Across the nation, students are taking action on campus and in their communities to protect their freedoms. They are defending against censorship, religious discrimination and the USA Patriot Act. They are fighting for equality and fairness. And the best thing is they are often winning….
Some things you can do if you are interested in starting a student group on your campus:
I. Get Plugged In
It is possible that there is already a group of students at your school working on the issues you care about. Check your school's list of student clubs to see what's already out there!
The ACLU has been notified of these existing Student Groups (please let us know if you are involved in a Student Group not listed here):
- Lewis & Clark Law School Student Group at Lewis & Clark College (for students attending the Law School) - visit their website here
Even if you don't find an existing group it doesn't mean that there aren't other students, teachers or professors who want to get involved. Chances are, if you care about an issue than there are other people who care too.
II. Get the Ball Rolling
You can help make others in your community aware of the issue and let them know what they can do about it. Start by talking to other students and teachers or professors about your concerns. and distributing materials that address these issues. Depending on the issue, ACLU of Oregon and national ACLU websites offer lots of information ready for you to download and share.
You might even start a discussion group to talk over the issues and gather together people who share your concerns. Be sure to publicize these meetings so other concerned individuals can get plugged in. Here is a list of helpful resources to get you started.
Want to do more?
Once you've gathered a core group of folks who want to step up their level of involvement there are a number of actions that you can take to bring your activism to the next level.
For example, if you want to raise awareness about the problems with the abstinence-only-until-marriage curriculum, why not host a movie night (showing The Education of Shelby Knox: Sex, Lies and Education, which you can order from our office) and have a discussion about sex education afterwards?
Organize an assembly or forum on an important civil liberties issue and contact the ACLU of Oregon for a speaker.
Make it official: If your group wants to become an official ACLU group, please contact us and request a registration form.
Before you do, please review ACLU of Oregon’s guidelines for student groups (under Related Documents).