MAGAZINE

March 27, 2014

YAK’S

CORNER

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February 26, 2015 | Issue 882

Tech team is tops, Pages 2 and 3.

Travel to Utah’s pet haven, Pages 4 and 5.

Youngest marcher made history, Pages 6 and 7.

Supported by readers of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News

TALES OF RESCUE, RIGHTS AND TECH!

A volunteer cuddles a bunny at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Photo Courtesy Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

From front, Tamanna Ahmed, 13, Wajiha Begum, 10, and Londyn Huffman, 13.

MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM2 Thursday, February 26, 2015

It isn’t every day that Gov. Rick Snyder singles out a school program for excellence, let alone in his televised State

of the State address. But that’s exactly what the governor did January 20, praising Detroit’s Davison Elementary-Middle School’s Techno Dragons to the rafters of the Capitol building.

Sitting near those rafters in the House of Representatives chamber, were two Davison teachers and three of the school’s 23 Techno Dragons. Applause thundered through the chamber as they stood to be acknowledged.

“The Techno Dragons is an awesome program,” Gov. Snyder told the Senate and House members in attendance and listeners across the state. The students are “essentially the tech support for the institution,” he said. “Davison Elementary-Middle School is one of the most outstanding schools in Detroit.”

(In a Detroit Excellence for Schools study,

Davidson ranks second among Detroit public schools and in a Mackinac Center review, eighth among Michigan schools.)

The Yak was amazed to learn that Davison’s student techies are charged with school computer repairs. We were so amazed, in fact, that we recently visited Davison to learn more.

We were met at Principal Dianne Holland’s office by Dragon Yoma Begum, who introduced herself, asked if we would like her business card, and offered to escort us to the Dragons’ computer lab. Yoma wore a long, white lab coat embroidered with a little green dragon, the team’s logo. The logo was on her card, too. She could have passed for a college science student or a medical intern. She was that poised and professional. She is 12.

The lab is housed in a spacious room equipped with every kind of computer: laptops, desktops, tablets, and netbooks.

More than half the Dragons were on hand along with teacher, LaDora Young, who founded the program five years ago, and her co-facilitator, Afjal Hussain. Techo Dragons is the only such program in the state and perhaps even in the country, “to the best of my knowledge,” Mrs. Young said.

“It’s unique in the fact that we cater to customer service and technology. You can google anything (about a computer problem) and figure out how to fix it yourself. But by providing good customer service you’re learning to greet people and are polite. That’s the difference.”

Tech Team is readyThe team is “the first line of defense” in

repairing and installing computers and other tech equipment at Davison. They set up equipment for school events; videotape all

All photos by Techno Dragons Sharmin Begum, Aaliyah Sanchez, and Tasmin MiahBack row, from left: Techno Dragons Aaliyah Sanchez, 12, Atiq Miah, 13, Yoma Begum, 13, Sadia Bequm, 13, Tajahar Ahmed, 13, Suliman Islam, 12, and Sharmin Begum, 12. Front row, from left: Tasmin Miah, 13, Londyn Huffman, 13, Tamanna Ahmed, 13, Wajiha Begum, 10, and Rhiannon Young, 10.

Techno Dragons Roar at Davison

Continued on Page 3.

KIDS MAKING NEWS

school events, prepare flyers and programs for all events; teach kindergarten and first grade tech classes, and more. It’s a lot of work so only students with outstanding academic records can apply for team membership.

“It’s a lot of technology to be responsible for at two separate buildings,” Mrs. Young said. “The program is for kids in fifth to eighth grade, but this year we had our first fourth grader. They have to be recommended by a teacher. Every day, I get asked at least 50 times, ‘Can I be on the Dragon team?’ A lot of kids want to be Dragons, every day, all day long.”

Team members must maintain at least a 2.8 grade point average, “but most are much higher,” she said. “We have many 4.0 students. Many didn’t start that way, but strived to get better and better.”

