Watch Us Rise(20)

We sit looking at Ms. Lucas, waiting for her next move.

“Well . . . ?okay then. I’m, um, I will, sure, I’ll be your advisor. Let me tell you, I am pretty busy with the coordination of the other clubs, so you two will really have to lead this club and take ownership over it. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yes,” I say, a little too loud, getting overexcited. “Yes, yes, we can do it. We’re small but mighty. Besides, isn’t this always the case—it’s only a small group of people who’ve ever changed the world. The majority is always—”

“Yes, Chelsea, thank you for your enthusiasm. But there are some logistics you need to know about before starting a club. Do you two have a little time right now to go through everything?” We both nod. “Okay, well, the other important thing to discuss is what you want the focus of your club’s blog to be about.” Ms. Lucas goes to her desk to grab a manila folder labeled: Club Rules and Guidelines. “As you both know, each club has its own blog connected to the school’s webpage. I know blogs can feel a little dated to some of you young people, but there have been clubs that really take it to another level, with videos, interviews, personal art, and things like that. There are ways to make them very cool spaces, and I’m sure you two have some ideas! Students or advisors are responsible for uploading essays, photos, upcoming events, and any exciting information about their club to share with the student body. You’ll have to post at least once a week. This is a student-led page,” she tells us. “I think for poetry and theater, the advisors mostly did the posting, but that’s not the case with every club. Some of them have more student authority, and this one definitely will since I can’t be at every single meeting. You two will need to set up your own posting schedule and manage the content.” She hands us each a sheet of paper and says, “Oh, and you need to sign this.”

CLUB RULES AND GUIDELINES:

Be kind to your readers and yourself: don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want the world to know. What you share on the internet will live in public space forever. Be respectful and try your best not to offend anyone in your posts. Please remember to do the following:

?Use appropriate language.

?Check your sources and do not plagiarize.

?Spell-Check and edit your work.

I acknowledge that breaking any of these guidelines could lead to any of the following consequences:

?a warning from my club advisor

?deletion of a portion or all of the post

?temporary or permanent loss of blogging privileges at the discretion of my club advisor



Jasmine and I sign the paper, and then Jasmine says, “So what should we call our blog?”

Ms. Lucas says, “How about the Amsterdam Heights Collaborative Community School Women’s Rights Blog.”

Jasmine and I look at each other. My face can never lie. Um . . . no, I think.

“Um, well, I think we want something a little more . . . ? catchy,” Jasmine says, saving me.

“Oh, I see. The old lady will just excuse herself from this conversation.” Ms. Lucas laughs.

I stand and get a marker to write down our ideas on the dry-erase board. Neither of us can come up with anything much better than the one Ms. Lucas had.

We cross out all the ones we absolutely hate and narrow it down that way. It gets down to Our Words, Our Voices and Write Like a Girl. We decide on Write Like a Girl. “Because people are always trying to silence girls, tell us how to talk, how to act. You know how people say someone throws like a girl or fights like a girl? Well, we write like girls—we write about issues that matter to us,” I say.

“Yeah,” Jasmine adds. “And it’s not about stereotypical girl topics written in sappy, cliché ways.”

“Write Like a Girl. I like it,” Ms. Lucas says. “Yes, I like it a lot.”

I type in the school’s log-in page and start setting up our blog.

“So, just to do a quick brainstorm here, every club should have some themes, and I know you two have already been thinking about this. So tell me more about your ideas.” She grabs her notebook and pen.

“Well, we want to talk about how crazy movies and TV are, and how they show us in totally crappy ways. It’s all a bunch of stereotypes that magazines and shows are serving to us. I want to do a bunch of posts on commercials that just show women as housewives, cleaners, caretakers, and nannies. I want to talk about colorism and body shaming too. Also, I’m thinking about violence against women and social inequality—not necessarily in that order,” I say, taking a breath.

“Whoa, okay, good, good. That’s definitely a start!” Ms. Lucas says. I lean back in my seat, realizing that I am getting way too hyped and talking way too much.

“Besides the blog, what else do you want the club to do? Any thoughts from you, Jasmine?” Ms. Lucas asks.

“Besides the blog,” Jasmine says, “I was thinking we can put on events and performances. I learned a little bit about guerilla art at my theater camp, and I think we could do some of the actions like street performances and placing art and quotes in unpredictable places. I mean, we wouldn’t go on the street, but we could do an impromptu performance or chant or something during lunch in the cafeteria,” Jasmine says. “I haven’t really thought it all out.”

Then I say, “Maybe we can also highlight women activists and artists that people may not know.”