Department Promo: Activism

Written by Madeline Tsao, Deputy Director of Activism

In a world where young people have become agents of urgency for social progress — finding our voices on issues from climate change to gun violence to mental health — realizing the power of uniting within our communities to enact change has never been more important. While words like “activism”, “awareness”, and “change” can seem like abstract concepts with no true metric of success on the individual level, the JSA Activism Department endeavors to provide all Statesmen an opportunity to collaborate on the issues that incite them the most with people who share their same passion for progress.

Each year, we organize the Fight Apathy campaign and statewide activism initiatives, including an Activism Block at both Fall and Spring States. The Department also works on several Activism Guides throughout the year to provide chapters with a toolkit for potential local projects (voter registration drives, food bank drives, political fairs, etc.) Last year, we composed a Chapter President Election Menu for election season, a Virtual Activism Menu to help chapters adapt during the pandemic, and a mid-year Social Justice Guide. These resources are all a central component of how we seek to popularize activism for everyone in the state, starting with simple, on-the-ground initiatives in our local communities.

If you are interested in experiencing the Activism Department’s impact firsthand, our Activism Block at the upcoming Fall State in Austin is the perfect chance to do so! We have organized three initiatives to choose from for the hour-long block: collaborative protest poster-making, a foreign policy crisis roundtable, and (one of our most ambitious in-person initiatives yet) a handmade, reusable menstrual pad workshop to produce feminine products for women’s shelters around the state.

Our generation is the most opinionated, involved one yet — and the Texas JSA Activism Department is excited to be a vehicle for this ever-expanding movement.

“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.”

— Malala Yousafzai