Techno Dragons are always on call if they’re not taking tests. When a teacher calls with a problem, Mrs. Young or Mr. Hussain will call one or two team members out of class and send them to try to solve it. If there’s another Dragon in the same class, he or she will share notes with the working Dragon.

On the morning we visited, Tajahar Ahmed, 12, and Suliman Islam, 12, had been deployed to help a fourth grade teacher who had lost Internet access. It was an easy fix. “The plug had become disconnected,” Suliman said.

When a team can’t solve a problem, Mrs. Young or Mr. Hussain will step in “and show them exactly what needs to be done,” Mrs. Young said, adding: “We do not have to call the DPS help desk nearly as much” as before the school had a student help desk. Even Principal Holland depends on the Dragons. When she got a new computer, she called the Dragons, who successfully transferred all her data, documents, photos, and software programs.

Dragon pride“My teacher, if she has a problem she

doesn’t even call Mrs. Young,” said Atiq Miah, 12. “She calls me to fix it.” Atiq wants to major in technology and engineering in college.

“I feel really good about myself being a Techno Dragon,” said Sharmin Begum, 13, who wants to become a computer software engineer. “You get to help other people and I really love helping other people. And we work as a family to help each other.”

Other Dragons had other career plans, but all expected to put their computer skills to good use. Aalliyah Sanchez, 12, wants to be a pediatrician and a fashion designer. Her tech savvy will come in handy in both fields, she said.

“Computers are being used in everything – to pay bills, everything,” said Sharmin, who was born in Bangladesh.

“I went to Bangladesh last year for four months,” she said. “Everyone was really amazed by my technical skills – like my family members, all of my dad’s friends.”

Only seven of the 23 Dragons were boys. Mrs. Young and Mr. Hussain didn’t know why. “Girls are into technology,” Mr. Hussain said. “They are more interested.”

We asked the kids what they thought. “Girls can do anything they put their mind to and so can boys,” Aalliyah said. The other members agreed. But Yoma speculated that girls might be better at following through on un-fun tasks, such as filling out the Techno Dragons application form. Go Dragons! Go, Davison boys and girls!

By Patricia Chargot

MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM Thursday, February 26, 2015 3

Starting at left, front to back: Techno Dragons Atiq Miah, 13, Yoma Begum, 13, and Rhiannon Young, 10. Right side of lab, front to back: Sadia Bequm, 13, Tamanna Ahmed, 13, Wajiha Begum, 10, and Londyn Huffman, 13.

From left, Techo Dragons Tajahar Ahmed, 12, and Suliman Islam, 12.

Continued from Page 2.

One of the Yak’s very favorite teachers has a classroom motto the Yak will always remember: “Love is spoken here.”

When the Yak recently visited Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in beautiful Kanab, Utah, those words echoed in his head and heart. If ever there was a place that love is spoken, loud and clear, it is at Best Friends. The sanctuary, which celebrated its 30th birthday last year, is the largest no-kill shelter for pets in the United States. “No-kill” means that the animals are safe to live out their lives at the sanctuary should they not be adopted.

A volunteer visitAbout 30,000 people visit Best Friends

each year, with thousands, including the Yak, making volunteering part of their visit. We started the day with a short film, followed by a bus tour, getting the lay of the spectacular land. There are areas for all of the animal residents including Dogtown, Cat World, Horse Haven, Piggy Paradise, Bunny House and Parrot Garden. The sanctuary stretches across nearly 3,700 acres of red rock canyon country, and to call it majestic just doesn’t seem grand enough.

After a dozen wild turkeys crossed our path in the parking lot (they must know it’s a safe haven for all animals!), we were off. One of the first structures we passed was an old barn, a remnant from the Disney movie set, “One Little Indian,” filmed back in the 1970s. It served as the first sanctuary building when the Angel Canyon property was purchased and Best Friends Animal Society was founded in 1984. From there, we got an overview of the vast property and made stops in Dogtown and Cat World, where hundreds of cats and dogs of all ages, breeds and description await a loving home.

After visiting with some furry friends on the main tour, we checked out Parrot Garden, a home to more than 60 feathered friends, including beautiful Amazons, Macaws, Cockatiels and African Grays.

