Orange County: Not just home to Disneyland and the Real Housewives

Orange County is home to Disneyland, paradisal beaches, the Real Housewives and yes, track homes. But it is also home to several student-founded organizations working to make a positive difference in the community. Here are a few of many student-led groups bringing change to the county and beyond the orange curtain:

Team Zissou Environmental Organization

Founded in San Clemente, Team Zissou Environmental Organization works to instill sustainable changes in the community. This organization has worked with the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) and JUST WATER to reduce the sales of plastic water bottles and provide students at CUSD schools with an environmentally-friendly option with the JUST WATER bottles. There are several chapters of Team Zissou nation-wide and can easily be started at any school. The headquarters also organize events for the public to attend to enhance community involvement. 

Green Ribbon Club

Green Ribbon Club is a non-profit organization founded in San Juan Capistrano that advocates for mental health awareness and advocacy. Chapters can be found in the form of a club at high schools and universities. The clubs focus on educating members and community on what mental health awareness, local and national resources in addition to becoming advocates for mental health by contacting congressional representatives and writing letters in local papers. 

Students of Orange County 4 Change 

Students of Orange County 4 Change is a group led by high school students advocating for gun regulation reform. Formed after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, these high school leaders from across the county work together planning events, speaking at district board meetings and contacting local and congresstional representatives to stop gun violence.

Orange County Immigrant Youth United 

Founded in Santa Ana in 2004, Orange County Immigrant Youth United is a group of undocumented immigrant youth working to create and implement immigrant rights in the community and nation-wide. Serving as a support system for young undocumented immigrants, the organization advocates for policy change to protect these students and to help them achieve a higher education. 

OC Students for City Council

A group organizing a coalition of progressive students across Orange County to run for city council and other elected positions, OC Students for City Council encourages students to take part in the political process. To get involved in the organization as a possible candidate or to be a part of the the volunteer staff, email ocstudents4cc@gmail.com.

Our students at the CUSD Board Meeting last night! We passed a resolution on school safety and gun reform, setting precedents for our district that others will hopefully follow! This resolution supports universal background checks, funding CDC's research into gun violence, banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, increasing mental health resources in schools, expanding red flag laws, and more. Congress will hear our collective voice! (photo by Chloe Kern)

A post shared by SOC4Change (@soc4change) on Apr 26, 2018 at 6:33pm PDT

How to be civically engaged as a California student

Finding ways to become civically engaged can seem a bit overwhelming, but it's actually quite simple as a student in California. Here are five ideas to get involved in your community and make a change.

1. Register to vote 

This is the first step in becoming a engaged citizen. Registering to vote can be done manually or online. As a California resident, you have the option to vote online, at the DMV or armed service recruitment centers. While you have to be at least 18 to vote (although there are exceptions in primary elections), 16-year-old Californians can pre-register to vote here.


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2. Get involved with a local organization


Find a group that works for something that you are passionate about. Getting involved in an organization is a great way to meet people, network and work towards a common goal. Organizations can be volunteer-based or even paid and can be found in the community or at school.

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3. Get to know your local candidates 

With the primary elections around the corner, congressional candidates in your district, city council candidates, sheriffs and district attorneys are up for reelection. It's important to understand candidates positions on issues so that you can elect the person that you feel represents you best. You can get to know these candidates by attending a town hall or visiting their website.

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4. Contact to your congressional representative

There are two quick ways to ensure that your congressional representative hears your voice: sending them postcards and calling their office. All content in the letters and phone calls are noted by either the representative or someone working in their office. Informing your representative on your thoughts or concerns is the best way for them to know how to better represent their district.
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5. Vote on June 5

The primary elections are on June 5. Whether you vote in person or vote by mail, every vote matters. If you are out of town, be sure sure to cast in your absentee ballot. Vote in the election to let your voice be heard.



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5 questions with Saddleback College town hall organizer Perry Meade

Saddleback College will be hosting a town hall next week for students to engage in dialogue with candidates running for office in the Orange County area. Associated Student Government President-elect Perry Meade is one of the key organizers and will be emceeing the event. 

What is the candidate forum? 

Saddleback’s Associated Student Government and the Saddleback Pre-Law Society are collaborating together to host a candidate forum on May 1 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in SM 313. Candidates running for office in the primary elections will be discussing topics such as gun control, education, immigration and economic inequality. 

What will students gain from attending the candidate forum? 

Students will be able to hear from local congressional candidates including Dave Min, Katie Porter and Rocky Chavez to name a few, as well as a candidate for the US Senate and the current District Attorney for Orange County, a candidate running against the current District Attorney and then candidates for Orange County Sheriff. 

What is the goal for the event? 

The goal of the event is for students to become more aware and to hear what these different candidates’ platforms are and to know where they stand on the issues that matter for students, so because we have primaries coming up on June 5 and the general election is coming up in November, it is important that students are aware of where these candidates stand on important issues. 

