Act NOW
by Emily Raij
Like so many students, Winter Park High School junior Maddi Zornek spent much of 2020 and early 2021 learning from home, but she used that time to connect with a cause close to her heart.
She attended a memorial event for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in September 2020 and also met Kim Porteous, past president of Florida’s National Organization for Women (NOW) chapter. Those two experiences ignited a passion for NOW’s work, and Maddi has since spent much of the last year volunteering as a social-media intern for the organization.
When Maddi returned to the WPHS campus in August, she was inspired and ready to amplify the voices of her fellow students.
“The NOW internship allowed me to meet a lot of people in the organization and go to their events,” says Maddi, who spent the summer of ‘21 planning a NOW Club at WPHS, setting up social media accounts, and reaching out to other students to help and serve as officers. “I just felt like we needed something like this at our school.”
In the fall, during the school’s annual club rush, Maddi set up a table for the NOW Club and connected with many students who were eager to get involved. There are now close to 40 members who regularly attend the club’s biweekly, discussion-based meetings on Tuesdays. Officers meet on the off weeks to plan activities and programs.
“Our ultimate goal is to create a safe space for people to share what they want to change about school,” says Maddi.
That includes discussing issues like feminist ideals, gender discrimination, and sexism and also encompasses discrimination against other groups.
“One of the things we really emphasize with our club is intersectionality,” says Maddi. “You don’t have to be one-dimensional. You can be a person of color and someone who likes the same sex or a member of a repressed religion. Anything that causes a person to have privilege or oppression.”
Other issues on the club’s agenda include the school dress code, mental health, social justice, and racism.
Stronger than Brick
The WPHS NOW Club began its activism right at the start of the school year when a troubling matter was brought to Maddi’s attention. A few bricks on the walkway by the school’s pool had Confederate flags engraved on them. The bricks were created by members of the Class of ’89 and apparently went unnoticed for decades.
“As soon as I heard, I emailed our principal, Matthew Arnold, and, on behalf of the NOW Club, met with him,” Maddi explains. “He immediately worked to get the engravings removed. He said he was unaware of them before I contacted him. He got them removed within three days of contacting him. They were completely sanded down.”
Maddi also talked with Principal Arnold about racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic graffiti on some bathroom walls. He had that removed, as well, but Maddi had some constructive criticism about the way he first communicated the vandalism incident to the school community.
“I said he needed to be more direct and say it’s not welcome here,” recalls Maddi. “There was a lot going on – vandalism, walkouts, news reporters – but I wish he would have been clearer. He was rushed to get something out on the school news and have one message for the student body, but I wish he would have drafted a better message.”
Principal Arnold was receptive to Maddi’s feedback, and his second message was stronger and more directly stated that racism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism will not be tolerated at Winter Park High. When Maddi was a student at Maitland Middle School, she remembers the school’s principal organizing a meeting between a Holocaust survivor and a student who made anti-Semitic remarks. She says a similar meeting could be beneficial at Winter Park High.
Listening to others and learning about them are foundational principles for NOW, and Maddi is learning a lot about her classmates as president of the WPHS NOW Club. For example, she was shocked to hear that many had not previously received any kind of sex education in their public schools. Maddi enjoys hearing new perspectives that challenge her way of thinking, and she especially likes that she can make a positive impact while supporting diverse student voices.
In addition to hearing from her fellow students, Maddi is excited about the speakers the NOW Club is hosting. Anna Eskamani, the State Congresswoman from Orange County’s 47th district, recently came in to discuss what it means to create change and how a single individual can make a tremendous impact. The club also plans to host other speakers and professional panels and organize fundraisers for local organizations like the Zebra Coalition, which supports and inspires LGBTQ+ youth. Students who volunteer for the club’s initiatives can earn valuable service hours for college scholarships.
Maddi is also in Winter Park High’s IB program and plays volleyball. She and her family belong to Congregation of Reform Judaism. Maddi is active in BBYO and serves as the coleader of its Orlando J-Serve chapter, which plans Jewish community service for teens.
It’s clear Maddi isn’t afraid to lead or speak up, and she encourages her peers to do the same.
“Your voice matters, and you will be heard,” she says. “You can create change where you can and just keep fighting for what is right, and we’ll be fighting alongside you.”