Published in the November 11-24, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Anna Giubileo
In seventh grade, I became interested in social justice issues, especially the issues facing women in society, and I found myself noticing them more and more in everyday actions. Many of my middle school teachers would ask specifically for boys to help with “heavy lifting,” while girls were never called on. Today, I go to an all-girls high school, Notre Dame in downtown San Jose, that focuses a lot on social justice issues around the world.
I am immersed into a community that strongly believes in working to end poverty and inequality, allowing me to be around like-minded people. Every year we raise money to help sponsor children’s education in impoverished countries, host the “Sister Project” where the school donates enough feminine hygiene products to Sacred Heart that they can supply them to women in need for an entire year, and many other events to help social justice problems.
When I’m in social situations, I hear racist, sexist, and other rude remarks and jokes thrown into conversations for no reason other than the “shock factor.” Any attempt made at stopping them is followed by name calling and more jokes. This only goes to show how deeply these issues are rooted in our lives.
Many times when I’m walking outside, I hear men catcall women from their cars, which often quickly escalates to racial slurs when there isn’t a response. People brush off the severity of remarks like these, saying young people don’t know better, older people grew up in a different time, or that boys will be boys.
When you look at the news, it seems as though every story featured has something to do with a racial or gender problem in society, or the treatment of various people around the world.
With all of these news stories floating around, people usually become overexposed to the topics and tend to not listen or care. People also begin to think that the issues concerning equality and justice are being resolved because of the attention on them. In reality, while there have been some large steps forward in the path to resolution, there have also been large steps backwards.
For this Developmental Asset in particular, it is very important to expose youth and teens to the social justice equality issues from a young age. This asset is usually more ignored than other assets such as No. 7 — Community Values Youth, or even No. 28 — Integrity, because it can sometimes feel unconnected to daily life if you blind yourself to the issues.
However, the community cannot value the youth if hunger or poverty still plagues some of them, and if the teens and youth of the community stand up for the issues they believe in, they are not only showing integrity, they are working towards ‘promoting equality and reducing social justice issues’ by raising awareness.
Both teens and adults can help prevent the perpetuation of these issues.
For teens, one major thing that can be done is point out when your friends or peers say offensive things. Most times people say it to be “cool” and will stop once called out.
Another thing that can be done is to not repeat any stigmas or jokes about inequality or social justice issues. Adults can do many of the same things; stopping any offensive conversations you hear, addressing any concerns that youth tell you about, and not brushing it off and make excuses.
If all of Morgan Hill works toward this developmental asset, it will make a difference in more than just our city. Nikki Giovanni, an equality advocate and renown poet, said: “There are things you stand up for because it’s right.” These issues are definitely one of them.
When you apply this developmental asset in your life, you’ll find that you’re not only an advocate for what is right, people around you are inspired to do the same, starting a chain reaction of standing up to adversity.
Anna Giubileo is a 15-year-old sophomore at Notre Dame High School in San Jose. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, writing, reading, volunteering and participating in Morgan Hill’s Youth Action Council.
