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Change the World
UGA AND ATHENS OFFER MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED
By Chris Dowd news@flagpole.com
has been quite a year. The
A \M A \ Confederate monument on
Broad Street came down. Protests against
police violence still shake the country after
the killing of George Floyd. Climate change
continues to break new records, with this
year being one of the warmest yet. A novel
coronavirus is spreading rapidly, causing an
economic meltdown in its wake. An eviction
crisis looms as the next domino to fall, and
it’s only August. Oh yeah, there’s also an
election coming that’s kind of a big deal,
too.
After all this, you might be wondering,
“What the hell is going on?” Or possibly
even, “How can I help make things better?”
If you’re new in town and have been ask
ing yourself these questions lately, you’re in
the right place. Athens and UGA have a long
list of civic, political and activist groups
who welcome new members.
“What brings me hope are the people in
the streets protesting injustice, the people
finding their voices, the organizers who are
teaching us how to share power [and] the
candidates who are standing up to monied
interests and political dynasties,” says Erin
Stacer, president
of the progressive
group Athens for
Everyone. “In spite of
all the crisis that this
virus has intensified,
people are rising up to
make change happen.”
Take a look at the list below to find a
group that matches your interests. Maybe,
after meeting some new friends, you can
help make the world a slightly less terrible
place, together. If you’re into that kind of
thing.
Environmental Advocacy
Greenability is a student group focused
on fighting climate change through policy
and research. They’ve recently worked on
state legislation with state Rep. Spencer
Frye (D-Athens) and are currently pushing
UGA to divest from fossil fuels. They will
organize this semester using GroupMe and
will soon have a website and listserv, but
the best way to follow them is on Instagram
@greenability_uga or contact them by email
at greenability.uga@gmail.com.
Speak Out for Species is an animal
welfare organization whose mission is “to
defend animals from cruelty and exploita
tion, to reduce animal suffering, and to
encourage compassion for all living beings.”
You can contact them at sos@uga.edu.
The Athens chapter of Citizens Climate
Lobby takes a legislative approach to
fighting climate change. Its primary goal
is the passage of the Energy Innovation
and Carbon Dividend Act, which would
raise the price of fossil fuels and refund the
dividends equally to the American people.
They meet on third Tuesdays at 6 p.m. over
Zoom. You can follow them on Facebook @
athensccl or join their mailing list at citi-
zensclimatelobby.org. They are starting a
UGA chapter as well; for more information,
contact Gail Gill at gail.d.gill@gmail.com.
LGBTQ Rights
Formerly known as the Lambda Alliance,
Pride Alliance is focused on “local grass
roots queer advocacy.” Until recently, they
held meetings at the LGBT Resource Center
on campus. Until that’s safe to do again,
you can contact them at ugapridealliance@
gmail.com or follow them on Facebook @
prideuga.
Athens PRIDE organizes a major street
festival each year, although this fall’s was
canceled due to the pandemic, and raises
money for nonprofits like Live Forward,
which helps HIV and AIDS survivors. Find
them at athenspride.org.
Black Lives Matter
The UGA NAACP chapter has recently
started the #ArchAccountability initiative
to demand a number of changes at the uni
versity. These include
renaming buildings
whose titles honor
white supremacists,
acknowledging the
university’s role in
the Baldwin Hall
incident and creating scholarships for the
descendants of slaves who helped build
UGA. The UGA NAACP holds meetings over
Zoom, and you can follow them on Twitter
@UGANAACP.
The Athens Anti-Discrimination
Movement is dedicated to fighting against
discrimination and for the value of Black
lives to be recognized. They’ve organized
many rallies, protests and workshops since
their founding in 2016, and they’ve also
achieved a number of policy victories.
These include the (soon to be formed) civil
rights committee and the end of cash bail
for local ordinances. They have a number of
active initiatives, including the continued
fight for Black lives and partnering with
the Economic Justice Coalition on voter
engagement and registration. They’ve also
been working for a robust Citizen Police
Advisory Board to provide oversight of
ACCPD. You can sign up to join AADM on
their website. You can also follow them on
Facebook @aadmovement and Instagram
and Twitter @aadmovement706.
Politics and Elections
Fair Fight UGA is the local branch of
Stacey Abrams’ voting rights organization.
They focus on election reform, voter edu
cation, access to the polls and encouraging
turnout. You can follow them on Twitter
@fairfightga or email them at fairfightu@
gmail.com to get more involved.
Turning now to partisan politics, the
Young Democrats of UGA are one of the
more active organizations on this list. They
work to spark interest in government and
politics among their peers, promote a more
progressive community and, of course,
help Democrats win in November. They’ll
be holding virtual meetings again starting
on Aug. 26 to showcase candidates in the
upcoming election and also for more gen
eral political discussion. These meetings
will be streamed live, and they’ll also post
the Zoom link on social media, so be sure
to follow them on Facebook, Instagram or
Twitter @YoungDemsUGA.
