Many students watched as their rights were threatened. They saw the marching down the streets of major cities. They had to witness protesters and innocent people being brutalized at the hands of police for participating in peaceful protests. For many, this situation felt hopeless. Teenagers and young adults, oftentimes, cannot go to Washington, D.C. and try to make their voices heard. Being home-bound during a pandemic and having to focus locally on spreading their messages can feel limiting; however, the community notices many student activists who worked hard to make a difference during this time of anxiety more than ever before. 

The political and social engagement of youth in the world is increasing rapidly with these times of tension and change. The mass amounts of protests, walkouts and the spread of ideas through social media are all examples of ways that teenagers and young adults are beginning to display their passion for equity and everyday activism. 

“It’s any strongly impassioned individual who is looking to make a change for what they perceive as the greater good,” said Erin Wise, history teacher.  

The people who strive to make a difference within the Grayslake North community are working hard to do what they can to be involved in social movements they care about. They are getting involved in a multitude of ways to spread advocacy toward certain issues. Star Quan, Maggie Walker, Aarya Balaji and Valerie Tomas are some of the young activists at Grayslake North High School. 

“I want to spread as much awareness as I can. I also try to sign petitions and call mayors and lawyers to protect the lives of people that are oppressed,” said junior Star Quan. Star uses her platform on social media to spread her interest in mental health and equity. She has many resources for people struggling that they can access through links within her profile. 

“I go to that link in my bio and practice coping skills. It has really saved some of my friends’ lives,” Quan said. 

Social media presence among teens and young adults is growing and is aiding many students in their mission to spread their educated opinions

“What I can do is pretty limited. What I can do is try my best to spread awareness by posting things on my social media. I also sign petitions and donate when I can toward causes,” said junior Aarya Balaji. 

The pandemic has largely affected the actions of young activists, but these students are finding new ways to show allyship with social justice issues they are passionate about. 

“Within the past few months, I’ve been having discussions with other people locally about what we can do after the pandemic. When the pandemic gets under control, we hope to get involved with local organizations because it’s hard to stay consistent online,” said senior Valerie Tomas. Valerie works alongside many of her peers to bring attention to important issues in the community. She is also planning on working with bigger organizations once she leaves for college. With the pandemic, creating solid plans or visions can be difficult for students. 

“I did not have any opportunities to go to any protests over the summer, due to COVID, so I went around in my neighborhood putting up signs for Black Lives Matter,” said senior Maggie Walker. Walker found new ways to stand alongside the movement in times of high tensions and passions. She uses her talent with photography to remain involved as well. Over the summer, she went to a small protest gathering to take pictures of the participants. 

“Cars were honking in support the entire time. They were so peaceful. That experience, hands down, was one of the best moments of 2020,” Walker said. 

Many examples of advocacy and support can be found in the community. With mass amounts of people participating in movements, many believe that reform is possible in today’s society. 

“I think as the youth continue to fight, more and more people are getting educated about things and more people’s opinions are changing. That’s for sure going to lead to actual legislation being created,” Balaji said. She is sure that younger generations will see the change and continue to protect the freedoms of others. 

“Yes, I believe change will happen. It takes a lot of work, passion, and dedication, but it’s necessary for many people to reallocate resources and invest in community safety and prevention,” Tomas said. Highlighting the importance of safety in activism is important to maintain peaceful events. 

“The prime time is now. Now is the most I’ve ever seen [students] curious and involved,” Wise said. 

There is so much going on globally with social justice, that more youth than ever is getting involved to create change or spread their ideas.

“I would definitely encourage people to get involved. It’s corny to hear your teachers say it, but you guys are the change,” said Roxanne Bristow, history teacher. America has a strong history of youth influencing future decisions and generations. There are countless examples of young people going out into the world and getting involved. 

“There were the L.A. walkouts for their school system. Students wanted to advocate for equality in the school system and they wanted to advocate for dual-language education. They fought for those things and a lot of what we have for our English as a second language programs really come from youth activism,” Bristow said. There are many more examples of daily curriculum, laws and aspects of everyone’s’ life that were influenced by the youth. 

“I feel that youth activism is not taken seriously by adults, especially, and policy makers because at the end of the day they’re still viewed as children who don’t have truly informed beliefs,” Balaji said. Though youth activism has catalyzed significant change, many activists find it hard to be taken seriously by many adults in society. 

“I think where adults don’t understand is when stuff like racism and homophobia is happening to our friends on a daily basis. Most of the time, we can see that. We can find it in our hearts to be like ‘Oh, that’s not okay.’ Let me do the research and form my own educated opinion,” Walker said. She highlights that youth activists are often underestimated with the amount of knowledge and ideas that they have for society. 

With the many obstacles of not being taken seriously, an ongoing pandemic limiting community involvement and limited resources, youth activists are continuing to persevere toward reform for the social causes they are passionate about. 

“It shows that there is hope, especially for our generation, because we want to keep going even if it’s really hard,” Quan said. 

The four students all agree that the world benefits from younger generations advocating for positive change and becoming involved in the socio-political climate. They hope if the passion continues, real and effective change can be made in society. They want others to be sure to practice everyday activism and become involved in the community.