Like the routine, I began my day with having breakfast with my squad. Once we arrived to class, we were informed that Alana Sacks and Molly Sandstrom will be hosting a presentation on bystander intervention and beyond. I was very excited!
Alana and Molly began by going over the various sects of interpersonal violence such as sexual assault, sexual and gender-based harassment, dating/domestic violence, relational abuse, and stalking. In all these issues, consent is a huge factor. After having a detailed discussion of these sensitive topics, we conversed about how we can be positive bystanders.
After lunch, we had small group discussions about topics such as how to be a positive bystander, how can men be positive bystanders, and how can we overcome gender bias. Although there is no right answer to any of these questions, we came up with good ideas to apply to our personal lives. After the presentation and discussions, I felt very motivated and inspired to speak up against interpersonal violence and microaggressions.
We then headed to our leadership workshops. My workshop focused on effectively conducting a meeting. Most of the tips were ones I already knew. However, it was good experience.
As our tummies growled, we went to the Ratty for dinner. I then headed with Sara and Lauren the movie night held by LGBTQ club. I was only able to watch the first half hour of the movie I'm a Cheerleader since I had a one-on-one meeting with Christine. My meeting with Christine was quite productive. Christine gave me new ideas to implement in my action plan.
The rest of the night I worked on my action plan, which is focusing on rising awareness, recognition, and respect of various gender identities, the importance of pronouns, how society creates gender, and how media exploits gender. My action plan consists of holding workshops for eighth graders in my neighboring middle school and constructing a gender-neutral bathroom in my high school.
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