ASI Associate Justice, Sofia Estrada discusses non-profit organizations that advocate and focus on social justice on Oct. 15 on the Outpost Lawn. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
The Associated Students Inc. Judicial Branch hosted a “Know Your Rights” pop-up event on the OutPost Grill front lawn on Oct. 15.
The event provided students with information from four booths about their rights and the different types of activism they can engage in to promote change.
The booths represented peaceful activism, political, nonprofit, student government and student organization.
Each semester, the ASI Judicial Branch decides which topics to focus on for the pop-up that will interest and benefit students at the present time.
Previously, they have focused on campus protesters, women’s, and undocumented immigrants’ rights.
“The purpose of these events is to connect students to both on and off-campus resources that can help them navigate important social and legal topics,” said Shannon Couey, the ASI Communications Manager.
“We feel like, obviously, students feel a little bit hopeless in regards to the political and social realm. So we wanted to let students know how they can get involved in their community,” said Emily Atherley, an Associate Justice for the ASI Judicial Branch.
Students who attended the event signed in with their student ID and received a stamp card before venturing through each informational booth.
“The world’s a really crazy place right now, so we’re all looking for ways to just get involved and make an impact any way we can,” said Asleiram Hernandez-Rodriguez, Chief Justice for the ASI Judicial Branch. “I just really hope that this event gives students opportunities to learn different ways to get involved on and off campus, and right here in the city of Long Beach.”
Hernandez-Rodriguez has been involved in hands-on advocacy on campus since the beginning of her academic career here at Long Beach State.
“I found a lot of fulfillment in working for students and trying to make the world a better place for more people,” Hernandez-Rodriguez said. “Students should have full freedom to express their opinion.”
Knowing one’s rights, whether through school events like the “Know Your Rights” pop-up event or in class, can be helpful for students who are not sure where to look.
One student, Caitlin Leister, noticed in her classes that some people in her classes have expressed that they’re afraid because they do not know who to trust.
“I’ve seen the way people are right now, you know? You can feel it, you can see it, you can see how scary it is for people,” Leister said. “Whether or not you have citizenship… it still affects everyone,” Leister said, referring to the recent ICE raids in Los Angeles and the growing concern among students who are unsure if they can attend class without being approached.
Much like the information ASI’s “Know Your Rights” event provides, Leister also said her criminology major has shed a lot of light on her rights this past year, too.
“You might not even know what you can say that would help you, but I feel like being informed and knowing you have these unalienable rights is incredibly important,” Leister said.