practice its values of openness is what makes the nation a global leader.

Speaking as a guest of the university’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations one day after Obama’s own State of the Union Address, Power disputed critics’ claims that the president’s foreign policy makes the United States look weak, stressing that the world actually turns to this nation every time there is a crisis. Before being nominated by Obama to be the ambassador to the United Nations, Power worked in the State Department under Obama’s administration.

In fact, the ambassador said the problem is not that other countries look down on the United States — it is that they often “aren’t willing to pull their weight or to do their fair share” in the expectation that “we can just snap our fingers and remake the world ourselves.”

Other nations believe that “America has a unique and indispensable role to play in the world,” and Power said that following the example Obama has set through his foreign policy is the way to continue to live up to that expectation.

“This is the foreign policy that will allow the United States to continue to lead for generations to come,” Power said.

To see the positive effect the president’s foreign policy has had on the world, Power said one only has to look at how rallying other countries impacted last year’s Ebola outbreak. While other nations were slow to respond to the deadly African crisis, she said the United States sent approximately 3,000 first responders, who immediately started collaborating with the communities affected to treat the sick. Taking that action compelled other nations to send health workers and equipment, she said, and today the three countries hit hardest by the disease — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — are down to zero cases of Ebola, thanks to the United States’ initiative.

“When the world needs an all-hands-on-deck effort, America not only does its part — we step and lead,” Power said.

The United States’ willingness to work with other countries has also had a powerful effect in combating the influence of ISIL, Power said, with the 65-nation coalition that the United States helped form making great strides in fighting the terrorist group militarily, cutting off its funding and countering the spread of its ideology. It is also the approach the United States took in joining nearly 200 countries to sign the ambitious Paris agreement against climate change.

And it is that spirit of cooperation that will result in what is best for the American people, Power said, even if the United States is the most powerful country in the world.

“We have to get other countries to share the burden,” Power said. “Even if we tried to do everything ourselves — on climate change, for instance, or on terrorism — one country cannot deal with threats that cross borders in the way that modern threats do.”

Engaging with nations even if they are hostile is another “hallmark” of Obama’s foreign policy that has resulted in gains for the United States, Power said. While some believe it was a mistake to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, the ambassador said that ending the 50-year embargo actually worked in the United States’ favor by eliminating itself as the “bogeyman,” long blamed by the Castro regime for Cuba’s problems, while also putting itself in a better position to help the Cuban people.

Similarly, she said the sanctions against Iran brought about the negotiations that resulted in a nuclear deal with the potential to “cut off Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon.”

This type of engagement does not mean the United States is turning a blind eye toward the atrocities hostile nations such as Cuba and Iran have committed against their people, Power said. She stressed that it also is not a sign of naivete or agreement with their actions. Instead, she said diplomacy is a tool that simply must be explored in order to make people in the United States and abroad safe.

“Some say it is foolish to engage these regimes,” Power said. “Seeing what we have been able to achieve, though, through principled engagement, we think it would be foolish not to.”

But one of the biggest reasons the rest of the world looks to the United States as a leader is its belief that people of all faiths and backgrounds are welcome — a value that has come under fire recently, according to Power. Lamenting that more than half of U.S. governors have said they do not want to admit Syrian refugees into their states, the ambassador said the United States has never in history been made more secure by refusing to let people in. Plus, she said barring refugees means the United States will miss out on the contributions they could make, listing Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger, philanthropist George Soros and Google co-founder Sergey Brin as refugees who have already made a difference to this country.

Above all, Power made the point that most refugees are just people trying to make better lives for themselves, introducing a few refugees in the audience — including an Iraqi family targeted by extremists after their daughter married an American — as examples. She also lauded several organizations in attendance, including some run by Seton Hall students, that help refugees get settled in the United States, calling it “God’s work.”

“You represent the proudest of American values and traditions,” Power said. “Our communities are stronger because of the work that you are doing.”

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Recently, there has been talk about the presence of perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, and one specific PFC, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, in public and private water systems in New Jersey and around the country. South Orange’s Meadowbrook Well tests showed that it has a PFC level above the guidance level, according to a Jan. 24 press release from the village.

So, what are PFCs? This refers to a group of manmade chemicals used in a number of industries for their water- and heat-resistant properties. Commonly known uses are Teflon and Scotchgard products. As a byproduct of manufacturing processes, PFCs can be released into the environment.

Some studies have found adverse health effects resulting from exposure to PFCs; however, PFCs are not currently regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. As a result, public water systems have not been required to conduct regular testing for the presence of PFCs.

According to the DEP, much of the information on the health effects of PFCs in humans and animals has been recently found, though new studies are continually becoming available. In some animal experiments, PFCs have been found to cause developmental, immune, neurobehavioral, liver, endocrine and metabolic toxicity, generally at levels well above human exposures. Studies of the general population, communities with drinking-water exposures and exposed workers suggest that PFCs increase the risk of a number of health issues. The most consistent human health effect findings for PFOA are increases in cholesterol and uric acid levels.

In humans, exposure to PFCs before birth or in early childhood may result in decreased birth weight, decreased immune responses and hormonal effects later in life. More research is needed to understand the role of PFCs in developmental effects, according to the DEP. PFOA studies revealed tumors in rodents. In a community significantly exposed to PFOA through drinking water, PFOA exposure was associated with higher incidence of kidney and testicular cancers.

The Village first became aware of the overall PFC issue, including specifically the test result from the South Orange well, last week as a result of a telephone call from a DEP assistant director in the DEP Water Operations Element. At that time, the village first learned about PFCs, including the fact that they are not a regulated contaminant, and that the EPA and DEP have been studying PFCs for at least the past 10 years, including water sampling and scientific research to determine whether PFCs should be regulated and, if so, what would be the appropriate regulatory limits, according to the village release.

The village also learned at that time and in the past week that, in connection with those ongoing studies, the EPA developed Provisional Health Advisory levels protective for short-term exposures to PFOA of 400 parts per trillion. The NJDEP developed a guideline for chronic — lifetime — exposures to PFOA of 40 parts per trillion.

According to the village, South Orange officials also learned that the EPA has required public water systems to conduct investigatory testing for PFCs to provide the EPA information with the necessary data to evaluate the presence and detected levels of PFCs throughout the country, which may be used to develop regulatory limits. In that process, the EPA required the East Orange Water Commission — which will be serving South Orange’s needs until 2017, when the village switches to New Jersey American Water — to conduct such tests.

A test of the raw groundwater from South Orange’s Well No. 17 resulted in a PFOA level of 58 parts per trillion, which, while substantially lower than the EPA short-term advisory level of 400 ppt, exceeded the DEP guideline for lifetime exposure of 40 ppt. Well No. 17 was also the well where high levels of volatile organic compounds, specifically tetrachloroethylene, were found; this discovery, as well as uncovered corruption at the EOWC, is part of what prompted the village to seek an alternate water supplier once the contract with the EOWC expires Dec. 31, 2016.

According to the village, prior to last week, there was no notification or advisement by the EOWC or the DEP as to the testing of Well No. 17 or of the results. The village is currently looking into why there was no prior notice. It is important to note that the test result was of 100 percent raw source water directly from Well No. 17; however, the Well No. 17 water is not directly distributed to any consumer and rather is introduced into the system where it is blended with other water from EOWC. In fact, the Well No. 17 water represents only about 10 percent of the water introduced into the system. Moreover, the other water sources representing 90 percent of the water in the village’s system did not have any PFOA test results exceeding any limits. As a result, the blended water in the system ultimately delivered to consumers likely does not have PFOA levels exceeding any limits.