We learned that birds in captivity could have long life spans. Smaller birds, like Cockatiels can live 30 years while larger Macaws and Cockatoos might live to be 100 and colorful Amazons can live up to 60 years. For that reason, deciding to adopt a bird is a big responsibility. Some of the birds at the sanctuary will likely live out their golden years at Best Friends and others are “bonded pairs,” and must be adopted together because they are truly best friends.

From Parrot Garden we made our way to Angel Village Cafe for a delicious vegetarian lunch prepared daily for sanctuary staff and visitors. The food was fresh and healthy (a king-sized salad bar, cheese ravioli, cookies and fruit), and the view was breathtaking. Our lunch mate, Barbara Williamson, media relations manager at Best Friends, told us the sanctuary takes pride in preparing an inviting lunch for visitors who might be

new to vegetarian eating. Afterwards, we yakked with sanctuary co-founder Faith Maloney, who had just spent her lunch break chatting with two visitors who hope to start a cat rescue. (The Sanctuary also provides workshops throughout the year on animal advocacy issues, including how to start and run a sanctuary.)

From there, it was time to volunteer at The Fairway area in Dogtown where we helped dog caregiver Meg Burke with afternoon chores including cleaning outdoor kennels, rinsing and re-filling water buckets, and walking eight dogs, including four sweet pit bull terriers, Stretch, Lordus, Sonya and Sierra Mist and a red hound named Abrams.

Abrams, who had come to Best Friends from a shelter in Arizona, stood outside, away from his smaller barking kennel mates.

Continued on Page 5.

Thursday, February 26, 20154 MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM

Photo by Steve CampbellA sign greets visitors at the entrance of the beautiful sanctuary property. The sanctuary owns nearly 3,700 acres and is surrounded by another 17,000 acres of leased state and federal land. Above inset, Best Friends co-founder Faith Maloney with Ruby. Photo Courtesy Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Utah Haven Gives Pets A Loving PlaceYAK ON THE ROAD

5MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM Thursday, February 26, 2015

Photo Courtesy Best Friends Animal SanctuaryVolunteers are important because they can help provide extra love and attention to animals awaiting adoption.

Photo by Steve CampbellDogtown volunteer coordinator Kathleen Handley holds Flint at the puppy pre-school.

He was sweet and shy and we couldn’t resist taking him on a doggie sleepover at the end of the day. In the morning, we returned Abrams to Dogtown, but joked that he must have been watching “How to Get Adopted” DVDs in his kennel because he was a perfect hotel guest and overnight companion.

Volunteer coordinator Kathleen Handley showed us around a bit more, including a visit to puppy pre-school, where all the puppies live. We met an adorable Shar-Pei and Mastiff mix named Flint (perfect for Michiganders!) and learned that litters are often named with a theme. Flint’s brothers are Shale and Gossan, and all three have now been adopted.

We came to help at the shelter and write a story, but along with taking away our reporter’s notebook and wonderful memories, we also took Abrams, who is now at home in Michigan.

By Janis Campbell

Reporter’s note: Abrams now goes by the name Winston.

Continued from Page 4. Yakking With Faith Maloney

Faith Maloney never set out to help create the largest animal sanctuary in the United States. She didn’t dream of being a trailblazing leader in the way animals are treated in the shelter environment. She and a group of friends simply wanted to save animals, as many as they possibly could.

They started small, rescuing animals from the local humane society near Prescott, Arizona, in the late 1970s. But thanks to adoption programs, spay and neuter programs, and organizations like Best Friends leading the change in animal shelter policy, the number of pets dying in shelters each year has dropped significantly from about 17 million in 1984 to about 4 million a year today, according to Best Friends statistics.

Faith, who has a degree in fine arts, says her early career involved working with people, not pets. “A lot of my working life, I worked with people. I did counseling work, I did rehabilitation work,” says Faith. “I was a pet lover, like a lot of people are,” says Faith, adding she and her friends “just started taking care of animals and this is what happened.”

