By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Ariana Tugaga has seen first-hand the damage that the media can do to young people.
Ms Tugaga, 18, of Narre Warren, has been selected as a Shout Out speaker for the Centre for Multicultural Youth.
Her primary cause is rebutting racism. She says young people are deeply affected when media coverage targets young people of a particular background.
And she’s seen teachers succumb to the hype.
“It’s often a small minority of that ethnicity doing the wrong thing, but it does damage others from that background.
“I found high school teachers – because of what happened on the front page of the media – would tell some students that they were trouble.
“That they would be the ones that would heckle and would argue in class.
“It shows it’s hard to change the mind of others if they have the perception that we’re bad and do no good.”
In her role, Ms Tugaga is passionate about speaking up in front of schools and community groups, and her pride in her Samoan heritage.
At the same time, she is studying for a science degree with hopes for a career in oncology.
She is shocked how many peers were lost in the process of how to plot their post-high school life, set up a bank account, rent a home or get a car loan.
“It scared me a bit that some didn’t know how they could apply for a health care card.
“They have found it difficult to find the next step.
“I just thought their parents would tell them all about it.”
Her advice for her friends in this limbo is they shouldn’t be scared to ask for help.
“There are so many opportunities out there. You just need to know how to get there.”
Ms Tugaga’s generation doesn’t face the same work discrimination as her parents when the family migrated from Samoa in 2001, she says.
One difference is due to more diversity joining the ranks of the powerful. There’s more willingness to employ different cultures, Ms Tugaga said.
“I’ve been given opportunities to work at different places. There’s no type of division between me and the next person.
“The game’s really altered.”
She is under no illusion that racism is hard to eradicate, but has seen promising signs.
Young people of different cultures argue their points in a civil manner on Facebook, and become friends.
She helped organise a multicultural sports day at a Casey secondary college, which led to friendships replacing ethnic-based fights.
“Making a difference in the community doesn’t mean altering everyone’s perspective, but knowing that my passion for … breaking the chains of racism gets through to people.
“This empowers me to continue my work.”
