Earlier this year, a group of students at North Bergen High School spent under an hour cleaning the perimeter of their school for cigarette butts. They were surprised when they picked up around 2,000 butts, even though their campus is designated as a no-smoking zone for students.
“It was quite surprising,” said student Jainam Shah last week. “This year we are trying to change the school policies for not only the students, but for the teachers who smoke on school grounds too.”
Shah and other students are part of their high school’s chapter of REBEL – “Reaching Everyone By Exposing Lies” – which is an anti-smoking group.
Shah said his uncle chews tobacco, and that it moved him to join the club.
“My uncle was a big smoker and he had lung disease, so I sort of wanted to do this for him.” – Samia Sheikh
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For Jacqueline Bourdett, who lost both her grandfather and uncle to lung cancer, smoking has had an uncontrollable effect on her life.
When Bourdett found Bayonne High School’s chapter of REBEL, she found her voice and felt empowered against smoking.
“A lot of people [in my family] had a relationship with smoking and a lot of people got sick, and because of that a lot of them died, and I don’t want that to happen to anyone else,” said Bourdett last week.
Regional meeting
REBEL has chapters throughout the state, from middle schools to universities. Through the group, students seek new members, plan events, and educate their peers on the dangers of tobacco use.
Hudson County has eight chapters, with four in Jersey City and one each in North Bergen, Secaucus, Bayonne, and Kearny.
On Friday, April 24, students from all of the countywide chapters met to celebrate this year’s achievements at St. Joseph’s of the Palisades in West New York.
Bourdett is the organization’s youth advisor and organizes events with Lisa Perkins, the county’s REBEL coordinator. REBEL is overseen by a group called Partners in Prevention. Perkins said the club is run on students’ ideas and helps form leadership skills.
Each school with a chapter has to have a minimum of 15 members and complete four yearly events that educate their peers on the dangers of smoking.
Bourdett said that her chapter placed a coffin in her school’s hallway with pictures of celebrities who smoke, as well as an oversized cigarette and a person to represent how many people would die each year from smoking. Everyone stopped to look, and they even got a few new members.
A voice
Sophia D’Rozario is the president of the chapter at Liberty High School in Jersey City. Her uncle died from smoking, and her dad continues to smoke.
“I can change the environment one step at a time,” said D’Rozario. “REBEL helps me do that.”
Secaucus High School student Samia Sheikh, who joined the organization in middle school and is now her chapter’s vice president, said that her sister suggested she join.
“My uncle was a big smoker and he had lung disease, so I sort of wanted to do this for him,” said Sheikh.
This year she has helped organize events that depict the number of deaths from smoking ever year through handprints. They plan to draw out the shapes of bodies soon to represent those who die from the addiction.
She said that Rebel gave her a constructive way to express herself.
“It has had an impact on thousands of New Jersey residents in the past 10 years,” said Partners in Prevention Executive Director Samantha Harris. “I just have seen through the different work of the county and on the statewide basis, the power of a youth-led movement.”
She added, “This isn’t the adults doing this; it’s the kids. I think it’s kept a lot of kids from smoking cigarettes. I think it’s been a really wonderful movement that has allowed kids to have a voice.”
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.