Students Take Action
Jan. 21 - 24 , 2020 - The Census
The Census
The census is the way that people in our communities are counted so we can get the correct funding for each community. The census also the way to determine the number of seats each state have in the U.S. House of Representatives based on population. Since people in our community don’t normally prioritize these types of actions, we took it upon ourselves to help spread awareness to the census.
We first held a tabling event where we collected student’s information and handed out flyers announcing our event, we then used the information to remind them about our event through text message and email. In our event we had a member of UWD who went in depth about the census. We now hope to have reached enough students in our school, so their parents can participate in the census.
Nov. 12, 2019 - Students travel to Austin, Tx
My experience
My name is Dayanara Martinez. I am a member of the Butterfly Project and I attended the Austin protest in support of DACA. When I first heard about this protest, I was so excited! I close family members who are DACA recipients, and being able to stand up for them and let our voices be heard was something I’ve always wanted to do. Taking this program away is like taking someone’s whole life away. I’ve never attended something so amazing and potentially life changing for many people.
When we first got to Austin everyone was so nice and we were all treated like family, which is really what we are. I got to meet new from different states like New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma, and even people not so far away from us like San Antonio, College Station, and Dallas. It was so amazing seeing many people from different backgrounds and with all different stories coming together to support each other and this Amazing program. Once we started marching, I was able to chant on the megaphones and really let my voice be heard along with all the other amazing people there. I loved this experience and the message we were sending. I hope to do it all over again with the same support and love we received.
Dec. 18-22, 2017 - Students travel to DC
1500 Immigrant Youth & Allies travel to Washington, DC
During the week of finals, Chavez HS joined the activist group, United We Dream, to travel to Washington, DC for a week-long series of protests.
Our group traveled 27+ hours on an uncomfortable bus from Houston, Texas to the nation's capital. We met other immigrant youth and allies from all around the US, to demand a Clean Dream Act; legislation that would protect undocumented youth from deportation.
All 1,500 of us gathered at DREAM Central headquarters in the center of DC's National Mall. United We Dream rented some tents that were set-up in the middle of the famous mall. We made these two tents our home away from home. We ate our three meals a day here and practiced our daily 'actions,' while freezing cold. Houstonians aren't used to the hard winters of the north.
#Dreamactnow #heretostay
WashingtonTrip_4.mp4Dec. 14, 2018 - Social Media Campaign
Students have a voice & power to make change.
One of the easiest ways you can take action on an important issue such as immigration is by using social media, such as Twitter, and tweeting to your representatives!
Representatives are the people who make laws according to the people who live in their district, according to the needs of their constituents (meaning you.)
Your representatives need to know what laws you support because you can vote them out, if they don't listen to you. The first step is to lookup your representatives.
Anyone can tweet at their reps, citizens or not, even if you're not old enough to vote.
Before our tweeting event, we created large twitter frames & dreamer-related props. During lunch, we walked around asking students if they wanted to tweet at their representatives. We provided a script that said the following:
@JohnCornyn @CongCulberson @SpeakerRyan @UNITEDWEDREAM Protecting Dreamers is the right thing to do. Pass the #DreamActNow
Our pictures were retweeted, liked, and people commented on them. Our intent was not popularity, but for Senator John Cornyn to feel the pressure and support our communities' needs.
We were surprised at how many students came by and were willing to take pictures with our frames. A few told us, "this is a great idea! Is there anything else we can help with?"
3 things that we learned from this campaign:
- Students have power to contact their law-makers.
- Students can persuade their peers and be an undocuAlly.
- Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to advocate for our community.
Nov. 28, 2017 - Letter Writing Campaign
How to fight for your family, friends, & community.
The offices of our elected representatives are required to keep a count of how many times we contact them on issues affecting their constituents. The more people who voice their demands should make our representatives vote our way.
Our lawmakers can be contacted through:
- a visit to the office (locally and in DC)
- through mail
- or by phone
We decided to contact our representatives by mail. So we organized a letter writing campaign to urge our members of Congress to pass the Dream Act, that would protect so many members of our community from deportation.
Before the event, we advertised the campaign through social media with a flyer and student-made video. We had a goal of 100 letters to be written during the 1-hour lunch.
This is what we did:
- Armed with our laptops, we went to the library, one of the busiest places at lunchtime.
- We set up a table, supplied with envelopes and stamps.
- We had students walking around asking if people would write a letter in support of the #DreamAct.
- We used a website called Write To Congress that provided an easy-to-fill template for the students.
- We helped students print, and fill out the envelope. Note: Most High School kids have never used snail mail. An example of the correct way to address mail would have helped the MANY mistakes!
The lunch hour flew-by and by the end we had about 150 letters to send off! It surprised us that we surpassed our original goal. Many students came by and took part in our event. Because in some way the issue of immigration affects all at Chavez HS. #wearechavez.
Nov. 9, 2017 Rally / Teach-In - Students taking Action
On Nov. 9th, we joined thousands of other people across the country in a national day of action, organized by UWD. We didn't walkout like other schools did, but we did have a rally with our principal's approval.
Since our school had not done anything like this before, it was nerve-wracking. Never before, had we talked openly about being undocumented or belonging to a mixed-status family. We weren't sure how people were going to react.
Before the rally, we created a flyer and a video that was shared through social media. We also made protest art that included giant letters spelling D-R-E-A-M-E-R-S, and a giant butterfly.
We had an agenda that went like this:
- We showed a video explaining what Dreamers are and what DACA was.
- We went over the 'I" word and that NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL.
- We recited poems about being undocumented.
- We explained what is the DREAM ACT and why we need it.
- We shared personal stories.
- We closed with a chant:
Everywhere we go, People want to know
Who we are, So we tell them
We are the immigrants, The mighty-mighty immigrants
Fighting for justice, and our families
Expressing our emotions was not easy. Many of us were brought to tears. We all had stories to tell that shaped us to who we are today. I am not sure if our point came across to everyone, but we were proud of ourselves.
We wanted students to pay attention to what was going on, outside the school walls. Our school is not aware of these issues despite consisting of mostly immigrants. We wanted our community to know that we are allies and we will support them no matter where they come from. #heretostay