As a result of the discovery of PFOA, the village is continuing to review the history of this situation to ensure that it is promptly notified of any testing or other issues affecting the village’s water quality. As when tetrachloroethylene was discovered in Well No. 17, the village has again contacted a laboratory certified to test for PFOA and is arranging for independent ongoing testing of the well. Officials are working with consultants to determine the current blending levels and any remedial actions needed. The village has promised to continue to investigate all aspects of this situation and will keep residents informed as those efforts progress.

According to the DEP, PFCs cannot be boiled out of water or removed with typical residential-grade water
filters. As a result, any resident who remains concerned should consider using bottled water for drinking and
cooking.

Photo by Shanee Frazier
Celebrating the end of their second season, participants of Stand Up Girls meet at the Baird Jan. 25. Stand Up Girls is a local group that teaches girls ages 7 to 10 to stand up for themselves and others, and facilitates conversations between them and their parents.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — One local group of 7- to 10-year-old girls from Maplewood and South Orange proves the value of girl power each day through lessons learned from Stand Up Girls, an organization that empowers its young participants to stand up for both themselves and others.

Entering its third season in February, Stand Up Girls, which meets once a month at the Baird Center in South Orange, always boasts a full house.

The group is the brainchild of South Orange mom Danielle Mann, an advertising executive at Hearst who started Stand Up Girls back in September 2014 as a communication outlet for parents and their children.

“I started it because I felt it was easier for my daughter and me to speak about things in front of her friends (and their parents), more so than just between her and me,” Mann said in a recent interview with the News-Record. “It’s sort of a ‘community within a community,’ and also it’s really important for parents to be invested in their girls and this group allows for that, and for all of us to talk about some tricky stuff involved with growing up.”

In addition to creating a safe space for dialog with their parents, the group also provides a safe space for the girls to hold complex conversations with one another on a range of topics.

The interest in the group has been overwhelming, so much so that after facilitating a workshop on conflict resolution one week, Maplewood mom and Columbia Law School professor Alexandra Carter decided to stay on with the group as a co-facilitator.

Each month, under the leadership of Mann and Carter, the girls come to the group with their parents eager to learn more about themselves and their peers, and how to build a positive mindset about their abilities. Everything in the room the group uses at the Baird Center reflects the mission of the group to empower the girls to make their thoughts known and their voices heard, including the logo, which they designed, and the house rules, which are displayed prominently at the front of the room and reviewed at each session.

The girls aren’t the only ones who walk away with increased knowledge of and sensitivity to the complex issues they face on the cusp of their tween and teen years; many of the parents in the group have been able to have new conversations with their daughters as a result of attending with them.

One of the unique attributes of the group is that it is not a mother-daughter dynamic; rather, fathers are welcomed and encouraged to attend so that they too can be involved in the growth process of their daughters.

“We believe in the importance of having positive role models, both male and female, and that being supported in who you are is really important. We didn’t make it just moms because that would exclude some of the families in our community, and every parent has a role to play,” Carter said. “Parents have been talking about needing tools to help their daughters navigate friendships in a time when there is so much pressure to conform in a society that wants us to be a paragon of perfection. We want to encourage each girl that who she is will be enough and she shouldn’t change.”

Many of the parents who attend have already noted positive changes within their daughters as a result of being exposed to the collaborative environment of Stand Up Girls.

“My daughter Anya loves the idea of an hour and a half totally focused on her and her friends and the issues that they’re dealing with and from their perspective,” group mother Marjorie Terry said in a recent phone interview with the News-Record.” She’s always so excited to go and the girls are always so eager to participate no matter what the topic is and they have so much to say, it’s a very unique opportunity for parent and child.”

Though her daughter has no issues with shyness, Terry said she has noted a new awareness in her daughter as a result of the sessions that focus on bullying and how to stand up for others.

“What has been great with my daughter is that the conversation between us has changed and we have a shared vocabulary about not being a bystander, whether you are being bullied or not,” she said. “We continue those conversations at home. I think she is much better prepared for when conflicts do happen. We have conversations about inclusion and I think that it’s great that she has something beyond the bullying prevention classes they have in school a couple of times a year.”

And the dads are seeing the benefits of the program as well.

Doak Sergent, whose 9-year-old daughter, Louisa, joined the program in the beginning of the current school year, heard about the group from Mann and hoped that it would be an opportunity for his daughter to develop key life skills and to put her in a positive environment with other girls her age.

“I think that it is a safe space and I have seen changes in her, just through the fact that she is a typically shy kid and has engaged in the sessions and raised her hand and participated more than I expected her to and she’s been really responsive to it,” he said. “Messages like this shouldn’t be a singular communication: It’s not a girl’s or women’s issue, it’s an everyone issue and a topic that deserves attention.”

In each session, a different girl has the opportunity to stand up and speak in front of the group.

“As professional women, both Danielle and I have been in situations that the girls talk about facing, and it’s almost as if we are going back in time to our 8-year-old selves and saying that it is OK to raise our hands and be heard,” Carter said. “I want girls to know if they have a big voice, that is great and they should use it.”

In addition to doing workshops in-house, the group also brings in local women who run their own businesses or have a skill that Mann and Carter feel would be useful to draw on to impart knowledge to the girls.

In particular, they have had women who run health and wellness businesses, though in future sessions they are looking to expand to other areas of interest.

“Essentially the group teaches girls how to stand up for themselves — conflict resolution and self-esteem; stand up for others — anti-bullying and valuing diversity; and stand up as leaders in their community — leadership skills and public speaking,” Carter said in a recent email to the News-Record. “We anticipate that in 10 years you will see Stand Up Girls groups all over New Jersey.”

Season three of the group begins Feb. 22. For more information, contact daniellejmayers@yahoo.com.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — It was a crazy weekend. A state of emergency was declared in New Jersey, temperatures dropped and the snow forecast changed hour by hour — in most cases going up! The blizzard, which hit late at night on Jan. 22, and kept up until early morning on Jan. 24, dumped nearly 30 inches of snow on us.

And the storm wasn’t just bad for Essex County. Slamming the East Coast, the storm affected people from Georgia to Massachusetts. This record-breaking storm was the largest snowstorm ever recorded in three cities: Baltimore, which got 29.2 inches; Allentown, Pa., which got 31.9 inches; and Harrisburg, Pa., which got 34 inches. This storm marked the first time a single storm dumped more than two feet on Baltimore and New York City. Also, according to the National Weather Service, Shepherdstown, W.Va., wins — or loses, depending on how you look at it — with 42 inches of snow.

This massive storm was even visible from the International Space Station, with NASA Capt. Scott Kelly, a West Orange hometown hero, tweeting a picture of the storm from space.

Closer to home, though, residents got to experience what a full day of nonstop snow can do. Many New Jersey residents lost power, though it was restored a short time later.

According to PSE&G spokeswoman Brooke Houston, from late Friday night through early evening on Sunday, “all-told (PSE&G) had 5,700 outages in the New Jersey coverage area,” she said in a Jan. 25 phone conversation. With 2.2 million customers, this number could have been worse. Houston also said that, during a peak outage time, there were 1,000 outages. Individual numbers for towns were not available by press time Jan. 26.

