By AMANDA DAMON
Recently Jericho High School held its first Climate Ribbon Event, an art installation intended to raise awareness about social media and, particularly about putting an end to texting and driving. The goal of the Climate Ribbon fundraiser is to raise money in order to continue spreading this important message throughout JHS and the community at large. Many members of the Jericho community participated in the Climate Ribbon Event this year, with administrators, faculty, students and parents all making donations and contributions to the cause. Tote bags, phone stickers, and other printed material were on sale for a small donation.
Art Club Advisor Mrs.Cosenza shared her hopes for the club. She said, “I intend to get the students that are in the club to use their artistic talents to reach out to others. I hope students involved in the Art Club will enjoy creating art that serves a purpose. I hope to give students who enjoy the arts time and space to explore their creativity, whether it be physical artwork or developing ideas to artistically find solutions to problems or issues that surround us as a community. Our desire is to creatively make a difference.” Additionally, one of the presidents of the Art Club, Gabrielle Levin, said, “Our overall mission of the Climate Ribbon was to raise awareness of driving while distracted and also advertise our slogan ‘bag it,’ which tells people to always put away, or ‘bag,’ their cellphones while driving. Students and teachers were encouraged to write on a ribbon what they felt was most important to them and pledge that they would drive safely because of it.”
This year the Art Club has undergone vast transformation. Mrs. Cosenza and sophomores Gabrielle Levin and Nicolette Rolnick worked to incorporate a social media awareness component in hopes of educating people about the importance of safe social media usage. Members of the Art Club viewed the first Climate Ribbon Event as a huge success and hope to continue it in years to come. President Gabrielle Levin shared, “The Art Club is also currently working on getting a speaker to talk to the middle school students about online safety, driving while distracted, and other problems related to social media. We have many things in store to bring more awareness to Jericho.” The Art Club also has plans to raise enough money for a community billboard and to place ads in local magazines and newspapers.
