Social advocacy requires a balance between personal relations and attention-grabbing gestures to convince people to campaign for a cause, according to Idit Klein. Klein spoke on Sunday as a part of Phillips Academy’s Gay-Straight Alliance’s Gay Pride Weekend series. She related her experiences with social activism in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community and in religion. Klein also discussed ways in which grassroots organizations can make a difference. The granddaughter of Holocaust survivors on both sides of her family, Klein said that she “identified with people who were suffering in the world…from a really young age, [her] mind was very politicized.” This conviction stayed with her in high school. As part of a group called Dartmouth STARE, Students Take an Active Role in Education, Klein worked to convince the superintendent of her school district to reverse a previous decision to cut funding for extracurricular activities. Today, Klein’s contributions to social advocacy are performed on a larger stage, and she has learned new ways to advertise a cause. Klein serves as the Executive Director of Keshet, which means “rainbow” in Hebrew. Keshet is an organization that works with GLBT issues within the Jewish community. When she was first appointed Executive Director, Klein envisioned increasing Keshet’s political power in the Jewish community. However, many people she initially talked to were more interested in social networking than in political advocacy. Klein then recognized the importance for people to identify with the other members of the group before identifying with the group’s goals. From this, she deduced the need for community building within her vision for Keshet. This initial shift in perspective led to the present Keshet, which began as an organization focused primarily in the greater Boston area and progressed to become a national organization. Its influence spreads into the sphere of youth development and exemplifies how activism can reach across social issues to effect change. Klein used the Keshet Youth Group, geared toward GLBT Jewish high school students, to expound upon her point that organizations of any kind depend on the continuing tradition of strong leadership. “[The Youth Group] existed because there were queer Jewish youth who wanted it to exist,” said Klein. When the students who had initially spearheaded the Youth Group effort graduated from high school without having trained successors, the group disintegrated. Adults are now the main driving force behind Group events. Dean of CAMD Linda Carter-Griffith agreed with Klein’s assessment of continuity of leadership, citing the need for the “legacy [of strong leaders] to continue” as an example of the importance of reaching out. Klein also listened as attendees discussed the possibility of students having internal issues about tolerance while still projecting liberality. Rachel Cohen ’08, head of outreach for GSA, attributed the lack of gay relationships to the difficulty for some students to balance comfort and confidence in being “out” with being in a relationship. Instructor in History and Advisor to GSA Frank Tipton thought Andover’s aggressive pace of life contributed to a general lack of long-term relationships. Assistant Director of Community Service Adrienne Marshall added that Phillips Academy’s residential life program might not be conducive to complete openness about social issues. She said that question was “how to create a space where ‘-isms’ are up for discussion.” The CAMD office works to induce this kind of environment for the school community and provides training to all CAMD leaders, but there is still work to be done before all students will feel completely comfortable expressing their sexuality or any other aspect of their person. Acknowledgment of this kind of need, Klein pointed out, is what leads to social change.
