In the Sunday, September 3rd edition of Los Angeles Times, an article describes the camping experiences of several students at Brotherhood-Sisterhood Camp, a workshop aimed at breaking down the barriers of racism, sexism, homophobia and anti-Semitism. Sponsored by the National Conference for Community and Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism in America, the weeklong excursion brought more than 200 L.A.-area high school students. Joseph Nazarian was born deaf and has spent his life feeling excluded from certain circles. Through camp, Joseph finally felt like all his emotions were understood by others. “People sometimes say I’m deaf and mute,” Nazarian’s mother interpreted through sign language. “But I’m not mute. I can talk in different ways. I’ve been taking speech classes all my life. It was important for me to express my inner feelings honestly so that people can understand deaf culture, become interested and open up communication.” Open lines of communication has been the aim of the National Conference since the early 1950s when the organization began taking busloads of high schoolers to camp to discuss their differences and likenesses.