Poughkeepsie Day School students are well known for their interest in and commitment to social justice issues. Just one look at some of the names of popular PDS student "clubs" both now and in the past--Youth Against Discrimination, The Alliance, Amnesty International, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Model Congress, Model UN--and it is clear that PDS students take their role as activists in the school and larger community very seriously.

For example, the school's chapter of Youth Against Discrimination (YAD) organized a Women's Rights Week (April 3 - 7), in conjunction with Amnesty International's National Week of Student Action. According to student leader, PDS junior Rebekkah Judson, the main objectives of the week are "to generally raise awareness about issues of discrimination and violence against women (both in the US and abroad), and to lobby our senators in support of the ratification of the Treaty of the Rights of Women." The treaty is a document created by the United Nations that has been ratified by 182 nations so far, but not the United States.

To publicize the week, YAD posted signs around school explaining how women are still discriminated against and suffer--in particular, economically and physically--earning only 76 cents for every dollar as compared to men, and being victimized by violence and poor health care, especially in Third World countries during childbearing years.

The culminating event was a "photo petition," whereby pictures were taken of students and faculty holding a petition they had made showing their support of the treaty and urging the United States to ratify it. The photo petitions will be compiled and then e-mailed to New York's Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.