56 GL AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2019BELL AND TAYLOE: COURTESY OF SAMSUNGMake Your School Safer
A
s excited as most girls
are to go back to school
(new classes! new
friends! new clothes!),
many also have concerns. Sadly,
issues like gun violence, bullying
and harassment continue to
plague our hallways—and make
students feel unsafe. While it
sometimes seems like these
problems are insurmountable
(and our country is majorly
divided on the right solutions),
these teens have taken action to
make their schools a safer place.ENCOURAGING
INCLUSIVITY
Looking around her freshman
classroom, Peyton Klein noticed
the girl sitting behind her was
struggling to communicate,
as English wasn’t her native
language. That’s when it hit
her: “I believed in these values
of diversity and inclusion, but I
wasn’t actually living by them,”
Peyton, now 18, says.
Peyton approached the girl.
Her name was Khawla and she
was a Syrian refugee. As the pair
became friends, Khawla shared
with Peyton how difficult it was
to learn a new language in a
new place.
Wanting to help, Peyton
organized weekly student chat
sessions between native English
speakers and those who were
learning the language. The goal
was to find ways they could
make their school more
welcoming. The meetings
ended up being so popular that
the girls eventually formed an
official school club called Global
Minds Initiative.
These days, the club is
spreading rapidly, with 25chapters in schools across the
U.S. and Canada. Members go
on field trips, listen to speakers,
participate in leadership pro-
grams—and, most importantly,
create a safe space where any-
one can speak up about issues
they’re facing.
“At some point in our lives,
we’ve all felt that experience
of being new, whether it’s to a
school, a place you’ve moved
or a job,” Peyton says. “Being
inclusive and welcoming is
beneficial for everyone.”SHINING A LIGHT
ON MENTAL HEALTH
Kenidra Woods, 18, has dealt
with depression and anxiety her
whole life. But three years ago,
she realized that openly talking
about her dark times might help
others facing similar mental
health issues. “I was like, I want
to turn this around for the
good,” she remembers.
So one sunny day before
school, she decided to wear a
dress—even though it revealed
the scars on her legs from when
she used to self-harm. Many
of her classmates thanked her
for her honesty. “They were
like, ‘You don’t know how much
you’re inspiring me to come out
about my own story,’” she says.
But Kenidra knew she could
do more to advocate for mental
health. She started the CHEE-
TAH Movement (Confidence,
Harmony, Enlightenment,
Encouragement, Tranquility,
Awareness and Hope), and
spends much of her time speak-
ing with classmates about their
mental health concerns. When
they confide in her about their
struggles, she does what she
can to get them help.THESE 5 TEEN ADVOCATES ARE WORKING
HARD TO CREATE A SPACE TO MAKE SURE EVERY
STUDENT GETS TO BE THEIR BEST—
AND THEY’VE GOT TIPS FOR HOW YOU
CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, TOO.BY CHRISANNE GRISÉPEYTON KLEINKENIDRA WOODSCELIA ZILIAK