Countywide, several attractions were closed Saturday in an effort to keep people off the roads. Essex County also issued a Code Blue, which was in effect from Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. through Jan. 25 at 9 a.m. Code Blues are called when the temperature drops below 15 degrees for a 48-hour period or when the wind chill is below 0 degrees, according to the county. Once the code is declared, a network of warming stations operated by the county and its municipalities are opened at various community-based buildings.

“Providing our homeless residents with a warm place to stay during extreme weather conditions is important for their safety and well-being,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said in a Jan. 22 release. “We thank our participating shelters and warming stations who are working with us to open their doors in these times of need.”

“Our homeless residents need a warm place to stay when winter weather gets this bad,” Sheriff Armando Fontoura said in the release. “The organizations opening their doors are providing a great service and helping us protect the safety of these vulnerable residents.”

The county did not set up any warming centers in Maplewood and South Orange.

And, although the snow has stopped falling, the towns are now stuck with a large cleanup job.

Both Maplewood and South Orange had prohibitions against street parking to allow their public works departments the time and space needed to remove snow from roadways. Vehicles not following the parking ban were threatened with tickets and tows. This plowing work is ongoing, as both towns are still dealing with the massive snowfall, as a proper plowing job takes time.

Even with all the work being done to clear the roadways, many have been narrowed due to the buildup of snow on the sides, so residents are urged take care when driving. Proceed slowly and be mindful of other cars on the road.

According to South Orange Village Administrator Barry Lewis Jr., the village did not suffer any significant damage to any public facilities or village infrastructure.

“South Orange used approximately 200 tons of salt during the storm and we will continue salting as and where necessary to avoid refreezing,” Lewis said in an email.

Additionally, Lewis told the News-Record that the South Orange Police Department responded to a number of stranded-motorist issues during the storm, but received no reports of serious accidents. The South Orange Rescue Squad responded to 12 calls during the storm for various medical issues and the South Orange Fire Department, which assisted the SORS and stranded motorists, also provided mutual aid to an apartment fire in Orange.

According to Maplewood Director of Public Works Calvin Bell, the township used approximately 40 tons of salt.

“Significant usage was not required due to the relatively higher temperatures,” Bell said in an email.

Bell also told the News-Record that, while no buildings were injured in the storm, three plow mechanisms were damaged, though only one was put out of service.

According to Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino, police documented two motor vehicle accidents and 17 medical assistance calls. Due to constraints, it is unknown how many of those medical calls were related to storm issues, such as exhaustion from shoveling or being unable to acquire medicine.

The hazardous road conditions also prompted school closures. The South Orange-Maplewood School District closed schools Monday, Jan. 25, though reopened them Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Be ready for the next snowstorm with plenty of supplies. Remember that it is illegal to dump snow from a driveway or sidewalk into the street — fines are issued for this. Residents with fire hydrants in front of their homes are asked to dig them out to aid fire departments in quick access in case of a fire emergency. When shoveling, be sure to take breaks and ask for help if needed.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A likely carcinogen has been detected in 12 New Jersey water systems at rates above the state’s guidance level, according to a list compiled by the Department of Environmental Protection, and South Orange’s Well No. 17 is among those which — at one point or another, since testing started in 2007 — have carried an oversupply of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA.

Not much is known about PFOA, or what causes it to seep into water supplies at a higher rate than usual. State officials said it’s virtually impossible to know why the water in South Orange’s Meadowbrook Well was found to have 58 parts per trillion of PFOA in 2015, above the state’s guidance level of 40 ppt.

South Orange’s water is currently provided by the East Orange Water Commission, though that relationship will come to a close at the end of the year, when the contract expires and the village switches to New Jersey American Water. The decision to go with NJAW came long before the recent discovery of PFOA in South Orange’s water; not only has tetrachlorethylene been found in Well No. 17, but the EOWC has also been mired in corruption scandals.

Although residents are aware the village is switching to NJAW in January 2017, village officials are not just sitting back.
“The Village first learned of the PFOA issue in Well No. 17 a little more than a week ago when our village counsel was contacted by the NJDEP,” Village President Sheena Collum told the News-Record in an email. “Since that time, village trustees, working with our administration and professional staff, have devoted considerable time to investigating and educating ourselves on all aspects of this issue, including PFCs (perfluorinated chemicals) and specifically PFOA, their status as unregulated contaminants by the U.S. EPA and NJDEP, and the current recommended courses of action.”

Some factories and industrial plants release PFOA into the environment, but it can also be found in carpets, clothing and cookware; research on PFOA is relatively new.

“I don’t think we really know. It doesn’t necessarily mean factories, it could mean a small operation. It’s even found in fire retardants; it’s found in Teflon cookware. We don’t have a point source for these contaminants, in most cases. But we do know it’s at very small levels,” Larry Hajna, a press officer with the NJDEP, said in an interview. “There’s still a lot of evolving science as to how safe is safe, or what’s an appropriate level.”

PFOA is part of a family of perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, which have been linked to cancer and developmental problems in humans.

But traces of the chemicals shouldn’t be particularly alarming, Hajna said. At the state’s guidance level of 40 ppt, it would take a long time — and some bad luck — for anyone to contract cancer from drinking the local water supply, according to the DEP’s latest findings on PFOA.

“We’re looking at these really small levels of chemicals, and assessing what health impacts would be like if somebody were to drink a certain amount of water over a lifetime, and if there would be an increase of a cancer risk, or other health risks, related to drinking that water over a lifetime,” Hajna said. “If somebody were to drink water with 100 ppt in PFOA, which is two-and-a-half times the DEP’s guidance level, over a period of 70 years, their cancer risk would increase by one in a million.”

Using those guideline, residents in a town like South Orange aren’t likely to see any health hazards from PFOA. In a municipality of 30,000 people, that means someone might contract cancer from the local water supply, on average, once every several thousand years, if the water they are drinking is well above the state’s standard rate of 40 ppt.

But while Well No. 17’s water is above 40 ppt, South Orange’s drinking water supply is not composed solely of water from the Meadowbrook well.

“In addition, we know that the Well No. 17 water, which represents only 10 percent of the total, is mixed in our system with the other 90 percent of water, which did not test positive for PFOA or PFCs,” Collum said. “The result of this blending is to dilute and reduce the actual amount of PFOA present in water delivered to consumers.”

New Jersey also has the strictest standard in the country for PFOA, more stringent than the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has a guidance level of about 400 ppt. But the DEP doesn’t want to take any risks with how PFOA is handled in local water supplies, Hajna said, and is working with treatment plants across the state to reduce the traces of these chemicals in drinking water.

The topic of PFOA has gained national attention in recent years, in part due to a high-profile legal case involving the DuPont chemical company. In West Virginia, DuPont dumped 7,100 tons of “PFOA-laced sludge” straight into the ground, as the New York Times reported, contaminating the water supply of 100,000 people and causing mutations in local livestock.

PFOA has also been found in 27 states, including New Jersey, according to the New York Times report, and it is difficult to
eliminate, as the chemical does not biodegrade on its own. Even when PFOA is detected, utility companies are under no legal obligation to remove it, even in New Jersey, since the state’s guidance level isn’t enforceable or mandatory.

That’s why the DEP is trying to work with local water systems and limit the impact of PFOA, Hajna said. In the meantime, the DEP doesn’t recommend that residents start cooking with bottled water, or find any other substitutes: 100 ppt of PFOA, a rate higher than any water system in New Jersey, is still just a small trace of what people are getting in their drinking water.

“If you were to have the energy to walk to the moon, which is 240,000 miles depending on where you are on the Earth, it would be the equivalent of one foot on that journey. Or, it’s one drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool,” Hajna said. “We’re talking about really minute, trace amounts of this chemical.”

Although Hajna cautions that the PFOA levels are nothing to be overly worried about, Collum advises that concerned residents keep an eye on the news and use bottled water if it makes them feel more comfortable.

“We are working diligently to (i) evaluate all of our options with respect to the continued use of Well No. 17 water, (ii) evaluate our options to filter that water to remove the PFOA and (iii) arrange testing of the blended final water to determine the PFOA level in water that is delivered to consumers at various locations,” Collum said. “While the test result only violated the NJDEP long-term exposure guideline, the science on this subject is continuing to develop — as evidence by the EPA and DEP not yet regulating PFCs — and the village is simply not in a position to provide any ‘guarantee’ or certainty to consumers.

“We are in the process of creating a comprehensive page on our website devoted to this issue and we will be posting links to a variety of sources that residents are encouraged to review to educate themselves,” Collum continued. “That page will be the source for the latest and most complete information as our investigation continues. In the interim, any resident who remains concerned should consider using bottled water for drinking and cooking until such time as the EPA, DEP and the village are in a position to provide more definitive guidance.”

The 12 New Jersey water systems listed in the DEP report are the Atlantic City MUA, Brick Township MUA, Garfield Water Department, Greenwich Township Water Department, Montclair Water Bureau, New Jersey American’s Raritan System, New Jersey American’s Logan System, New Jersey American’s Pennsgrove System, Orange Water Dept., Paulsboro Water Department, Rahway Water Department and South Orange Water Department.

— Managing Editor Yael Katzwer contributed to this story.

SOUTH ORANGE / WEST ORANGE, NJ — Philip Kayal and Abe Kasbo had no filmmaking experience prior to producing their first documentary. What they did know was that Arab-Americans are not the evil terrorists that national media often makes them out to be. They knew, though most Americans did not, that Arab immigrants and their descendants had contributed much to American culture, from the ice cream cone to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. They saw that the millions who came to the United States from the Middle East, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula were not getting the respect they deserved — and would not unless something was done to dispel misconceptions about Arab culture.

Thus Kayal, a West Orange resident and a former professor of Kasbo’s at Seton Hall University, set out to make a documentary with his former student chronicling the nearly 200-year history of Arab successes in the United States told from the perspectives of some of those who achieved them, including Ralph Nader, Senator George Mitchell and actor Danny Thomas. And roughly seven years later, “A Thousand and One Journeys: The Arab Americans” is indeed making an impact. Its latest screening Jan. 31 at Seton Hall University — where Kasbo first met Kayal in one of Kayal’s sociology classes more than 20 years ago — attracted a warm reception similar to those in New York and Washington, D.C.

For Kasbo, who directed and produced the project, the response has been overwhelming.

“The feedback that we’ve had from the audience has been really incredible and, to be honest, everything I hoped for,” Kasbo told the Chronicle in a Jan. 28 phone interview, explaining that Arab Americans and non-Arab Americans alike have told him the film was “life-changing.”

It is understandable why Kasbo would find the positive reception so meaningful — “A Thousand and One Journeys” has been a passion of his for quite some time. In fact, one could even say it has been fermenting within him since he immigrated to the United States from Aleppo, Syria, as a boy in 1980. That is because Kasbo has encountered misconceptions about his Arab culture virtually since his arrival stateside, recalling that many other children did not know where Syria was on a map and even mistook him for Sicilian. If they did know what Syria was, he said they would often assume he had lived in the desert when the city-bred Kasbo had actually never seen the desert.

But ever since Sept. 11, 2001, misconceptions about Arab-Americans have gone far beyond such innocent mistakes. Just recently, Donald Trump vowed to ban Muslim immigration into the United States if elected president, and approximately 30 U.S. governors announced that they do not want to accept any of the 4 million displaced refugees of the Syrian Civil War, so it seems fear of the Arab world has reached a fever pitch.

Kasbo did not know that his documentary would premiere during such a political climate when he set out to make it. But he said he hopes it will go a long way toward combating the prejudices against the nation’s Arab American population — which totals between 1.8 million and 3.7 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Arab American Institute — that many have recently expressed, and change the way people view the Arab experience in the United States.

“A lot of my friends and a lot of people I know simply don’t know (about the Arab experience),” Kasbo said. “I think that in a democracy, in order for us to make good policy decisions, we have to have an understanding of who our neighbors are and what they do and what they value and what their contributions have been. We’re living in a multiethnic society, and that’s what makes America work. But our story has never really been told before, and now we’re telling it.”

Having the opportunity to tell the story of his culture’s impact on the United States was the reason Kayal chose to get involved with “A Thousand and One Journeys” as both a producer and on-camera subject. Though he is a third-generation American citizen of Syrian ancestry, the retired sociology professor said he is no stranger to experiencing misconceptions about his culture, such as the fact that most Arab-Americans — including himself and Kasbo — are actually Christian, not Muslim. In fact, according to the Arab American Museum, approximately 65 to 70 percent of Arab-Americans practice Christianity today.

Kayal, who has written several books on Syrian and Arab-American culture and acted as a historian for the production, also pointed out that Arab immigrants and descendants have played an integral role in the United States since the first major wave of migrants arrived as part of the United States’ overall Great Migration of 1880 to 1924. From the introduction of pita bread and backgammon to the 15,000 soldiers who fought in World War II to the industrialization of Paterson, Kayal said the significance of the Arab-American community’s contributions to the United States and New Jersey cannot be denied.

And Kayal said that impact continues through the modern era thanks to the work of Arab-Americans such as U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid, Congressman Nick Rahall and the late Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony Shadid, all of whom were interviewed for the documentary.

Even with this history, Kayal said Arab-Americans are often viewed as an “out group,” which is why people like Trump have found supporters. Though Kayal said he believes this sentiment will eventually pass just as other anti-ethnic group movements did, the former Seton Hall professor told the Chronicle he hopes viewers of “A Thousand and One Journeys” will get the message that Arab-Americans are really just like everyone else.

“We want to rectify stereotyping and discrimination,” Kayal said in a Jan. 28 phone interview. “You can’t do that without educating the public. So that’s why this documentary is so important.

Non-Arabs are not the only people Kayal hopes are educated by the film. The sociologist said he has noticed that the younger generations of Arab-Americans are becoming detached from their heritage. Without being exposed to an immigrant grandparent or raised with traditional Arab family values, he said more young people are identifying themselves as strictly American instead of seeing the world through both an American and Arab cultural lens, as he did growing up.

Now that the “A Thousand and One Journeys” has been made, Kayal said he can rest easy knowing that there is finally a documentary that preserves Arab history for future generations.

“Virtually every larger ethnic group has documentary films on their history, but we had none,” Kayal said. “Now we do. So it is filling a gap in American history.”

Award-winning composer and pianist Malek Jandali, who was featured in the film, is also happy to see the documentary released. Calling it “an honor and a pleasure” to take part in, Jandali said “A Thousand and One Journeys” is exactly what Arab-Americans need to change the narrative that has taken hold in recent years that they should be feared. By telling the story of the Arab-American experience and its beneficial impact on the United States, the Syrian immigrant said the documentary has the power to combat the negative connotation that has been attached to the Arab culture in recent years and make people realize that they do not mean harm to anyone.

