Students tackling school safety

After recent school shootings, countering prejudice and ‘otherness’ is high on the agenda for junior youth groups

Baha’i-initiated junior youth groups often discuss the needs of their neighborhood and community. Sometimes those issues — bullying, for example — are personal. These groups aim to empower middle-schoolers to be agents of positive change. So it’s not surprising many of them talked about school safety in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting on Feb. 14.

As a whole, their conversations were framed by an ongoing quest to tackle prejudice and “otherness” in thought and action. Here are four glimpses: