This Week in Wizard Activism: Net Neutrality, Wizard Activist School, and Allll the Butterbeer Cupcakes
By Victoria Rosales
News flies faster than a caffeinated cornish pixie these days. Catch up on what’s happened this week in the wide world of Wizard Activism!
Help Neville Save the Internet!
On Nov 22nd, the FCC is going to announce a vote to kill net neutrality. The HPA would never have existed without a free and open internet, and it’s important that we keep it that way. That’s why we’ve partnered with Fight for the Future, the ACLU, and other internet heroes to fight back! Take two minutes today to call Congress and tell them to protect the internet with Neville Fights Back!
The Second Annual Great Chapters Bake-Off!
HPA Chapters around the world are setting up bake sales and proceeds go to our wonderful Chapters department. If you can’t go to a bake sale, but would still like to help support our incredible, creative chapters, then you can donate here.
Also, if you’re doing any baking yourself in the coming weeks, post pictures on social media using the hashtag #HPABakeOff! We’d love to share your pictures! Harry Potter-themed treats are especially welcomed!
Spotlight: Training Team & Wizard Activist School
The HPA has some incredible volunteers, and we’d like to take a moment to highlight one of our magical teams: this week, our Training Team and their most magical project to date!
We are excited to announce our brand new training program: Wizard Activist School! Wizard Activist School is comprised of different modules in which you can learn all about effective ways to run a community change campaign, from recruiting your team to resolving conflicts to planning your campaign. Students at Wizard Activist School move through the modules at their own pace, and receive one-on-one feedback from one of our talented Training Team Facilitators. Did we mention the program is totally free?
- If you are already in the HPA’s chapters training program, you should be getting an email from your training facilitator describing how the change-over is going to work. If you don’t hear from them, or if you have not been involved with the training program until now, please head over to thehpalliance.org/wizardactivistschool and get started with any module that catches your eye!
Run like a Wizard!
The Hogwarts Running Club’s Quidditch Benefit is underway! You can join the HPA’s team (Winky’s Wicked Wizards) or donate to support the runners. All proceeds will go to fund the Granger Leadership Academy.
Be part of the HPA magic!
Finally, we’ve got some really great volunteer opportunities with the HPA! They include Social Media Copywriter, Chapters Liaisons, Street Team Project Leader, Resource Translators, and more. If you, or someone you know, is interested in joining our volunteer fam, find out how to apply here!
A World Without Hermione wraps up with huge successes!
We’ve wrapped up our fall campaign, A World Without Hermione, which focused on how gender inequity affects girls in classrooms. A few of our big successes with this campaign include:
- An awesome partnership with She’s the First!
- $43,135 raised to support both the HPA’s education & leadership programs AND She’s the First’s scholarship program!
- We held a wizarding press conference in NYC with She’s the First that addressed issues surrounding gender inequity through the lens of Harry Potter!
- We published nine articles throughout the campaign on a whole range of issues related to gender inequity. Check them out right here on our Medium publication!
- HPA members dressed up as heroines for Halloween, and these folks won our costume contest!
- Chapters around the world took some incredible action against gender inequity, including black out poetry workshops, hosting sessions focused on the magic the world loses when girls are denied education, organizing walkouts, writing letters for Day of the Girl, and so much more!
What’s Happening in the Wider Wizarding World?
- Our friends at Mischief Management sold out for LeakyCon 2018! Congrats, Mischief! Stay tuned for any additional ticket releases.
- Need help understanding the coup in Zimbabwe?
- Following student protests, the University of Cambridge is talking about how to decolonize their curriculum. Congrats to the student leaders!
- November 2nd was Latina Equal Pay Day, the day which highlights how long it takes Latinx women to make the same amount as their white male counterparts in 2016.
- After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is seeing a rise in the need for mental health care. Donate to help.
- We’ve got new elected officials in office!! We’ve got more transgender individuals, people of color, and women in office thanks to the people who voted in their local elections. People have chosen more diversity and representation and this is truly amazing, everyone! This is news from last week, but let’s not stop celebrating this victory and continue electing candidates from all walks of life into office. In fact, maybe you should run for office! Who knows how far you’ll go?
