Recently, the deadline for the Immigrant Learning Center’s (ILC) Teen Perspectives Contest passed on March 4th. Their main prompts for this year were: “What cultures and traditions do immigrants bring to your school, community, and/or the United States?” And “How do these cultures and traditions make America a better place?”
Immigration has become a hot topic of discussion because of President Donald Trump’s first acts since he took office and the effects they have had across the country. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the ILC cannot proclaim being for or against any laws or elected officials, but that does not mean that they are not susceptible to being affected by the government’s actions. However, despite these uncertain times, they remain strong.
Ariana Moir, the Education Program Manager at the ILC, stated that their Teen Perspectives contest has “had more submissions than [they] have in the past.” She believes that “there’s been a desire for people to share their opinions.”
This contest is open to students at Medford High School, Everett High School, and Malden High School; it serves as a way for these communities with large immigrant populations to demonstrate how immigrants enrich America with their cultures and traditions. With this year’s prompt, the competition is sure to produce beautiful works that embody the influence immigrants have had on their community.
This contest is open to students at Medford High School, Everett High School, and Malden High School; it serves as a way for these communities with large immigrant populations to demonstrate how immigrants enrich America with their cultures and traditions. With this year’s prompt, the competition is sure to produce beautiful works that embody the influence immigrants have had on their community.
After all, Moir said that the ILC expressed that “immigrants have always contributed to American society” and that “they always will.”
While some submissions have been anonymous or only used their first name, the contest is still thriving. Where one might suspect worries or declined activity, the opposite happens to be occurring. Moir also mentioned that different organizations have reached out in order to collaborate and ensure that teachers can inform students of what their rights are to keep them safe.
One of their main goals is to educate people, specifically on how immigrants have contributed to history and how they continue to contribute to American society via aspects such as the economy. Moir feels that they are “staying the course… not wading into politics” and trying to educate as they have always intended.
As their contest continues to grow, Malden High School has offered to host this year’s contest celebration in the gallery as the ILC’s conference room could not fit the huge and wonderful crowd last year.
Arts Collaborative Medford has also offered their space to display the works of the contest. The showcase will be free, open to the public, and held on April 17th at 6 pm. They hope to have students share their pieces as well as drawings for gift certificates.
