Hauppauge Student Addresses U.N. General Assembly on 'Day of Peace'

A group of Hauppauge High School students had a front-row seat on Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly's "International Day of Peace," but among them, one student had the chance to address the Assembly with a message of her own.

Senior Jocelyn Aptowitz described the impact that education, theatre, speeches and small acts of peaceful coexistence can have in promoting positive change. “Sometimes, there is a stigma surrounding the word ‘peace.’ When we hear it we can get caught up in a fuzzy, perfect image and the prospect becomes so intimidating and distant that it can feel unattainable,” she said. “So how can we make peace attainable? The key is to use passion and courage to empower people to make positive change in their communities. If this happens, local change will become world change.”

Aptowitz is a member of the Hauppauge theater department, which created a day-long youth conference titled “Stage the Change, Theatre as a Social Voice” to be held at the Tilles Center in November. 

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dedicated this year's Day of Peace to peace education. 

“On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect,” he said. “Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity.”

Aptowitz said speaking at the U.N. helped her "understand how our work on ‘Stage the Change, Theatre as a Social Voice’ is so important because we do have the power to make a difference.”