“When the world is dark, we must see the light of peace,” Jandali told the Chronicle in a Jan. 29 phone interview. “That film is giving us a glimpse of hope, truth and beauty during these dark times.”

Above all, Jandali said he hopes audiences will come away with the knowledge that Arab-Americans are just like every other ethnic group that traveled to the United States in search of a better life. The acclaimed musician — whose cousin happens to be the biological father of Steve Jobs, yet another famous contributor to American culture of Arab descent — said Arabs have clearly helped make this country great thanks to the freedoms that American values provide. So while some of the nation’s leaders try to think of ways to keep immigrants out, he said he hopes the larger population will turn to what those values truly mean and come to the conclusion that banning certain people is the wrong direction for the United States.

“We don’t need walls — we need peace,” Jandali said. “We have the freedom, we have the rights, we have the beauty. Now what we need to do is search for truth and go deep in our hearts and tell our story of love and peace.

“At the end of the day, we are humans,” he continued. “This should be a symphony for humanity.”

That message has the potential to reach a larger audience very soon. “A Thousand and One Journeys” can be pre-ordered online at www.arabamericathefilm.com. Kasbo said he is also currently in talks for a television-distribution deal.

Whether the documentary will be as well-received by the rest of the country as at Seton Hall and other premieres in New York and D.C. remains to be seen, but Kasbo has high hopes. Like Kayal and Jandali, the director-producer said the ultimate goal for his labor of love is to make people pause the next time they think they have nothing in common with the Arab-American community.

“There is no (difference) between Arab-American culture and American culture,” Kasbo said. “After all, we’re all Americans.”

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange and Maplewood students who took last year’s Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam scored higher on average on most subject tests than the average set by New Jersey students and students from the PARCC consortium, consisting of 11 states and District of Columbia at the time of the testing.

According to the PARCC results presented during the Jan. 25 Board of Education meeting, district students in grades three through 11 earned more passing scores than their state and consortium counterparts on every test except for the English language arts, or ELA, test for grades 10 and 11. According to district Chief Information Officer Paul Roth, South Orange-Maplewood might have done better on those tests if the 512 Columbia High School students who refused — a majority of the 767 total students who refused PARCC throughout the district — had actually participated in testing.

“We believe the results would’ve been better if everyone had participated,” Roth said in his presentation.

The passing scores for the ELA test were the following: in third grade, 68 percent of district students passed compared to 44 percent in New Jersey and 38 percent in the consortium; in fourth grade, 72 percent of district students passed compared to 51 percent in New Jersey and 42 percent in the consortium; in fifth grade, 71 percent of district students passed compared to 51 percent in New Jersey and 40 percent in the consortium; in sixth grade, 64 percent of district students passed compared to 49 percent in New Jersey and 39 percent in the consortium; in seventh grade, 68 percent of district students passed compared to 52 percent in New Jersey and 42 percent in the consortium; in eighth grade, 57 percent of district students passed compared to 51 percent in New Jersey and 42 percent in the consortium; and in ninth grade, 41 percent of district students passed compared to 39 percent in New Jersey and 40 percent in the consortium.

The only ELA scores below average were the following: in 10th grade, 30 percent of district students passed compared to 36 percent in New Jersey and 37 percent in the consortium, while in 11th grade, 22 percent of district students passed compared to 41 percent in New Jersey and 39 percent in the consortium.

Meanwhile, all the district’s math scores surpassed the state and consortium average: in third grade, 62 percent of district students passed compared to 45 percent in New Jersey and 38 percent in the consortium; in fourth grade, 55 percent of district students passed compared to 40 percent in New Jersey and 32 percent in the consortium; in fifth grade, 55 percent of district students passed compared to 41 percent in New Jersey and 32 percent in the consortium; in sixth grade, 56 percent of district students passed compared to 41 percent in New Jersey and 32 percent in the consortium; in seventh grade, 45 percent of district students passed compared to 37 percent in New Jersey and 29 percent in the consortium; in eighth grade, 32 percent of district students passed compared to 24 percent in New Jersey and 27 percent in the consortium; for the algebra I test, 46 percent of district students passed compared to 36 percent in New Jersey and 31 percent in the consortium; for the geometry test, 26 percent of district students passed compared to 24 percent in New Jersey and 21 percent in the consortium; and for the algebra II test, 38 percent of district students passed compared to 23 percent in New Jersey and 27 percent in the consortium.

When those scores are broken down into the five levels of expectations — not yet meeting, partially meeting, approaching, meeting and exceeding — 60 percent of students met or exceeded expectations for what PARCC considers an acceptable performance for the ELA test, while 49 percent achieved the same results for the math test. For the ELA test, only grades 10 and 11 did not get a majority of scores at or above expectations, with a respective 32- and 36-percent majority falling into the not yet meeting expectations category. For the math test, students who took the grade eight and algebra II tests were the only ones who did not get a majority of scores at or above expectations, with grade eight students getting a 32-percent majority in the approaching expectations category and algebra II students getting a 31-percent majority in the not yet meeting expectations category.

Roth pointed out that PARCC results actually should not be considered representative of a school’s performance since last year’s scores were reported based on which area a student was zoned for, not the school they attended. Additionally, he said the seventh- and eighth-grade math scores do not represent grade-level performance since many seventh- and eighth-graders took the high school-level algebra I and geometry tests instead of their own grades’ tests. The high school scores are not representative either, he said, due to the large number of CHS students who refused to take the exam.

Overall, Superintendent of Schools John Ramos told the News-Record that the district is enthusiastic about the PARCC scores. Though it is interested in eventually comparing the results to other districts’ scores within its District Factor Group — a collection of school districts with roughly the same socioeconomic status — Ramos said the district is happy with how its students did compared to others in the state and consortium.

“We are certainly encouraged to see that our scores are higher than the PARCC consortium and New Jersey averages,” Ramos said in a Feb. 1 email.

Board of Education President Elizabeth Baker told the News-Record that she did not find the PARCC results to be surprising. Though she was pleased to see that students did well where there were high participation rates, she said the exam scores also reflected the achievement gaps previously seen in the results for NJ ASK and other assessments. Indeed, the PARCC results showed that white, regular education and non-economically deficient students scored significantly higher than black, special education and economically deficient students on both the ELA and math test, with gaps ranging from 9 to 55 percentage points for the ELA test and 22 to 50 percentage points for the math test.

Such discrepancies do not sit well with Baker. “These disparities are urgent and highlight the work that needs to be done in implementing the recently adopted Access and Equity and placement policies,” Baker said in a Feb. 1 email.

Moving forward, the superintendent and Board of Education president said the PARCC scores will be used as the first step toward setting a baseline for the district to monitor instructional progress and look to making improvements. But Baker said this first year of exam results — which are not comparable to past NJ ASK scores — are not enough to bring about any immediate changes. She said the administration’s review of all assessments given to district students, which was promised in the board’s district goals for the year, will be a much more effective tool for deciding how instruction and professional development can be improved.

Elissa Malespina, who co-founded South Orange Maplewood Parents for Quality Education in opposition to PARCC, said she is pleased that the district does not plan to implement changes based on the exam results. She does not believe the PARCC exam is a good measure of a child’s ability, pointing out that it only focuses on ELA and math and ignores other subject areas in which a child could excel, such as social studies or science. She also said it is unfair that the tests may include questions on topics a student has not been taught, or that the questions might be written above a student’s reading level.

