Student Campers to Confront Prejudices

To cultivate pride in multiculturalism and understanding of race relations, 20 Valley youngsters are heading off to a San Bernardino Mountains campsite for six intensive days of confronting their stereotypes and prejudices about race, gender and sexual orientation.

“This camp is not ‘fun,’ ” said Jerry Freedman Habush, spokesman for The National Conference of Christians and Jews that sponsors the Brotherhood/Sisterhood USA camp.

“It’s for serious-minded kids,” Habush said, explaining that the workshops and group sessions at the camp are vigorous in taking on identity issues and examining current topics in the news--like the racial and gender-based perspectives on the O.J. Simpson case.

This year marks the 44th year of the Brotherhood/Sisterhood program, although the race relations camp started only 10 years ago. More than 100 Los Angeles students representing many races will meet at the camp Saturday

Bruce Bui, a 17-year-old Arleta resident who is Vietnamese-American and gay, said he applied because he heard that Asian-American males were underrepresented at the camp and he also wanted to share his experiences as a gay youth.

Shannon Burke, 17, of Studio City, said she is excited about going to the camp because “you meet a lot of interesting people and deal with a lot of important issues like racism and sexism.”

The National Conference and the Los Angeles Unified School District provide most of the $200-per-person costs of the six-day camp.