Belief in a better world: Students recognized for making positive change with Peacemaker Awards 

By CHRIS LARABEE

Staff Writer

Published: 05-22-2023 4:33 PM

GREENFIELD — For their work in raising awareness about the climate crisis, creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students and educating middle schoolers, 21 area students were honored with Peacemaker Awards last Thursday evening.

The Interfaith Council of Franklin County and Traprock Center for Peace & Justice’s 23rd annual awards recognized the efforts of teens around the Pioneer Valley for their efforts in the name of promoting social justice and equity. Among those receiving awards were Easthampton resident Ollie Mae Perrault and Northfield Mount Hermon senior Sasha Kracouer for their efforts in leading Youth Climate Action Now, a climate activist group founded in the valley; Ralph C. Mahar student Asher Howes-Jensen for their efforts with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, as well as their involvement with LGBTQ+ groups in school; and the ACT student group at Pioneer Valley Regional School. Operation Happy Birthday, a student-led organization at Northfield Mount Hermon that organizes birthday activities for families in homeless shelters, also was honored.

The night’s speaker was Rob Okun, the editor of Voice Male Magazine, who urged the students to continue pushing for positive change in the world. Voice Male is an Amherst-based feminist and anti-violence magazine looking through the lens of masculinity.

“I’m really impressed with the issues that you’re working on … you’re covering a lot of ground,” Okun said. “Thank you for leaning in, for putting your strong shoulders to the wheel of social change to move it forward.”

For Perrault, she said her hope is that the actions of youth can inspire widespread change in a warming world. She emphasized that individual choices like recycling are important, but it will take systemic change to truly end the climate crisis.

“To those of us who have been experiencing the issues of climate change for decades now, it feels like the current solutions that are being presented to us do not meet the scale of the crisis we’re experiencing,” Perrault said. “At a global level, young people have collectively decided that we are no longer willing to stand for our leaders’ inadequate response to this crisis and we are no longer willing to stand for Band-Aid solutions.”

When accepting their award, Howes-Jensen emphasized the great amount of progress made in social justice movements for LGBTQ+ people and shared that while in Big Brothers Big Sisters, their mentor was queer, but had to hide it because society wasn’t as accepting as it is now.

“When I think about the fact that I, as a queer person, can have a girlfriend and I don’t have to hide it, it makes me so excited and it gives me so much hope and to be able to be non-binary and people use they/them pronouns without question,” Howes-Jensen said. “And I know that the people in this room have helped to lead to that change.”

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Pioneer’s ACT student group is made up of eight students that reimagined the school’s active bystander program and helped form connections with the district’s seventh graders. The group is made up of Lex Singh, Jayna Leger, Peter Loud, Rain Snow, Mia Fowler-Shaw, Liz Brown, Kelly Baird and Avery Johnson.

The Peacemaker Awards were created in 1999, following the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado and a couple of incidents involving youth violence in Turners Falls and Greenfield.

Okun said those honored Thursday were following in the footsteps of the young social justice advocates who have risen in the last half decade, like climate activist Greta Thunberg, gun control advocate David Hogg and the two newest stars, Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives for participating in a March gun control protest.

“I feel the inspiration of all of you. I feel your determination, your commitment, your focus,” Okun said. “And I know that you have an unwavering belief that a better world is possible.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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