Marlborough’s Young Women Stand Against Prejudice club provides students with the opportunity to create political and social change within their communities. The club was founded by sophomore Ayla this past summer.
Specifically, the club was created during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. Founder Ayla was inspired to create the club because of the racial injustices she has witnessed throughout her life.
“Growing up I saw a lot of people who looked like me getting killed on TV. With all of that publicity and coverage being amplified during the George Floyd protests it was starting to feel pretty consuming,” Ayla said.
Out of this desire to take action, Young Women Stand Against Prejudice was born. The club gives young women who aren’t able to vote yet and who feel as though they do not have a voice in our country’s politics a platform to stand with people of color and minority communities. The main focus of the club is to advocate for the change these young women believe needs to be made.
“Seeing how many girls get empowered whether they do it through the social media committee or through outreach is very rewarding,” Ayla said.
This club has multiple branches located at different schools, including Immaculate Heart, Palisades High School and Marlborough.
“Another cool part about STAND is that we also outreach to clubs at other schools. So if you are a member of a STAND bridge you can do that as well,” Ayla said.
Currently, members of STAND take action by writing and publishing their own petitions, which aim to advocate for the rights of the systematically oppressed.
“We publish petitions from the STAND girls,” Ayla said. “They both write and publish petitions on our website. So, when you join the STAND club you will also receive this opportunity.”
Marlborough’s chapter currently has 35 members and is actively working to recruit more. Club member Talia ‘24 feels as though the organization has made huge progress in terms of expansion.
“It’s been crazy seeing how many new members have come and how much more developed we are as an organization rather than just a few high school students who wanted to do something. Now we are really enacting change in our community,” Talia said.
STAND club member Violet ‘23 also sees joining STAND as a rewarding experience.
“There are so many people that you meet and so many new experiences. Many of the things that I do now I probably would have been scared of doing a couple months ago. It has really taught me new skills,” Violet said.
Please make sure to check out the Young Women STAND Against prejudice Instagram page @standagainstprejudice. If you would like to get further involved please visit their website https://standagainstprejudice.org/ to sign petitions. If you are interested in joining Young Women STAND Against Prejudice please email [email protected] or press “Join our Team” on their website.