Ventnor students honored for Gandhi contest

Last Updated on Tuesday, December 04, 2012 03:53 pm Written by SHAUN SMITH Thursday, December 06, 2012 01:00 am

Eighth grade students at the Ventnor Middle School Harley Gibbs, Pritcherita Anthenor and James Craig display their Mahatma Gandhi Awards.

VENTNOR – Three eighth grade students here have been honored spreading the message of Mahatma Gandhi.

Last year as seventh graders, students James Craig, Harley Gibbs and Pritcherita Anthenor entered an essay, poster and art contest sponsored by the Association of Indians in America, South Jersey Chapter.

The goal is to have students research and create a project about Gandhi’s importance and contributions to modern society. The projects were to focus on the Gandhi quote, “There is sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.” The students who best conveyed Gandhi’s message of peace, racial and religious harmony, and tolerance to New Jersey's school children were awarded for each medium.

In October, the students were notified of their awards and were invited to a ceremony at Princeton University.

Craig was awarded first place and a $300 prize for his poem, Gibbs was awarded second place and a $200 prize for his poster entry and Anthenor received an honorable mention and a $25 gift card for Barnes & Nobel for her essay.

Each of the winning students was asked by The Current to describe the importance of the project.

“Learning about a great soul like Gandhi helped me to see the importance of our needs versus our wants, especially during the difficult times. Many people, including my own family, lost so much during this past storm .We don’t need toys and games; we need family and shelter all the rest will fall in place,” said Gibbs. “I believe I want to do something for the victims of Sandy with a portion of my winnings.”

Craig said, “This project really helped me to appreciate what I have and understand how one voice can make a change.”

Anthenor echoed the comments of her classmates

“This project taught me that sharing and kindness do matter,” Anthenor said. “We see it everyday as people everywhere help those in need.”