“A standardized test is never going to tell me what I know about a child,” Malespina, who works as a teacher-librarian for Somerville Middle School after previously being employed by the district, told the News-Record in a Jan. 29 phone interview. “A child is much more than a test score.”

Malespina said she did not find South Orange-Maplewood’s PARCC scores to be very impressive, adding that the results are virtually “invalid” since so many students refused to take the tests. Of those who did, she heard several did not even take the test seriously. Additionally, she questioned the legitimacy of the exam in general considering that only seven states and Washington, D.C., remain in the consortium following last year’s testing, down from the original 26 participants in 2010. And since the remaining participants each determine their own passing-score benchmarks, Malespina said there is no guarantee that comparisons between states will be fair.

Though she would prefer to see students measured based on their classroom grades or a portfolio assessment, Malespina said if PARCC testing must continue, she hopes the board will approve an official policy informing parents of their right to refuse the exam and providing an easy way to do so. Though such a policy was rejected last year, she said she hopes the district will take its recent commitment to transparency to heart and reconsider.

Ramos said the district will use the same procedure this year for refusing PARCC that was implemented last year: Parents will once again be required to submit a letter to their children’s principals stating that their children will not be participating in the exam.

But in a few years refusing PARCC may no longer be an option. Acting on the recommendations put forward by state Study Commission on the Use of Student Assessments in New Jersey, the New Jersey Board of Education proposed new regulations last month that would make PARCC testing a graduation requirement for high school students starting with the Class of 2021, if approved. Though no decision has yet been made on those regulations — the board will first hold three regional hearings to get public feedback on them — Ramos said the district will comply with whatever the state requires. Malespina called the regulations a horrible idea.

In December 2015, the U.S. Department of Education also sent a letter reminding the state’s education department that federal funding could be withheld if standardized test participation rates fell below 95 percent, which is a concern Ramos said the district takes very seriously.

But Malespina said she thinks that was likely an empty threat. The National Center for Fair and Open Testing said that it is not aware of any state that has ever had its federal funding cut as a penalty for not testing enough students. In November 2015, Gov. Chris Christie also passed a law mandating that no state aid could be withheld as a consequence of refusing PARCC.

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Catalogs are out and registration is under way for spring classes at The South Orange-Maplewood Adult School. Highlights include “Likely Stories: Actors and Short Stories Onstage” on Monday, March 28. Formerly known as “Celebrity Readings,” this is an evening of storytelling inspired by Isaiah Sheffer’s “Selected Shorts” at Symphony Space. Tickets may be purchased in advance.

In addition to the many repeat favorite classes, more than 20 new classes have been added to the roster this spring. “American Sign Language,” “Painting with Paper: Creating Textured Artwork” taught by SOMa artists Chrissy McIntyre and Cat Delett, “Crochet,” “Screenwriting,” “Financial Survival for Retirement,” “Acting” and “DIY Websites” are just a few.

Back by popular demand are SOMAS day trips. Spend April 28 in the Hudson Valley with a tour and three-course lunch at the Culinary Institute of America followed by a guided tour of the Vanderbilt Mansion. On May 7, take a pre-Mother’s Day family shopping tour in New York City with Emma Sosa, a personal shopper, stylist and instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. On May 12, don’t miss a docent-guided tour of MoMA’s exhibition “Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty” and a three-course lunch at the French bistro La Bonne Soupe. Further details as well as registration deadlines can be found in the SOMAS spring catalog and online.

Spring semester begins Saturday, Feb. 27, and classes have rolling start dates. Complete class schedules and course information can be found at www.somadultschool.org. To register, call 973-378-7620 or visit the Adult School website.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — More than 120 alumni, staff and friends of WSOU 89.5 FM, the student-run radio station of Seton Hall University, gathered Saturday, Feb. 6, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sports call-in program “Hall Line.” The occasion was marked with a pregame reception and on-court ceremony at Newark’s Prudential Center that brought together dozens of former “Hall Line” hosts. The post-game call-in show has followed every Seton Hall men’s basketball game since the 1965-66 season, making “Hall Line” the longest running sports call-in show in the New York and New Jersey Metropolitan Area.

The event reunited the show’s two original hosts, Vincent Bickler ’66 and Robert Windrem ’68, who spoke during the reception and reprised their historic rolls by hosting that night’s “Hall Line” immediately following the Seton Hall vs. Georgetown men’s basketball game. A Seton Hall victory made Bickler’s and Windrem’s return particularly enjoyable. Bickler, who worked for CBS upon graduation, is now a retired educator. Windrem is an investigative producer for NBC News specializing in terrorism and national security.

Before tip-off, “Hall Line” was feted with an on-court ceremony at the Prudential Center, the home court of Seton Hall men’s basketball. Former hosts representing the past five decades assembled on the hardwood along with current student hosts for recognition. In honor of the anniversary, WSOU sports director Clayton Collier was presented with a trophy that will be displayed at the station. Bickler and Windrem were given commemorative microphones in acknowledgement of their positions as the program’s first hosts.

In addition to Bickler and Windrem, a number of former “Hall Line” hosts were present at the event, including ESPN’s Bob Picozzi, N.J. Devils radio play-by-play announcer Matt Loughlin, 1010 WINS’ Frank Garrity, ABC Radio’s David Rind and MSNBC’s Brian Wisowaty. ESPN’s Bob Ley, also a former “Hall Line” host and WSOU alumnus, addressed the gathering by video.

“This is wonderful moment for WSOU and Seton Hall University,” WSOU general manager Mark Maben said in a release. “When a radio show is 50 years old, it is rare to find people who were there at the beginning. To mark this milestone with ‘Hall Line’s’ original hosts is something that is truly special.”

SOUTH ORANGE / NEWARK, NJ — A North Jersey doctor has been indicted for allegedly billing numerous insurance carriers for medical procedures he did not perform himself or that were not performed at all, according to a Feb. 9 release from New Jersey acting Attorney General John Hoffman and the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

Gautam Sehgal, a neurologist with practices in South Orange, Newark, Perth Amboy, Clifton, Elizabeth and Paterson, was charged by a state grand jury with seven counts of health care claims fraud in the second degree for allegedly filing fraudulent bills to insurance carriers. The 52-year-old Livingston resident was also charged with one count of second-degree insurance fraud and one count of third-degree theft by deception in connection with the alleged fraudulent claims.

According to the Indictment handed up in Middlesex County Superior Court, Sehgal filed seven health care claims fraudulently stating he had performed a diagnostic procedure known as needle electromyography, or EMGs, on seven patients. In six of the cases an unlicensed technician, not Sehgal, performed the procedures. In the case of the seventh claim, no needle EMG was performed at all.

“The integrity of physicians is the lynchpin of the health care claims process,” Hoffman said in the release. ”Doctors who file false claims undermine that system and drive up health care costs for honest participants.”

According to the indictment, Sehgal filed potentially fraudulent claims to nine carriers between July 2008 and October 2013. The health care claims indictments stem from seven claims submitted between February 2011 and October 2013 to the following insurance companies: 21st Century, Travelers, Encompass and Metropolitan Life. The theft by deception charges stem from the above claims and earlier claims submitted to Allstate, Farmers, Progressive, AIG and NJ Cure.

“The allegations against Dr. Sehgal, if proven, show an utter lack respect for his patients, his profession and the law,” acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Christopher Iu said in the release. ”Our office will not tolerate any doctor who blatantly cheats the system to satisfy his own greed.”

