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Wednesday, June 07, 2000
By Jane Elizabeth, Post-Gazette Education Writer
Four years ago, Alexis Bills walked into school and noticed a few students wearing black armbands.
It was the beginning of her education about human rights violations suffered by people around the world.
Tomorrow, when she graduates from Mt. Lebanon High School, it will likely mark the beginning of a lifelong career in fighting those abuses.
"Human rights, it doesn't just go away," said Bills, 18, who joined the school chapter of Amnesty International in her freshman year, after she saw members of the organization wearing black armbands. "I'll always be active. It will be a part of my life."
Bills and her friend Julia Gimbrone, who also will graduate tomorrow night, eventually became co-leaders of the Mt. Lebanon human rights organization.
The two young women are part of a tiny group of teens who are dedicated to ending human rights abuses. When even grownups are apathetic about abuse in far-away locales, imagine trying to persuade a school full of teen-agers to care about violations against women in Ethiopia.
"We encountered a lot of apathy," said Bills. "It seemed too distant to them, too difficult, too hard to be involved in something so far away."
Bills has been active in lacrosse, orchestra and field hockey. But human rights was an abiding interest.
It wasn't always easy. Bills and Gimbrone often found themselves giving each other pep talks throughout their four years in Amnesty International.
"Julie and I had to remind each other...how rare it is to find young people who are involved. We told each other, they're too busy, they're too young, but they're really compassionate people."
Bills said she's sure to find more activism at Boston University, where she will study psychology beginning this fall.
"Boston is a really diverse place with a lot of opportunities," she said.
Alexis Bills, 18, who will graduate tomorrow from Mt. Lebanon High School, has been involved with Amnesty International since she was in ninth grade. (Joyce Mendelsohn, Post-Gazette)