Genocide Panel Discussion at the West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in Plainsboro, NJ. It was a very successful full-school-day event for 300-400 10th/11th grade world history students. The program started in the morning with the film “Schlindler’s List.” After lunch, the panel discussion chaired by Dr. Paul Winkler with five panelists: Jerry Ehrlich, M.D. (on Darfur), Dr. Vera Goodkin (on Holocaust), Eugenie Mukeshimana (on Rwanda), Dr. Nuran Nabi (on Bangladesh), and Dr. Don Tow (on Nanking). The students were captivated for over two and a half hours by the discussion of genocides in five different parts of the world by this panel of survivors and activists. The students asked many relevant questions, including how they can contribute to stopping genocides from reoccurring. Everyone involved thought that this event not only increased the knowledge of the students on these historical events, but may also lead to some follow-on actions by these students.

This event shows that with proper support from the teachers and school administrators, worthwhile events such as this could be held at other schools. The event could range from a full-day or half-day program discussing multiple genocides to a one-hour program covering just one genocide. NJ-ALPHA plans to organize more events of this type in 2013 focusing on the Asian genocide.