[Archived] Alexandria Human Rights Commission Honors Students with 2006 Student Human Rights Awards

City Press Release


	For Immediate Release	For More Information, Contact
	June 22, 2006 PIO# 155-06/rdo	Brian Hannigan, Director of Communications, or Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300 Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300

Alexandria Human Rights Commission Honors
Students with 2006 Student Human Rights Awards

The Alexandria Human Rights Commission has honored Courtney Rachelle Wu of T. C. Williams High School and the Unity through Diversity (UTD) program of St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes Upper School as winners of its 2006 Student Human Rights Awards. The commission established the Human Rights Awards to recognize students who have contributed significantly toward improving basic human rights and fairness for all in the City. The commission, Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille, and the City Council recently recognized the students’ achievements publicly. Each winner received a commemorative plaque from the commission and a cash award that was funded by the William D. Euille Foundation.

In April, officers of the Human Rights Commission contacted key administrators at T. C. Williams, Bishop Ireton, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School, Thornton Friends, Episcopal, and the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College to invite high school juniors and seniors and first-year college students to apply for the awards. Students were required to submit an essay and supportive nomination showcasing the student’s or student group’s contributions toward promoting equality, respect, and understanding for all persons regardless of race, color, culture, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

The Alexandria Human Rights Commission honored Courtney Rachelle Wu for her efforts to promote cultural diversity at T. C. Williams High School. The senior sought to involve school clubs and organizations in promoting a sense of social and cultural integration and to encourage students to go outside of their “comfort zones” and work with different people on a collaborative annual volunteer project in the City. She has been described as an “ambassador of friendship.”

The UTD program at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes Upper School has thrived this year under the leadership of students and co-presidents Lindsay Wright and Alysia Harris, recent graduates who will respectively attend Wesleyan University and the University of Pennsylvania in the fall. The commission recognized the group for sponsoring a Multicultural Night, a school-wide assembly, to confront the issues of race, language, culture, socioeconomic class, sexual preference, and even taste in music. UTD held forums after the assembly, networked in the broader community, and served as a catalyst for constructive changes at the school, including proposing a course on multicultural issues.

The Alexandria City Council created the Human Rights Commission in 1975 to advise the City Council on matters related to human rights affecting the City and to oversee the Office of Human Rights. The Office of Human Rights enforces the Alexandria Human Rights Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination based on age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, familial status, or disability.

For more information on the Student Human Rights Awards and this year’s winners, call Jean Niebauer of the City’s Office on Human Rights at 703.838.6390; or Jenny Wade of the Human Rights Commission at 703.549.3352.

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