High School Students Aim to Combat Injustices through Data Warriors Groups
“Why does it seem like our refugees all live on the North side of Syracuse?”A Henninger freshman is deep in conversation with a classmate, as they trade anecdotal knowledge of where their friends and classmates lived upon settling in Syracuse.
“We’re looking at issues that are impacting Syracuse,” Henninger 9th grader Isaac Bernard shared. “I joined Data Warriors because I want to help the City. Our roads are bad. Our parks aren’t safe. I want to help make a difference!”
Through the group that meets weekly after school, students look at forms of social injustices – gun violence, racism, ageism, LGBTQ rights, bullying and harassment, and more. They research the issues, citing local news stories and finding research to bolster their points. Then, they create research papers and posters to show what they found – as well as their proposed solutions to try to help.
“I think we should have a regular time when police officers are stationed at local parks,” Isaac suggested. “I’ve been out at a park before and have had to run away for my safety because there was gun violence. If there were officers there at certain times to keep the parks safe, it would give kids a safe place to play and hang out. Data Warriors is important. If I can start talking about making a change, others can join me and then we can make an even bigger impact.”
Data Warriors started as an extracurricular group at Nottingham a few years ago, the brainchild of Math teacher Ken Keech and Syracuse University professor Nicole Fonger. Nottingham students are just completing their third year with the program. This year, a new Data Warriors group began at Henninger, led by Math teacher and Corcoran graduate Xavier Trapps.
“As a SCSD student myself, I had the experience of what it’s like to be in their shoes,” Mr. Trapps reflected, gesturing to his students. “I know that for a program to be successful, it’s really important that everyone can learn something from it. It has to be tangible to everyone. With Data Warriors, we’re all from Syracuse. We can all relate to these issues. We can all gain something from this group. Sometimes, we can be ignorant to injustices happening around us. Through Data Warriors, we’re helping students learn to recognize the injustices that they may not have seen otherwise. We help them research and become confident in their skills… and then once they are, we give them opportunities to speak about these issues to people at Syracuse University and in the community. We give them exposure to people who can help them spread the word about these injustices on a larger scale and help them advocate for our city.”
The community response to the student Data Warriors has already been encouraging.
“People have been most excited to see the passion students have for these issues,” Dr. Fonger explained. “It helps create a heightened sense of awareness that wasn’t there before.”
Dr. Fonger now serves as a “Teacher Leader,” helping to advise Data Warriors students in their research. She also offers opportunities for her Syracuse University students to attend Data Warriors meetings as mentors, assisting students with research and statistics.
Last year, a group of Nottingham students conducted research on lead poisoning in Syracuse – which attracted the attention of community members. At the inaugural Data Warriors Showcase, students presented their findings and suggestions. One attendee – a local lawyer – was impressed, noting that she planned pursue legal action as a result of the students’ research. The students who conducted that research were there to hear her plans.
“That’s ultimately our vision with the Data Warriors program,” Mr. Keech said. “When we can educate ourselves, then we can educate others… and then, we can make a change. Our hope is that Data Warriors can be a way to help students see that they themselves are making a change. We want to use these issues to help kids become interested in math. We hope to create a positive culture shift in terms of how kids identify themselves as ‘math people.’”
To help initiate this shift, at Nottingham, Mr. Keech planned several field trips – open not just to the school’s Data Warriors but also to his Applications of Statistical Reasoning class. The group traveled to the Gerrit Smith Estate in Peterboro, NY to learn about one of the first abolitionists; as well as to Syracuse University to learn about conducting research and using graphing software.
Junior Geniah Galvao, who is not currently involved with Data Warriors, said her experience tagging along on these trips has inspired her to join the group next year.
“These trips have been eye-opening in terms of helping me see things in our community differently,” she explained. “It’s important for us to break generational cycles, and we can do that by getting involved.”
Senior Sha’meek Flagg said the trips have inspired him as he looks toward his future. Sha’meek earned an OSHA certification through his school’s Construction Technology CTE program and will be attending Lincoln University next year to study Business Administration. He hopes to one day become a business owner, leading his own construction business. On the research trip to SU, he was given the opportunity to dive deeper into one of the issues he’s passionate about and has spoken out about through his participation in the Syracuse Youth Advisory Council: homelessness and how it impacts former inmates.
“These experiences have helped me explore things that I hadn’t noticed in Syracuse before,” he shared. He noted that he hopes he can one day use his trade skills to help make a positive impact on these issues.
“Everyone just wants a better community… we can help make it great,” junior Awil Mohamud said. “Most people don’t pay attention to the issues we’re researching – like the concentrations of unfit properties and code violations that largely impact lower income populations. If we can raise awareness, we can start to bring about a change. Every year, our group is getting bigger and bigger. I really believe that we can make it into something that will truly impact Syracuse.”
Ultimately, Mr. Keech and Dr. Fonger hope to expand the Data Warriors program into all SCSD high schools. We look forward to seeing the positive impact these groups will continue to have on the City of Syracuse!
