Poetry slam attracts hundreds as political science club
wraps up first year

Fordson COPS members Mohamad B. Idriss, Rami Faraj, and Husain Bazzi prepare backstage for last Thursday’s poetry slam event at Fordson High School. Faraj and Idriss helped found the group and said they wanted to leave a legacy after graduating this year.

DEARBORN – At most high schools, sporting events and the
occasional talent show are the only events capable of packing an auditorium
full of people on a weekday night.

But at Fordson High School on Thursday, June 2, hundreds
came out for the First Annual Fordson Club of Political Science’s Gala, which
centered around the school’s first ever poetry slam event.

Titled “Louder than a Bomb,” a reference in the
same vein as the axiom “the pen is mightier than the sword,” and
designed as an effort to reverse false stereotypes of Fordson, its students,
and the community, the event was a major hit for the organization, which boasts
about 40 members and began in 2010.

“The idea was that we wanted to showcase all we’ve done
over the year and to bring a poetry slam to Dearborn because it’s a very
powerful way to send a message,” said organizer Mohamad B. Idriss, who
recently graduated but participated in the event.

“We wanted to start that, bring it to Fordson and make
it a tradition.”

Slam poetry, a high-energy verbal art form used to speak out
on political and social justice issues, is more commonly found at colleges or
in cafes and clubs, but the FCOPS organizers knew it would be perfect for
Fordson students.                                

Students spoke out about topics such as the challenges women
face and their many accomplishments, the perils and vast sacrifices of war from
both a soldier’s perspective and a victim’s perspective, and stereotypes
they’ve dealt with in their lives, particularly as Arab Americans or American
Muslims in today’s often unwelcoming political climate.

The roster of performers as well as the club itself is
diverse. Sponsor and Fordson history teacher Chuck Wesserling, who also teaches
English as a Second Language at Henry Ford Community College, said that the group
is rife with open exchanges from students with varying perspectives on
important issues and that its motto is “It’s amazing what can be
accomplished when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”

Aside from the year-end gala and poetry slam, the group was
active in numerous events in the past year. FCOPS staged protests such as a
counter-demonstration to the widely condemned Kansas-based extremist Westboro
Baptist Church group, raised funds for relief for the struggling population of
the Gaza Strip, presented legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas with
a lifetime achievement award in her name at a fund raising dinner, and also
visited Washington, D.C., among other stops.  Other causes supported included the Generation of Promise
leadership program based in Inkster, rallies in support of the Egyptian
revolution, and a large interfaith rally in response to a visit from extremist
Pastor Terry Jones.

Before the poetry slam, students worked with Arab American
poet Remi Kanazi, who helped them learn the intricacies of the craft. After the
slam finished, Wesserling said that he received numerous comments on how
impressive the performers were. Membership applicants have spiked following the
event according to group organizers.

After working hard to leave a legacy on campus before they
move on to college, Idriss and fellow group founder Rami Faraj appear to have
made it happen.

“Last summer I was looking forward to my final year in
high school and I wanted to leave a mark, so we founded this club to get people
active and informed,” he said. “This club is going to get really far
and will be one of the centerpieces of the school that will last a long time,
hopefully.”

The FCOPS students, especially the large Arab American
contingent, hope to become leaders and to get involved in important community
events. Idriss, Bazzi and Faraj specifically mentioned their desire to help
organizations such as the Arab American Political Action Committee in their
quest to rally more voters in the area.

“We want people to look at the youth of the community,
not the ones at home on their Xbox’s, to see that we want to be involved, to
serve our communities and fight for what’s right,” Bazzi said.

“If you’re not turned on to politics then politics will
turn on you…Apathy is the single most destructive force in the
universe,” Idriss said, speaking two well known quotes from former U.S.
presidential candidate, consumer advocate and former Time Magazine Man of the
Year Ralph Nader.

“We want to leave a mark and help kids grow socially so
they can be leaders in this community.”