STF educates Samo students on environmental justice

Samo’s Student Task Force (STF) hosted an environmental justice event on Nov. 1. Presenters spoke at tents and tables while students took notes on their provided worksheets. The goal of the event was to inform the Samo students of the local candidates for the midterm election and to promote voting through a human rights lens. 

Two tents were set up at the event with tables on each side with interactive QR codes and petitions. One tent focused on informing students about voting and electoral rights. President Maya Williams (’24) has been a part of STF for three years now. 

“Our hope is that students leave our event informed about the content of the election as well as why it's important to exercise our human right to vote,” Williams said.

At the voting table, STF created a voter guide that outlines the impacts of several propositions on the ballot, focusing mainly on Prop. 30, which would increase taxes on people with a personal income above $2 million by 1.75 percent. This revenue would be put towards zero-emission vehicle infrastructure like electric vehicle charging stations as well as wildfire suppression programs. Here, there was also a link to a petition for Santa Monica’s Board of Education to revert back to using 100 percent renewable energy, especially in the Discovery Building. At the voting tent, club members highlighted four City Council candidates who expressed their concerns for climate action in Santa Monica: Albin Geilicz, Ellis Raskin, Samantha Mota, and Natalya Zernitskaya. Students also learned about local and global environmental justice and injustice at another tent. They were also able to scan a QR code at a separate table to find out if they lived near an oil rig, which could cause many adverse health effects. Sadie Lovett (’23) enjoyed learning about topics like these during the event. 

“I really liked how everything was super put together and how all of the presenters were very informed and passionate about what they were saying,” Lovett said.

Other STF chapters at local high schools including Animo Venice Charter, Palisades Charter and New Roads hosted similar events. While some chapters organized similar tent events, others held mock elections and distributed educational materials and guides concerning the election. A weekly STF newsletter highlighted Samo’s event, as well as those of these other schools.

“Across chapters, one point was made clear: the most effective step we can all take to protect our planet is to vote for candidates and measures that will reshape the ways we address climate change for years to come,” the newsletter said.