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $150,000; third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000.

Photo Courtesy of Adrienne MacWhannell
Maplewood men don their kilts for Burns Night at the Woodland in Maplewood on Feb. 6. The proceeds from the evening, which celebrated Scottish culture, will benefit the Achieve Foundation.

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Two South Orange-Maplewood School District parents turned a Scottish tradition into an opportunity to benefit the local nonprofit Achieve Foundation, raising more than $3,500 through a Burns Night celebration at the Woodland in Maplewood on Feb. 6.

Piers and Adrienne MacWhannell brought the customary festivity honoring renowned Scottish poet Robert Burns to the area for the first time after previously celebrating it in their native United Kingdom, and the event proved to be popular. According to Adrienne MacWhannell, more than 120 residents attended the party to enjoy a buffet of traditional food such as “chicken Bonnie Prince Charlie” and participate in Scottish dances, including “Dashing White Sergeant” and “Strip the Willow.” Several men dressed in kilts for the occasion while some attendees even tried haggis, which is a pudding containing sheep’s heart, lungs and liver. While the haggis received mixed reviews, the Scottish whiskey was a hit, she said.

Overall, the MacWhannells succeeded in bringing to South Orange and Maplewood a taste of Scottish culture, which Piers MacWhannell said is significant to the couple considering they met at the University of Edinburgh. And though the two towns are already richly diverse, he said they thought holding a Burns Night celebration would go over well since it is not a well known gathering in the United States.

“We thought it might be quite fun,” Piers MacWhannell told the News-Record in a Feb. 5 phone interview. “It’s just something a little bit different you don’t see every day.”

Burns Night was certainly new to Tara Connell of CKO Kickboxing, who served as a sponsor for the event. Connell told the New-Record she had never before experienced the festivity but loves learning about other cultures, and was excited to support the MacWhannells in putting it together. The fact that so many residents of different backgrounds were willing to join in shows the type of community South Orange and Maplewood truly is, Connell said.

“It really is wonderful that everyone is so open to new ideas and experiencing a new thing,” Connell said in a Feb. 5 phone interview. “It’s a good feeling to be part of this type of community.”

Connell said she also sponsored Burns Night as a way of supporting the Achieve Foundation, which raises money to fund school district programs and improvements. As a parent of young children in the school system, she said she especially appreciates the work the foundation does to supplement tax dollars and thought the event would be a great opportunity to assist it in that cause.

Benefiting the foundation was also a key reason the MacWhannells held Burns Night in the first place, Piers MacWhannell said. Like Connell, he said they have children in the district and have been impressed with the school system and its teachers. He added that they wanted to find a way to give back to the district while helping other parents in the area. The Achieve Foundation proved to be their ideal cause.

“It sounded like a great idea to try and help them out,” Piers MacWhannell said. “It’s a great charity.”

The Achieve Foundation is certainly grateful for the assistance, according to Executive Director Deborah Prinz. Though many families throughout the district contribute to the foundation in a by hosting dinners through the nonprofit’s annual Night of 100 Dinners initiative, Prinz said it is rather unusual for couples to organize events on their own, and said her organization is appreciative of the MacWhannells. They did a good job, Prinz said, describing the event as a “delightful” community affair that everyone seemed to enjoy.

The more than $3,500 the evening collected will not go to waste. Prinz said the foundation intends to use those funds to support its grant programs, which pay for new educational equipment and projects requested by teachers and administrators, and Achieve’s tutoring program, which pairs struggling students with trained volunteer tutors. She said funds will also go toward the nonprofit’s current campaign to increase access to science, technology, engineering, arts and math education — or STEAM — in all grade levels through introducing maker spaces and robotics programs.

Those plans come after a successful 2015 for the Achieve Foundation. Last year alone, Prinz said her organization gave out approximately $90,000 through its grant programs and held a free Maker Madness event promoting hands-on activities that attracted roughly 1,000 people. The nonprofit also recently completed its push to fully restore the Columbia High School Auditorium, donating $450,000 to fund details like architecture refurbishments and new chandeliers that exceeded the district’s capital budget.

Though residents might have missed their chance to contribute to the Burns Night fundraiser, Prinz said the foundation always welcomes donations. She encouraged everyone in the South Orange-Maplewood community to contribute because helping the school system benefits more than only those with children in it.

“Everyone who lives in these towns has an interest in ensuring that we have the best possible public education program for our students,” Prinz said in a Feb. 8 phone interview. “Everybody knows that having good schools is essential to attracting new families to the community, and I think we’ve been extraordinarily successful in doing that.”

In the near future, the Achieve Foundation will once again offer its Night of 100 Dinners as well as its second Maker Madness event, which is currently in need of sponsors. While there are currently no plans to do another Burns Night next year, Prinz added that the foundation is looking forward to working with the MacWhannells again.

“I’m fairly confident that they’ll be supporting the Achieve Foundation in one way or the other in the future, and we will be very grateful for whatever effort they want to put toward that,” Prinz said. “We’re very happy to have them as part of our circle of supporters.”

To learn more about the Achieve Foundation and how to become a sponsor for Maker Madness, call 973-378-2055 or visit www.achievefoundation.org.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — When the terror attacks occurred in Paris in November 2015, a “Hot Topic” discussion was sparked among Hebrew High students at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel. The teens shared their feelings and views on responding to global unrest — an exchange made possible by a shift in how the Reform synagogue conducts its Hebrew High program. The changes have boosted participation, creating a cadre of students who are putting their Jewish studies at the top of their homework lists.

“We recognize that teens connect Jewishly in different ways than adults,” Rabbi Dan Cohen said in a release. “We’ve reinvented our Hebrew High program to meet these young people where they are today, with a curriculum they can relate to and opportunities to forge a connection to Judaism they will take with them into adulthood.”

TSTI offers three areas of Jewish engagement for its teenage students: Hebrew High; STISY, a senior youth group; and as “madrichim,” or classroom aides, in the religious school. Each provides an avenue for connection with the synagogue and with each other, develops a commitment to Jewish community and education, and provides opportunities for them to serve as role models for younger students.

Cohen explained that the Hebrew High program for grades nine through 12 has been restructured to combine both formal and informal discussion, and includes some socializing time. In recognition of how busy today’s teens are, the start and end times also shifted a half hour earlier to give students more time to do their homework afterward.

“We are seeing a different level of engagement among our teen community as a result of these changes, as well as what has always been a strong youth group program,” Cohen said.

Each weekly evening session starts with a casual dinner with teachers and clergy, which fosters a sense of community and provides opportunities for the clergy to reach out to students who may have personal issues to discuss. At 7 p.m. everyone moves into the week’s “Hot Topic,” a short discussion on current events that incorporates Jewish values and teachings, and empowers students to include those teachings to make sense of today’s world. Discussion topics range from world affairs such as the attacks in Paris or security alerts in Israel to pop culture, U.S. politics, or what’s happening on college campuses.

“Each session and the approach to that week’s discussion is different, depending on the issue and facilitator,” Cohen said. “There’s no pre-arranged curriculum — the only guideline is that topics be something the kids want to discuss. What’s amazing is that the students put their cell phones away and move into place for ‘Hot Topic’ without any prompting. They look forward to this opportunity to connect their Jewish lives to the world at large.”

