Santa Barbara High School (SBHS) recently started a Gay-Straight Alliance Club (GSA). The club helps queer students here at SBHS open up with their peers. Club administrators, Ms. Miranda Vasquez and Mr. York Shingle, who are both teachers here at SBHS, help students feel more comfortable and safe. Freshman Sway Moore, started the club Action 4 Justice here at SBHS. He wants students to have a safe space for students to feel welcomed or just to have a place to talk with their peers that can relate to them. 

Action 4 Justice has organized multiple protests and marches for various movements such as queer representation and women’s rights. Sway prefers to have marches here at Santa Barbara High School or downtown Santa Barbara. 

“Growing up, you start to notice that people are discriminated against in the world. As a queer person I’ve faced a lot of discrimination and I feel like it would make me feel more hopeful to stand up and march and work within a group of people who can help make the world a little better for minorities.” Sway goes on to explain how having more representation in school makes it easier for students to come out or open up to someone they feel safe with. 

“Being a leader in Action 4 Justice, being able to do hands-on activism so we can feel like we’re actually doing a change can be very empowering in this crazy environment that we live in. Injustice can come up and we can stand up against this because this is not ok. When we organized the Trans Remembrance Event, that was just because I felt like my club just wanted to show Santa Barbara High that we were representing and that we weren’t going to forget that these trans people have been murdered and it’s really important that we bring awareness to these types of things. Especially to young people.” 

[Image Credit: Sway Moore]