On March 18, students in the Miami Lakes Educational Center (MLEC) Junior State of America (JSA) chapter participated in the national #FightApathy campaign.
“It was a wonderful experience to see people our age interested in real world issues that affect us,” said student Marissa Echeverria, the vice president-elect for MLEC’s JSA chapter.
Fight Apathy is a national campaign which ran from March 16 to 28. Schools across the country launched Fight Apathy campaigns using stickers and posters that said, “I believe in…” Students then filled in the sentence with a range of political issues they are passionate about.
At Winter Congress, JSA’s annual mock congress event held in Washington D.C., the Fight Apathy team had students take photos in front of a Fight Apathy poster holding flyers with their beliefs written on them.
The purpose of Fight Apathy is to start a dialogue between students about politics. The organization considers this especially important during a time where political involvement is at an all time low for young people.
MLEC’s JSA chapter set up a Fight Apathy table where students filled out “I believe in…” flyers and took photos in front of posters. Students also wore “I believe in…” stickers during the school day. Throughout the event, participants posted on social media using the hashtag #FightApathy.
“Fight Apathy not only highlights how the youth sees politics and social issues, but also allows for a growing supportive community,” said student Sabrina Cerquera, a junior at MLEC. Cerquera is a dedicated member to her JSA chapter and also the Lieutenant Governor-elect for Key Club Zone K Division 25. She currently serves as the Lieutenant for Miami-Dade Police Department Northwest District Explorer Post 526. Students like her who are politically involved and engaged in the community fight apathy everyday.
For more information on Fight Apathy, visit www.states.jsa.org/fightapathy.