By 1984, the friends joined together and acquired property in beautiful Angel Canyon, and Best Friends was born. About seven to 10 years in, the group realized it could have a real impact. “Having a sanctuary, even a big one like this, is not going to solve the problem,” says Faith. At that point, the group realized they needed to go where the problems are – across the country – sharing information, exploring partnerships and collaborations and finding ways to give other groups and organizations the tools to help protect animals and prevent them from being killed in the shelter system, explained Faith. That’s exactly what they did, creating a national “No More Homeless Pets Network,” among many other programs. Today, their bold goal is to “save them all.”

By Janis Campbell

Come back to Yak’s Corner next month to read about a young girl’s inspired animal advocacy. To learn more about Best Friends, visit www.bestfriends.org.

Help Wanted!Kids ages 6 to 17 are welcome to

volunteer with their families. There is also a Best Friends summer camp June 1 to Aug. 15 for 6 to 9-year-olds to enjoy while their parents or guardians are volunteering.

Can you imagine making history before you turn 15? Can you imagine that doing the right thing

might mean you would go to jail nine times? And all to help people vote?

Lynda Blackmon Lowery did that. That’s just part of the story that Lynda

says always surprises the young people she meets at schools or bookstores as she shares her personal history, “Turning 15 On the Road To Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March” (Dial) in the account she told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley.

“By the time I was fifteen years old, I had been in jail nine times,” is the powerful opening line in this memorable book. Lynda shares the horrifying, but also inspiring, events that happened 50 years ago when marchers were beaten in the protest walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma,

Alabama. The beatings by police and state troopers were so severe the event became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

This year, the Oscar-nominated movie, “Selma,” depicts those events and the history leading up to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, passed in August of that year.

Lynda, now a grandmother, has seen the movie. “I had to leave the movie theater” when the march scene was shown.

Lynda was a young marcher, not yet 15, but had participated in many acts of civil disobedience in the struggle for civil rights.

Her message in the book and in talking with young people especially is, “…That they can make change happen. That they are our future history-makers.”

We had a chance to talk by phone with

Lynda, from her home in Selma, as we near the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” confrontation in Selma and the historic Selma to Montgomery walk led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Lynda adds that the movie was impressive, but shared with us one thing that the movie didn’t show: children in the forefront. “The children were the base and the cement,” explained Lynda in many of the ‘60s protests, as adults could lose their jobs. Of course, people didn’t realize how those in authority would hurt the marchers.

Lynda, even though only 14, was badly beaten and still has the scars. But,

“I wouldn’t change going to jail, or getting beat, or walking or being afraid,” she says.

“(From that) I learned so many lessons that have taken me through life…”

She says she is often asked about the jail times, and hastens to tell people that she was not arrested “for taking things, but for my beliefs.” And she was jailed for doing right because “the people in power believed I was doing wrong.”

What was wrong? In 1964, although the U.S. Constitution stated that all men and women were allowed to vote, the Constitution was abused in places like Selma, Alabama, as local election officials

Thursday, February 26, 20156 MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM

Photo by © Robin Cooper.Lynda Blackmon Lowery is a case manager in the mental health field, but volunteers in voter reg-istration drives. She has two adult daughters and three grandchildren, all of whom have heard her personal story of the voting rights marches.

Photo by © John Kouns/syndicjournal.us in “Turning 15 On the Road to Freedom”

Young students pictured in a peaceful protest at the George Washington Carver Homes, where Lynda lived.

The 1965 VoTing RighTs MaRchMarcher shares struggle to vote

Continued on Page 7.

came up with tests that were impossible to complete, barring African-American citizens from registering to vote. As the civil rights movement grew, protests against this treatment – and other unfair and discriminatory treatments – grew, as did the arrests and jailing of the protesters by the police in Alabama.

Lynda can still remember the huge catalyst, or an impetus to change, that took place when Dr. King first came to preach at her church. She was 13 then and said, “I was already listening with intent. We wanted to hear every word he was saying.”

Three words stuck with her all her life and they were “steady, loving confrontation.”

