Texas JSAFight Apathy Handbook

2015

#FightApathy

Table of ContentsLetter from the Director of Activism 3

What is Fight Apathy? 4

How to: Get Involved 5

How to: Get The Word Out 6

Additional Resources & Contacts 7

I Believe in Poster 8

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Statesmen and Stateswomen,

! Being statesmen and stateswomen, we constantly strive to “be the people” through debate and discussion. A large part of being the people, though, is fighting apathy by being active and engaged members of your community. Activism is a crucial to"JSA’s mission but is"often neglected at the chapter level. It sets JSA apart from other debate organizations and allows us to apply the principle of “being the people” to our community. Activism further allows statesmen and stateswomen to learn more about the political issues they care about, whether it’s gun control, women’s rights, or tax policy.! Fight Apathy allows us to do just that. Fight Apathy is a national campaign to raise awareness about real-world issues in schools across the country. When Fight Apathy is held at schools students can pick up stickers when entering school, in a class, or a cafeteria, which reads, “I believe in…” They then write in a cause they are passionate about, anything from marriage equality to flat taxes. The stickers serve as catalysts to spark discussion about political issues throughout the day.# Fight Apathy is an easy way to get every JSA member to be the people. In this handbook you will find resources on what Fight Apathy is, how to get involved, and tips for success. In addition to this packet links, documents, and contact and information are all provided for further success, feel free to contact me at any time if you need any help. I hope that with the we can help #fightapathy and truly be the people.

Sincerely,Maya PatelTexas Director of Activism

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What is Fight Apathy?! Today’s youth are the first to grow up surrounded by information, but still are not knowledgeable about issues and the world around them. As part of JSA’s mission to “educate and prepare high school students” for a life time of political involvement it is important to take a stand and fight the apathy in high schools today! The Fight Apathy Campaign is a National Activism initiative in order to raise awareness about political issues. Fight Apathy is an event held by chapters where students pick up a sticker when entering school which reads, “I believe in…” They write something (anything) in. It’s aim it to stimulate debate and discussion in high schools across the country. We even have schools participating in the Galapagos and in Guam!# The project began three years ago at the Bergen County Academies in New Jersey. At the kickoff event over 700 students, nearly 70%, in the school participated. The stickers served as catalysts for discussions about topics including morality, fiscal policy, and elections. Student and teachers talked about issues in hallways, cafeterias, and classrooms. Since then other schools in New Jersey have held similar events and the project has grown into a national JSA campaign.

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How to: Get Involved

Step 1: Talk to your TA and clear the event with your school’s administrationWho can get involved? Everyone in the school can participate: students and faculty alike! ! Hand out stickers to everyone interested so you don’t limit it to members or your ! club.Step 2: Visit fightapathy.org and register your event. Be sure to register before February # 15th, this will guarantee you stickers for your event.How many stickers should I order? There is no limit on the amount of stickers that you can ! order. It is always better to over order than under order. If you think that your ! administration and student body will be really receptive to the campaign order ! stickers for about 75% of your school. Try your best to predict how many students ! will get involved. It’s better to guess overestimate rather than underestimate. ! Smaller schools will probably be able to hand out stickers to a higher percentage ! of students than larger schools. Generally, a good estimate is to order stickers for ! 50% of the school.Step 3: Set a date for you event. We are encouraging schools to participate between ! March 16-28 to create a national campaign unity. However, if you are unable to ! run an event during that week then host the campaign when you are able to. It’s ! more important that you join the campaign than when you run it!How much does it cost to participate? It’s FREE! If you register your school online the ! campaign will send you stickers to hand out to everyone in your school.Step 4: Gather all the materials for your table. The bare essentials are markers and# stickers. However, putting up signs behind the table so students know it is for # Fight Apathy will help draw students to the table. Put handouts on your table to # help students understand the event if think it would aid the event. You can also # have a poster board where students add their passions.What is the best place to put our table? Try to set up in a place that students need to # pass. The main entrance of your school or a central hallway might be optimal # places. The goal is that students will walk by you and you can encourage them to # take a sticker instead of them having to find the table.Will students take the event seriously? How do I keep things appropriate? At past events # students take the campaign seriously and really appreciate the opportunity to be in # an environment where political discussions are encouraged. However, if you are # still worried a teacher or administration can stand in the area that the stickers are # in. As students write the stickers the teacher can look at what is being written and # say something to a student if they deem it inappropriate.

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How to: Get the Word Out

There are a few easy steps that you can take to make fight apathy a success within your hometown.

1. Send out a Media Release beforehand. The media release can be found here (http://states.jsa.org/fightapathy/downloads-and-resources/) and should be edited and sent out to local newspapers and news sites. This is an invitation to the press and whomever else you want to invite to your school to see Fight Apathy in action.

2. Use your personal connections! Reach out to local businesses and politicians - really anyone that makes a difference in your community. Talk to them about Fight Apathy! Invite them to speak at your school or merely observe it in action. You can do this by email, phone, or in person! Talking to someone in person makes it even more convincing. You may be surprised how excited others are to come and see Fight Apathy in action!

3. Take pictures! Use social media and show how YOU are participating in Fight Apathy. The campaign is on social media: # Facebook: facebook.com/FightApathy# Twitter: @FightApathyJSA# Instagram: @FightApathyUse the hashtag #FightApathy to spread your beliefs! The campaign will watch the hashtag and share news about the campaign from schools across the country.

4. Send out a press release after your event with pictures attached to local press - both newspapers and TV stations. You can edit the sample one to your specifications. Email it to influential members of the community as well! Don’t be afraid to show what the youth voice can do!

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Additional Resources & Contacts

Maya Patel, Director of Activismmpatel@texas.jsa.org

The Fight Apathy Websitewww.fightapathy.org**Be sure to look at the Downloads and Resources under the Getting Started tab**

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