The College Republicans at UGA have
been partnering with UGA Votes to help
register students and provide information
about voting dates and deadlines. You can
follow them on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram @UGACRs.
A4E is focused on both systemic change
and practical day-to-day initiatives. Right
now, they need help in tracking the activ
ities of the local government and board
of education, along with social media,
research and some behind-the-scenes
chores involved in running an organization.
They’re currently seeking people who want
to organize around public education and
equitable access to learning. Go to athens-
foreveryone.com to learn more.
The Democratic Socialists of America
have an Athens chapter organized to
promote their vision of “a more free, dem
ocratic and humane society.” They often
organize protests and have an active book
club. You can follow them on Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram @AthensAreaDSA.
The Economic Justice Coalition is
well-known for its comprehensive voter
registration drives, which they’ve been
organizing for almost 20 years. It strives
to fight poverty through higher wages,
worker-owned cooperatives and democratic
engagement. Currently, it could use vol
unteers for voter registration drives and
support to ensure everyone is counted in
the 2020 Census. The EJC is also accepting
volunteers to help with newsletter design,
their website and social media. You can
contact the EJC at ejcathensga@gmail.
com if you’re interested in any of these
volunteer opportunities, or follow them on
Facebook.
The Georgia branch of the American
Civil Liberties Union now has a pres
ence in Athens. The ACLU works to defend
reproductive rights, reform the criminal
legal system and support the ongoing
effort to divest from policing and invest in
community support. To join their efforts,
email campaign organizer Adam Lassila at
ALassila@acluga.org.
Indivisible GA10 was founded after
the 2016 election to resist the agenda of
President Donald Trump while support
ing democracy and nonviolence. Here in
the 10th Congressional District, their
goal is primarily to register voters for the
upcoming election and to fight all forms of
voter suppression. To join, you can reach
out to Indivisible GAlO’s Membership
Coordinator, Vicky Tavernier, at indivisi-
blelO.vickyt@gmail.com.
If you lean more to the Republican side,
they’re also planning Zoom meetings this
semester where you can hear prominent
politicians as guest speakers.
Sexual Assault Prevention
UNMASK is the first entirely student-led
organization on campus dedicated to the
awareness and prevention of sexual assault.
What brings me hope are
the people in the streets
protesting injustice.
6 FLAGPOLE.COM | AUGUST 19, 2020
Its main goal is encouraging discussion
of sexual assault, especially in communi
ties where such discussion is stigmatized.
They’re also planning a panel discussion
with sorority and fraternity members to
discuss the prevalence of sexual assault in
Greek life and what can be done to prevent
it. They’ll start general meetings soon
over Zoom, and you can follow them on
Instagram @unmask_sa.
Immigrant Rights and
Mutual Aid
The Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition
includes groups like the InterFaith
Sanctuary Coalition, U-LEAD—which
helps undocumented high school students
attend college—and Dignidad Inmigrante
en Athens. Its mission is to provide food
and support for immigrant families who
have not received federal aid during the
COVID crisis. Volunteers can deliver needed
supplies door-to-door or help by gathering
household items or at the distribution cen
ters. Contact AIRC at contactathensimmi-
grantrights@gmail.com if you would like to
help with this important work. In addition
to mutual aid, AIRC members have held
many protests over the years. They organize
the yearly LatinX Fest, and they also advo
cate for immigrant rights at the local level.
The Athens Mutual Aid Network is
an affinity group offering radical political
education and in-person mutual aid care.
This can include almost anything, from
helping people check in to motels or hous
ing, accompanying them to the hospital or
connecting people skilled in trades to those
needing their help. They operate a safe
house with a refrigerator for food dona
tions. You can connect with the Mutual
Aid Network in their Facebook group or on
Instagram @mutualaidathens.
The Athens Area Courtwatch Project
empowers volunteers to observe proceed
ings in Athens-Clarke County courtrooms
with the purpose of watching out for the
rights of minorities in the court system. To
participate, contact John Cole Vodicka at
johnvodicka@comcast.net or 612-718-9307.
This is not an exhaustive list. In particular,
check out the UGA Involvement Network
for more information on student groups.
Protesting Safely
As you can see, activism can take a lot of
forms, from protests to phone banking
to issue-based advocacy. Increasingly,
organizations have been moving online
for meetings and relying more heavily on
social media to get the word out about their
activities.
Even so, nothing can replace the feel
ing of an in-person rally or protest. If you
choose to attend one of these events, make
sure to take precautions. You should wear
a mask over your mouth and nose and try
to stay six feet from everyone you don’t live
with, if possible. You may wish to be tested
for COVID-19 both before and a few days
after attending an in-person rally, especially
if social distancing is not possible.
Wear comfortable shoes and bring
sunscreen if the protest is during the day.
Lastly, be sure to bring enough water. The
most important thing is to stay safe so you
can keep on fighting. ©