“Those three words were just as powerful as ‘I have a dream’ or ‘I have been to the mountaintop’,’’ recalls Lynda.

“He told a whole church full of people that you can make anything happen with steady, loving confrontation.”

“That’s what I have done all of my life since I was 13...trying to change things simply with steady, loving confrontation.”

In her book, Lynda details the price of that confrontation. Her mother had died when she was 7. She was raised by her father and grandmother, who told Lynda that her own mother’s death was due to not being admitted to a hospital for whites only.

It was that grandmother – “a phenomenal woman” who took her to hear Dr. King.

Writes Lynda in the book, “The way he sounded just made you want to do what he was talking about. He was talking about voting and what it would take for our parents to exercise that right.

In the book, Lynda describes the scary part of going to jail, but said after the first time, “Yes, I was scared when I went to jail, but the second time I had all my friends with me and we had each others’ backs.”

Such treatment did not deter Lynda, nor the others.

She was eager to march on what became “Bloody Sunday.”

Lynda, although beaten on the bridge,

was even more determined to join Dr. King’s march from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital of Alabama.

Her father allowed her to go, as long as she was accompanied by women from her church.

Afraid? Yes. However, she says, “If you see something that you want changed, all you got to do is to have determination, and have a respect for the fear that change brings about. People are afraid of change…but you have to embrace that fear with strong determination.”

Lynda faced that fear and saw that change with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed in August. She is not only disappointed, but is angry when people

don’t register to vote. “It’s a God-given right. And people died so you could have that right. People were beaten.”

She will be at the celebrations at the bridge in March. Will she meet President Obama when he is there?

“I’d like to give him my book,” says Lynda.

We hope she does. You can be inspired, too. You’re not too young to start.

“Life is a journey and everyday in your life, you do something historical,” says Lynda.

“You have the ability to change things and make history.”

By Cathy Collison

7Thursday, February 26, 2015MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM

Photo by © AL.com/Landov in “Turning 15 On the Road to Freedom”Dr. King speaks to marchers for voting rights at the capitol in Montgomery. Lynda was among those who marched more than 50 miles from Selma. Next month, many will not only do the bridge walk, but will also walk the Selma to Montgomery route.

50th anniversary MarchThousands are expected in Selma, Alabama, in March to celebrate and walk across

the Edmund Pettus Bridge. President Barack Obama is scheduled to join a walk on Saturday, March 7. On Sunday, the annual anniversary march, or jubilee, will take place.

In addition, the National Park Service is conducting a special reenactment of the Selma to Montgomery march. You can learn more at http://www.nps.gov/semo/index.htm

Continued from Page 6.

MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM8 Thursday, February 26, 2015

Draw on only white 8 -by-11 paper and use bright colors. Be sure to print your name, age, city and phone number clearly on the back of your drawing. Send your art to Yak’s Corner Art, c/o DNIE, 160 W. Fort, Detroit, MI 48226.

Send usyour art

Yak’s Corner is brought to you by Cathy Collison, Janis Campbell, Patricia Chargot and Marty Westman. For more information, contact Yak’s Corner publisher Deb Scola, Michigan.com, Community Affairs Director, at dscola@michigan.com or at 313-222-6895. Yak’s Corner is printed once-a-month for classrooms and is available to all subscribers with the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News e-editions every Thursday. Our next e-edition is March 5.

By Tajmir Ahmed, 5th grade, Detroit By Bryanda Washington, 5th grade, Detroit

The Yak sure enjoyed the artwork from Davison Elementary-Middle School this week. Come back next week as we showcase the winners in the Yak’s Favorite Book Character contest.

We also are already asking for April art, especially for our April 16 issue, just before Earth Day. Do you have an Earth Day message to share in a poster? Or your favorite nature scene? Using 81/2 by 11 paper and bold colors, show the Yak your April powers. Send the art by March 16 to the address below.

By Savannah Hope, 4th grade, DetroitBy Anisa Khan, kindergarten, Detroit By Nabhia Begum, 2nd grade, Detroit

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!