After the discussion, the group splits into grade-specific classes for an hour of instruction on subjects that include: Israel and the Middle East, Jewish mindfulness practices and stress reduction, social issues such as gun control, LGBTQ advocacy, and voting rights, and studying Jewish text from historical and contemporary Jewish perspectives. Students come together again for social time and a snack before heading home.

“The key takeaway is that they come to understand that Judaism is as relevant or more relevant now than it’s ever been, and that our tradition has something to say about our lives today,” Cohen said. “Our kids will connect — to TSTI and to their Jewishness — when they understand the connection between their Jewish identity and the life they are leading. Our job is to give them the tools and knowledge they need to draw those lines of understanding.”

Another way that TSTI builds engagement among its high school-age congregants is through Sharey Tefilo-Israel Synagogue Youth. Led by program director Tracy Horwitz and a group of dedicated teen leaders, STISY provides a path for high schoolers to develop their leadership skills through participation on its board, and to build meaningful connections with each other and the wider synagogue community through its programs.

The youth group fosters engagement in various social action initiatives, develops an appreciation for volunteerism, and cultivates a connection to Jewish life through its social, recreational and cultural activities.

“Our teens learn how to be both worship leaders and community leaders through STISY,” Horwitz said in the release. “They plan and execute their own events, model leadership and community involvement to younger students, and come to understand how what they learn here can be applied to their post-high school lives.”

Fifteen STISY members serve on the board, which has bylaws and proscribed responsibilities for each position. All members take part in running youth and synagogue programs, with many working in the religious school as tutors and classroom helpers. They may also participate in regional youth events through NFTY-GER, the New Jersey area branch of the North American Reform youth organization.

“STISY participants lead religious services, coordinate and manage programs that reflect Jewish values and concepts, and learn the importance of giving back to others. They also meet Jewish teens from other communities and build ever-wider social networks. Through it all, they forge deep connections and see that they are a valuable piece of the TSTI community,” Horwitz said.

Mindy Schreff, director of TSTI’s religious school, has 40 teens working this year as “madrichim,” or classroom aides. These teens provide much needed assistance — from Hebrew tutoring to class activity coordinators — and are valuable role models for younger students, who see that the teens are enjoying their continued involvement and connection to TSTI.

“We couldn’t run the religious school without them,” Schreff said in the release. “The program also enables our teens to learn important life and job skills in a safe environment, and gain experience they will take with them into college and the working world.”

Schreff tries to match the students’ interests and skills with positions in the school. For example, two budding musicians are working with the music teacher and lead songs on their own; another high schooler created original educational games to play with younger students.

“It’s been amazing to watch their personal growth over the years, as they embrace the job and make it their own,” Schreff said.

Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel is located at 432 Scotland Road in South Orange. For more information, visit www.tsti.org.

Photo Courtesy of Dee Billia
Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary will perform at the South Orange Performing Arts Center on Friday, Feb. 26.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Peter Yarrow is one of the very few who knows the power music can have in changing the world. As a member of the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, Yarrow was on the frontlines of some of the biggest social activist movements of the 1960s, from the push against the Vietnam War to the demand for racial and gender equality. He and bandmates Noel “Paul” Stookey and Mary Travers even performed at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 march on Washington, which Yarrow described as an experience unlike any other.

Through it all it was music, particularly folk music, that entered a young generation’s hearts and drove them into battle against the injustices of society. It was folk music that acted as the soundtrack for those who unshackled themselves from the bonds of normalcy to protest the prejudices that had ingrained themselves into the American culture of the day. It was folk music, as Yarrow recalled, that helped make a difference.

“It was authentically the voice of people telling their stories, their dreams, their aspirations, their experiences,” Yarrow told the News-Record in a Feb. 5 phone interview. “It was not written for the money. It was written for people to express their honest feeling. And part of those feelings had to do with a desire to alter the world to be a more caring, fair, equitable and loving place.”

With hits like “If I Had a Hammer,” “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Day is Done,” Peter, Paul and Mary helped spearhead folk music’s call for change, opening people’s eyes to the necessity of peace and civil rights and paving the way for progress. Five decades later the world is a much different place than the one the Grammy-winning trio fought to make better, yet Yarrow still performs the group’s classic songs. His latest tour includes a stop at the South Orange Performing Arts Center, where he will perform on a double bill with fellow folk artist John Gorka on Friday, Feb. 26.

And five decades later people still long to hear their favorite songs, perhaps none more so than the beloved 1963 single “Puff, the Magic Dragon.” When he co-wrote the song — a bittersweet lament to the loss of childhood innocence that spawned three 1970s television specials and a 2007 children’s songbook he co-authored — Yarrow said he had no idea it would resonate with so many people for so many years. The fact that it has had such a legacy speaks to the unexpected nature of the music business, he said.

“I don’t think a writer really knows the effect his or her work is going to have,” Yarrow said. “You just can’t measure that any more than Peter, Paul and Mary knew the effect we were going to have. You just do it, and then later you can look back and say ‘That was extraordinary.’”

While Peter, Paul and Mary songs remain popular among fans to this day, folk music in general has long fallen off the top of the music charts, marginalized in favor of music promoting what Yarrow described as a more commercial message. He said a key reason for this has to do with record companies focusing more on profits than art. And while it would be nice if today’s singers and songwriters took on the responsibility of initiating social change, he said the values of modern society make that “wishful thinking.”

“There’s a real absence of empathy and compassion in our country and a growing materialism,” Yarrow said. “And there’s a mean-spiritedness that’s demonstrable, whether it’s watching the Republican debates or whether it’s watching TV reality shows or it’s seeing the kind of disrespect that exists in Congress or in business.

“You’re looking at a damaged situation that needs a lot of healing,” he continued. “The culture of caring has broken down very severely, and we have to inculcate it in children.”

With that mission in mind, Yarrow has spent much of the past 20 years working with his nonprofit Operation Respect, an organization dedicated to combating bullying by fostering empathy in school children through the use of music, videos and a character-based classroom curriculum. Along with the McGraw-Hill Companies, Operation Respect has given out more than 180,000 of its free Don’t Laugh at Me programs to educators since it was founded in 1999.
Additionally, more than 45,000 educators throughout the United States and the world have participated in Operation Respect-sponsored workshops.

Through this work Yarrow said he hopes to instill the same social values in today’s children that were so prevalent among his generation in the 1960s. That way, when they grow up, they will want to make the world a better place — just as Peter, Paul and Mary did through folk music.

“We have to realize that adults alone will not be able to do what needs to happen to heal our society,” Yarrow said. “We need to educate the kids so that they can break the cycle that’s gone so terribly wrong.”

To purchase tickets to see Peter Yarrow and John Gorka at SOPAC, please call 973-313-2787 or visit www.sopacnow.org/peter-yarrow-and-john-gorka.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — St. Andrew & Holy Communion Episcopal Church, located at 160 W. South Orange Avenue in South Orange, will host a Fish Fry each Friday during Lent — Feb. 19 and 26, and March 4, 11 and 18 — from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The event on Feb. 19 will feature Fishing for Jazz with live jazz music performed by Stephen Girardi and Kevin Brown.

Admission is charged. In addition to a generous portion of baked and fried fish, dinner includes two sides chosen from macaroni and cheese, potato salad, French fries, seasonal vegetables, collard greens, garden salad or coleslaw. Beverages and desserts will be available for purchase. Take-out is available.

Orders may be emailed to sahcchurch@aol.com or faxed to 973-763-1120. For more information, call 973-763-2355. All are welcome.