FEATuRE

TIME FOR A CHANGE.

The issues we face and the way we use our voices determine our way of life and the future of our world. More young minds are learning that they have a say in current social and political debates. At Miami Palmetto Senior High, student advocates, passionate about bettering the community, take this principle to heart. In doing so, they have established countless clubs, student-run organizations and community service projects to raise their voices on important issues and elicit lasting change, serving as catalysts for social reform.

12| FEATURE Highlighting STUDENT ADVOCACYAt Palmetto

Within Miami Palmetto Senior High’s student body, students from all grades work to better not only the school environment but the community as a whole. In doing so, students fight against issues such as: climate change, gender inequality, political controversies, LGBTQ+ discrimination and racial prejudice, along with various other relevant issues. When it comes to gender equality, there is a significant disparity in the way women and men are treated. For years, women have suffered as a result of gender stereotyping and sexism. At Palmetto, clubs like the Palmetto Women’s Union shed light on these topics, encouraging further discussion of serious issues to bring about change. “My biggest thing is for everyone to feel like they have a voice, and if there’s any issue [that] a woman has, that we would come together as a union and address it. We have fifty-some people who may arrive, and there’s not just people from honors classes or AP classes,” Palmetto

PWU sponsor Nicole Swanson said. “[It] is a really good safe space for everyone to have a voice and to talk about their experiences about how maybe they’ve experienced sexism or how they’ve experienced discrimination in any sort of way. Having that safe space to talk about it I think will empower the members to have more confidence in addressing their experiences.” Organizations like PWU exist because of deeply-rooted, societal issues that remain prevalent not only within Palmetto, but communities globally. Hence, many students and young adults look to express their views by advocating for certain topics or people, thus challenging the way society operates on both a small and wide scale. “[There are] very big problems in the world, and I think specifically Palmetto kids and high schoolers in general are very idealistic…They see the world [and] what’s wrong with the world. Why can’t we just fix it? Why can we address it? And that’s what’s so great for high school is that we’re exposed to all of these cool things. And though [high schoolers] haven’t really experienced too much of life, you still are exposed to it,” Swanson said. “So I think the reason why there’s so many advocacy groups is because people want to not only be informed, but also they want to find a calling.” On the topic of social issues, clubs like the Gay-Straight Alliance emphasize advocating for representation and bringing awareness to discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. “Representation matters, [and] representation doesn’t happen as much as the media says it does. I believe [there are] less than 1,000 examples of media [showing LGBTQ+ representation], and if you think of how much media there is and how long it’s been known for, that is a significantly small women’s union number,” Palmetto junior and GSA treasurer Menachem Diez said. “To say it’s divided equally is not true. It’s mostly just gay, bisexual and lesbian women, meaning there’s not a ton of trans people, asexuals, aromantics… Lack of representation [is] going to always be a huge barrier in the way… While everyone else gets thousands upon thousands of characters with different personalities, we only get a select few.” Given recent legislation that has placed focus on LGBTQ+ topics, clubs like No Place for Hate and GSA have joined forces to ensure student voices are heard. Both clubs wrote letters to politicians about their thoughts on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that recently passed in the Florida legislature. “At this point in high school, [some of] our students can’t vote yet, but even though [most] students don’t have a say in who is going to represent them in government doesn’t mean they can’t express their displeasure,” Palmetto GSA sponsor Daniel Hurst said. “For example, the letters written to politicians in terms of the new bill. The point of doing those letters is to tell the politicians who voted in favor of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that it’s affecting, or could affect students. It’s not necessarily directly affecting us because it’s really related to LGBTQ+ topics from kindergarten to third grade, but it goes to the whole idea that LGBTQ+ people are “other than.” For them to be able to raise their voices and express disagreements, either to school administration, politicians or teachers is important.” Along these lines of proactive advocacy, Palmetto’s Agents of Change, a sect of the greater gay-straight alliance Science National Honor Society, consists of over a dozen students dedicated to spreading climate awareness. Since their founding in the 2020-2021 school year, they have made Palmetto a Green School, established Meatless Mondays in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, started sustainability projects such as Thrift for Change, hosted the Climate Leadership Information Program, implemented composting at Palmetto and started a podcast where students can discuss environmental issues with others and invite local environmentalists as guest speakers.