What inspired the organization of this event? 

We wanted to create this event so that we can start getting the students of Saddleback more civically and politically engaged because it is a very important time for students to be involved in the political process. For far too long, students have had their voices quieted and I think that it is important to empower students and that they are involved in the political process by hearing what these different candidates’ platforms are. We want them to be able to learn more about the county and how they can get involved in the political process. 

Is there anything you would like to say to encourage students to attend the forum? 

I encourage all students to come out. Several professors will be giving extra credit to students who attend. We will also be having another candidate forum in October with the candidates that make it past the primaries.

Orange County students organize march for gun control

Student-run organization SOC4CHANGE led the Southern Orange County branch for the national Rally for Change event at Bill Barber Community Park in Irvine on Friday. 

The Students of Orange County for Change organization, a high school student-led group advocating for stricter gun control policies, coordinated the Rally for Change walk-out on April 20 in commemoration of the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shootings. Over 100 participants attended the march including students, parents and local candidates running for congress, city councils and  education boards calling on the federal government to pass stronger gun control regulations. 

“The purpose of this event is to try and rally and show support for increased gun legislation,” said Jack Hartstein, an organizer of the march. “I hope that the representatives around the country look at what is going on and realize that they have to change their positions or there is a huge group of people that will vote them out of office.” 

About 10 booths were stationed at the park where marchers could register to vote or acquire information about Congressional candidates and regional organizations promoting stronger gun control regulations such as Moms Demand Action, the Brady Campaign and WAVE. 

Prior to marching, attendees gathered around the stage where Dana Hills student Molly Bergan performed two original songs in light of the Parkland shooting and life in Orange County. Guest speakers followed the musical act discussing the importance of the student voice, voting and resilience. 

“You can do something about it,” said Brady Campaign Orange County chapter President Charles Blek. “It’s so different now and you’re so electric and you’re so alive and we are very confident that you’ll make the change and you’ll protect yourselves, because quite frankly, people who look like me have done a really lousy job of doing that.”

The marchers carried signs advocating for stricter gun control, safety and peace as they walked on the sidewalks lining the park and the Irvine Civic Center as cars honked in support of the movement. 

“I thought the event was really powerful and really embodies the student movement,” said Eva Stanton, a participant from San Juan Hills High School. “The little bit we can do speaks wonders and as long as we can get people to understand where we come from, in that we are all essentially the same, then we can make effective change.” 

5 questions with Team Zissou Environmental Organization Founder Jackson Hinkle

High school student Jackson Hinkle is the founder of Team Zissou Environmental Organization, a  group lead by youth advocating for sustainable policies. The organization coordinates events and projects, inspiring youth to make a change in their community.

What is the Team Zissou Environmental Organization? 

Team Zissou is a youth-led environmental organization with eight chapters across the United States. We focus on mobilizing kids to do environmental volunteer work going out into nature, like environmental excursions as well as environmental activism and education. Those are the big things. 

What inspired you to create this organization? 

There are two big things that inspired me. One is seeing the plastic pollution in our oceans and realizing that I needed to take a stand against that, and like I had organized this club and there was a bunch of kids that wanted to be involved with it, but there was no real direction. I felt like it would be unwise to have that many kids and not do something bold like that. Getting plastics out of our schools, communities, etc. My good friend Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is suing the federal government right now over climate change and fossils fuels and things of that nature. His story really inspired me, and I thought 'wow I need to do things like that.'”

What are some things that Team Zissou has done in the local area? 

We have lead countless volunteer events like gardening days, beach clean-ups, habitat restorations and providing kids with hundreds of hours of volunteer opportunities. We have lead environmental education events around the Dakota Access Pipeline, climate change, plastic pollution and these sorts of things. Probably our two biggest things are that we got plastic water bottles out of the 60 plus schools in the Capistrano Unified School District. We were part of an interscholastic campaign that got solar panels on six CUSD high school campuses as well as the school district offices. We also have gotten kids to participate in a bunch of creative direction action against the various ways in which Southern California Edison is attempting to store nuclear waste at San Onofre. 

What are some upcoming projects or events? 

I think a really cool thing we’re doing is for Earth Day. We are going to be planting 30 trees at San Clemente High School with our San Clemente High School chapter. 

How can students get involved with Team Zissou? 

Students can get involved with Team Zissou by following us on Instagram. That’s one of our means of communication or by reaching out to us on email. It’s teamzissousc@gmail.com. Starting a Team Zissou chapter at your own school is really the best way to get involved. We help facilitate those chapters and get them started, but there are so many different things you can do with Team Zissou. All of our events are open to the community and are open to everyone. If you follow us on Instagram you can check out our future events and get involved through that. 

A post shared by Team Zissou Environmental Org. (@teamzissouglobal) on Apr 14, 2018 at 7:54pm PDT