Teens Head to Camp to Confront Prejudices

Like legions of other recently liberated students, about 25 San Fernando Valley teenagers are scheduled to leave this morning for camp--in their case, a weeklong session in the San Bernardino Mountains.

But organizers of the Brotherhood-Sisterhood Camp say this group can forget about typical high jinks like midnight panty raids and games of Marco Polo in the lake. Instead, about 100 teens from the Los Angeles Unified School District will travel to the mountains to confront racism, sexism, homophobia and other prejudices.

“They know when they’re going up that it’s not a lark. It’s not a week for archery or swimming or things like that,� said Jerry Freedman Habush, a consultant for the National Conference of Christians and Jews, which has sponsored the camp nearly every year since 1950.

Participants are high school students who have been referred to the camp by teachers, counselors and former campers. The camp costs $300, but Habush said nearly all of the cost is defrayed by the National Conference and LAUSD.

After a day or two of getting acquainted, campers will begin tackling the basic question of how they perceive each other. Initially separated into four major groups--white, Asian, Latino and African American--they will do dialogue exercises. Large groups of combined races and genders will be emphasized as the week progresses.

The camp can be intense, Habush said, which is why many of the roughly 20 adult staffers are trained therapists or counselors.

“There are always kids that will break down,� Habush said. “Many of them come up almost defenseless. But we don’t attack them. We help them build themselves up.