Community 'Civility' is Topic of Rye Youth Council Conversation

A non-profit group focused on helping children become confident and compassionate citizens is bringing the entire community together to make a commitment to civility. The Rye Youth Council invites all members of the community to attend its second “community Conversation” on Wednesday, April 2 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., where “Civility in Rye” will be the theme.

“We want to talk about our community, the values we see here, what is important and what things might detract from those values,” said Rye Youth Council Executive Director Judy Secon. “We wanted to make it a sort of lasting movement, not just a one time discussion,” she said.

The initiative was sparked by the Rye high school hazing incident last summer, but is not meant to be a conversation focused around hazing or teens.

“The hazing incident was when we thought we needed place for everyone to get together and talk,” Secon said. “Not to talk about the hazing incident but about the community; what we saw that is good, what we wanted to change and where we wanted to go.”

Although the RYC initiative shares terminology with Rye City Council member Richard Filippi, who came under fire in February when he called for civility but then criticized the tactics of several Rye residents and critics of the administration, the RYC event was not created in reaction to Filippi’s speech, Secon said.

“We were already on this path before the city council used same terminology, but we all have same goal in the end,” Secon said. “We would like it to fold everything in because everyone needs to be civil.”

The RYC held its first community conversation in October, which is when the initiative was introduced. About 50 people from dozens of community groups discussed how their organizations and how individuals can embrace civility and put actions in place that would adhere to civil standards. The group drafted a civility statement that will be discussed and hopefully finalized next week, Secon said. See the statement below.

The idea is based around an initiative started in Howard County, Maryland. Community leaders there were inspired by a lecture by P.M.Forni, author of the book, “Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct.” The community chose to adopt many of the book’s rules and promote them as guiding principles. Businesses, organizations and individuals there have all signed on to support the civility initiative.

Secon hopes to see the same kind of success towards civility in Rye.

On April 3, the entire community is invited to join the conversation, which will be held at the Community Synagogue on Wednesday, April 3 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  Any member of the public interested in attending the meeting is urged to RSVP either by calling the Youth Council office at 967-3838 or by emailing civility@ryeyouthcouncil.org.

The following community organizations are supporters of the Civility Initiative:

Christ Church, Rye Community Synagogue, Midland School, Midland School PO, Milton School, Milton School PO, Osborn School, Osborn School PO, Church of the Resurrection, Resurrection School, Rye Board of Education, Rye City Council, Rye City School District, Rye Country Day School, Rye High School, Rye High School PO, Rye Middle School, Rye Middle School PO, Rye Police, Rye Presbyterian Church, Rye Presbyterian Nursery School, Rye Recreation, Rye School of Leadership, Rye YMCA, Rye Youth Council, Trinity Church. Any other local organization interested in adding their name to this list is asked to contact the Rye Youth Council.

RYE CIVILITY STATEMENT - DRAFT

 The undersigned leaders and concerned members of the Rye community strive to promote respectful human relations and a culture of caring in all aspects of our community life. 

We recognize the inherent rights and dignity of each person. We believe that all interpersonal exchanges, even adversarial ones, can be conducted with integrity and respect. We aspire to be part of a community that is rooted in respect, honesty, inclusion and cooperation.

 We are aware that the success of maintaining a respectful community depends upon ongoing reflection and a commitment to recognize the inherent rights and dignity of each person, group, family, and organization.

We accept our obligation to hold ourselves and each other accountable for our behaviors. We commit to living as observable models of positive civic behavior.