By Jake Dziubla
Round Table sports editor
Ever since the nonprofit group Invisible Children’s “KONY 2012” video appeared on YouTube, it has gained the attention of more than 84 million people who have watched the half-hour long segment on Uganda’s brutal warlord and how to support the campaign against him. Since then, Kony has become a household name and has garnered an influx of social activists, young and old. The influence of the campaign has even spread to the halls of Middletown High School, where junior Isabel Geisler has been coordinating a presentation to spread awareness.
Geisler, along with a team of other MHS students, has formed SAGA: Students Advocating Global Awareness. Geisler and SAGA plan to show their own “KONY” presentation to fellow students in an attempt to raise awareness.
“We want to raise basic awareness on the issues covered in the video and hopefully get people interested in global issues,” said Geisler.
While SAGA and Geisler may praise the teachings of Invisible Children, they dismissed supporting the actual group and, instead, support the values and teachings behind them.
In addition to working with students at MHS, SAGA has worked with students at Middletown Middle School. SAGA has recently finished a “poverty simulation” with MMS students and plans to educate them on Child Soldiers, another nonprofit organization that works to prevent children used in war.
“We’re making it age-appropriate by using The Hunger Games as a metaphor,” said Geisler as she explained how SAGA plans to relate MMS students to larger and broader issues.
As far as its own “KONY” presentation is concerned, SAGA has encountered several roadblocks. The major issue revolves around organizing an objective, or possibly optional, presentation to attend. Geisler called the situation anything but simple to manage, and said that it is “complicated.”
“We don’t want to seem like we are forcing students to watch the video, but we’re working with Mr. (Mike) Watson (MHS assistant principal) to determine show times,” said Geisler. SAGA plans to use the MHS auditorium for its presentation.
Regardless of the outcome of the presentation itself, Geisler and SAGA have good intentions in regards to educating fellow students. Geisler, speaking on behalf of SAGA, hopes that the message they preach will inspire students to make a difference in the lives of others.
“I think students today don’t realize the impact they can have on these issues. We’re giving them the motivation and opportunity to do that now,” she said.
