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Wednesday 05/07/2008
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Art :: Book Reading
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Respect Club Book Release
6:30 PM Dauphines
Description:
Missoula’s middle school Respect Club will host a book release at Dauphine’s Bakery and Café on Wednesday, May 7th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This exciting project is the product of an entire year of bringing together the 24 Respect Club students to learn about the impact of violence and prejudice in their community and what they can do to stop it. Entitled “InDifference”, the book offers an extraordinary collection of poetry, art, photos, comics, essays, and interviews from the 11-14 year old students. The students decided to create the book as a thoughtful response to the specific issues of homophobia, cliques, and stereotypes.
The book’s title “InDifference” illustrates how the Respect Clubs bring together students with different backgrounds to impact their environment together. Also, the title identifies the patterns of apathy and ignorance that allow the problems of mistreatment, and violence to persist. Each year, the Respect Club students decide upon an action project to address key issues in their schools and communities. Previous projects have included a bill board, a photography exhibit, and a mural. This year, students wanted to express themselves in a collection of their creative work that captures their personal experiences with hatred and violence.
The book release at Dauphines concludes a powerful and meaningful year of the Respect Club after school leadership development program facilitated by the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI). As one of NCBI’s many school based programs, the Respect Clubs have been bringing together diverse Missoula middle school students for the past five years. Participating students find a safe space to express their emotions positively and be their true selves. Also, Respect Club students learn skills to identify and interrupt mistreatment. Leadership development and community building are natural products of engaging young people on these important issues. One Respect Club participant shared, “When I’m in Respect Club I know I can share anything without being ridiculed, and just be myself. Respect Club is also a way to meet new people you may have ignored before and let other people know you.”
“InDifference” highlights the creativity and learning of each Respect Club student. In addition to poetry and essays, the book contains dramatic visual pieces such as collages, drawings, and graphs. In the book’s introduction, Sarah Willstein explains “There is a time when parents need to tell children the truth and children the same. A time when we need to exchange hate for love and war for peace. A time where there will be no violence or stereotypes, just acceptance. If there was a time like this, the world would have to understand and work together. We would have to look from the other side of the line and look deep inside to realize our differences… But we can’t just sit down and tell people this, we have to STAND UP, go out into the world and make the difference.”
Age Group: All Ages
Venue: Dauphines
Address: 130 East Broadway
Phone: N/A
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