We joined incoming freshmen at a civic engagement event to share with them what we do at HILSC and the importance of this moment in immigrant justice advocacy. We engaged the students in creative ways to change the current narratives about immigrants. Immigrants have been vilified by the current administration, willing to trample on the constitutional rights of immigrants. To make change, it is crucial to change the conversation and “humanize” immigrants. This group of freshmen students showed us they understand the power of positive narratives and showed us creative ways to shape narratives.  

We split the freshmen into three groups to brainstorm communication ideas. They all creatively came up with internet and social media savvy solutions. The first team spoke about leveraging famous individuals, like streamers and artists, to have a stream dedicated to raising awareness and funds for non-profits. The second team broke down an elaborate hour-by-hour day of a hardworking immigrant and mixed status family. Later, to be created into a reel. The third group talked about expanding their school’s website to write blogs about undocumented students and resources. The team’s ideas were intuitive and ingenious.