Published: May 11, 2008 11:30 pm            

HHS student spreads message of acceptance

In March, a group of Huntsville High School students participated in a bonding event called “Challenge Day” which helped them to understand and feel close to each other.

For 15-year-old HHS student Nathan Zeisig, “Challenge Day” provided an opportunity to take the connections established during the activity and share them with others.

“I went to ‘Challenge Day,’ and I thought it was pretty cool because it brought people who just went to school together closer than they ever thought they could be,” he said. “By the end of the day, we were talking about some very deep things, and I thought it would be really cool if we could identify each other after the day was over.

“At the same time, I was thinking about the conflicts of that, and I realized that if we kept our connection between people who went to ‘Challenge Day,’ it would create a clique, and the whole point of ‘Challenge Day’ was acceptance.”

In order to bring other people into the “Challenge Day” mindset, Zeisig devised an easy way to identify people who were “safe” — meaning those who would be willing to talk openly about different issues, whether they had gone to the actual “Challenge Day” or not.

“I had this idea to start handing red string out to all of my friends, and before long, people I didn’t even know very well were handing out the string also,” he said. “The whole point is, if you see somebody wearing a red string, you can go up to them without fear of being turned away.

“That means that person is safe to walk up to and talk with, even though that might sound a little strange.”

Since Zeisig started handing out red string bracelets at his school, he said he has noticed a few subtle differences in the way students act toward each other.

“I’ve seen a couple of people waving at each other in the hallway,” he said “After school, I’ve also seen people talking about ‘Challenge Day’ and the red strings with other students.

“Now, I’ll see people who have them on and I’ll go up to them, and they’re people I’ve never met.”

According to United Way of Walker County executive director Julie Schneider, the red strings have not just been distributed to students.

“Nathan Zeisig came to our April board meeting and gave an assessment of ‘Challenge Day’ to us,” she said. “He then presented each of the board members with their red string bracelet to show their support for the ‘Challenge Day’ students and their efforts. He even gave each of the board members a hug before he left.

“It was a wonderful thing to meet Nathan — he truly is a special young man.”

Zeisig’s mother, Joan Zeisig, said she was very proud of her son’s initiative to create a connection among students and community members.

“First of all, I think ‘Challenge Day’ was an excellent way to bring kids together — it sounded like it was very intense,” she said. “When he came home and wanted to do something to extend it, I was very proud of him for wanting to do that.

“It was impressive that he thought of using a red string to say to other people, ‘I was there, I want you to be able to come up to me.’”

Since he started handing out the red strings, Zeisig said other students who went to ‘Challenge Day’ have expressed an interest in distributing the strings, as well.

“A couple of my close friends really think it’ll work,” he said. “I hope it works, and so do they, but I don’t think we can really predict how it’ll go. There are good signs, though — of all of the people I’ve talked to about wearing a string, only three have said they wouldn’t wear it.”

Zeisig said his goal for distributing the red strings is simply to create a feeling of trust among students and eventually teachers.

“I’ve only talked to two teachers about it so far, but we’re going to start giving strings to teachers and other adults after a while,” he said. “Basically, I’m hoping this will bring everybody together and help us have a kind of sense of community.”

        

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