DURHAM -- Students at the Carolina Friends School wish to initiate a new, more positive image of what it means to be a teenager in today's society.

This year, under the belief that learning standardized classroom material and making a difference can and should intertwine, the Upper School has experimented with a service approach to learning.

In the fall, the class focused on the American civil rights movement as well as the current civil rights crisis that women face in Afghanistan. The winter term class learned about the plight of immigrants and their effect on communities and economies, whether they be wading the Rio Grande or eyeing the Ethiopian border with Arab militiamen at their heels. The spring class is under way, emphasizing literature about wars ranging from World War I to Vietnam to Darfur to Iraq.

Each service learning class is structured much in the same fashion as a typical English class, with readings, essays, quizzes and in-class discussions. But, unlike a typical English class, these classes try to draw parallels between typical classroom material and current world events. As an ultimate project for each class, students are required to collectively design a "service project" that reaches out to the rest of the school and/or the greater community.

On Thursday, the current Literature of War class will establish a mock refugee camp on the patio in front of the school. After extensive research on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, the class has come to believe that a visualization of what the Sudanese people are forced to endure could be the most effective way of establishing a more tangible understanding of the repercussions of oppression.

"When you hear about it on the news, you really don't see it," said sophomore Tessa Nayowith, one of the four students organizing support for the refugees. "After a whole day focused around the refugees in Darfur, we will all have a stronger connection to the real event."

The goal of the refugee camp is to ensure that every student, parent, and teacher that witnesses the simulation of a common Darfurian refugee camp will, in turn, be inspired to stand up and recognize that "never again" is in our hands.