Powerful feelings
For Amy Lo, the campus environment is very different than at Vogt’s school, but her reasons for getting involved are similar.
“When the George Floyd incident happened, I really felt the entire 20 minutes [the approximate time between when police detained Floyd and his death],” Lo says. “It was clear to me we have been normalizing that type of thing for generations. I knew I had to be even more involved.”
Lo is in her third year at the University of California, Berkeley. Her activism began last spring, when she transferred to the school.
“I thought I was going to be involved in academics, clubs, and organizations in college,” she says. “But the college experience changed that, and I began to think about being a leader as a Person of Color, so that I could have a voice.”
Lo became active in a long list of student organizations, including AE with the Student California Teachers Association (SCTA).
Last year, she participated in Black Lives Matter protests as well as demonstrations in favor of cost-of-living increases for graduate students.
Lo firmly believes these experiences will influence how she works in schools as a counselor or teacher.
“I can be a model for other educators and for my students,” she says.
for more information: https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/student-activism-rise