Activists club hosted their first annual Activism Night from 5:30-8 p.m. on Apr. 5. Students, parents and local representatives and groups attended. Among the political groups there were the MoCo Democratic Party, the MoCo District 15 caucus, MoCo4Change and MoCo Republican Women.

Junior Meghana Kotraiah, president, was looking for the club to have a greater local impact. “The idea came from us wanting to go beyond what we were currently doing. We were looking for a way to have an impact on the entire community beyond just the students, including the parents, teachers, and others that we knew could benefit from something like this,” Kotraiah said.

Sophomore Aashna Singh, event manager, who led the efforts with the other officers, said the preparation was planned far in advance. “Starting in March we booked Commons for the night, contacted representatives, and began to fine-tune the details that would eventually make the night as amazing as we want it to be,” Singh said.

The officers had many different responsibilities leading up to Activism Night. “The main part of our planning was inviting representatives and organizations, which involved compiling a list and trying to get in contact with them. We also had to organize to have the Commons and think about layout and decor. A lot of planning went into spreading the word about the event as well,” Kotraiah said.

Club members helped set up after school. “We couldn’t do it without club members from the group who stayed after school and worked tirelessly to pull off this amazing event,” Singh said.

While the majority of the event was mixer-style, some students also spoke and performed. “It was great to see young people voicing their opinions and what they believe in,” junior Eva Fulton said.
Despite early concerns, the night was successful. “Since the event was the first flagship event for our group we were really worried about having a low turnout. On the day of the event we had over 200 guests in attendance and several students from the community giving speeches about what they believed in,” Singh said.

Activists leadership received positive responses after Activism Night. “We were thrilled with the turnout and the feedback that we got from attendees that were impressed with what we were able to put together. It was so rewarding to see our community connect with political representatives,” Kotraiah said.

The Activists meet every other Thursday in room 248. “Our club is a nonpartisan political activism club where we focus on raising political awareness and activism within the student body. We have discussion meetings about current issues, and we provide opportunities for students to get involved by attending, as well as hosting, events,” Kotraiah said.

To get more involved with Activists, join the Remind by texting @thewhsa to 81010 or follow @whsactivists on Instagram.