Sandra Cornejo Dumps Trump: Senior continues to work with activist group Puente

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Alexis Kunke, Social Media Director

Many teens in this day and era seem to be becoming more and more involved in the activist lifestyle. In 2013, Occupy Theory wrote an article titled “Future Trends and Statistics in Social Activism”. In this article, the magazine stated that “It is by far estimated that seven out of ten American young adults are considered as social activists”. That was written three years ago. Now it seems usual and common to see our peers working towards a better future. Students of McClintock have attend Bernie Sander’s rallies, voted in the Arizona primary, marched with Take Back the Night, and have contributed greatly to the activist community. One such student is senior Sandra Cornejo who has been actively working with the Puente Movement, a non-profit grassroots migrant justice organization. After months of meetings and protests Cornejo has continued fighting for her cause.

 “Lately we have had a couple of protests”, Sandra Cornejo said, “The legislature has been proposing a lot of anti-immigrant and anti-refugee bills and laws. We have focused a lot on those for the past couple of weeks. We had a huge protest in the State Capitol, it lasted a couple of hours and was the day the last bill arrived on Governor Ducey’s desk. Unfortunately he did pass the laws. Puente was [also] an organizer of the Donald Trump rally blockade. We blocked both of the main roads leading up to Trump’s rally, which was a pretty fun experience.”

 Many teenagers begin to find out what’s important to them in their high school careers. It’s a time for finding new hobbies and trying new things. Taking up a passion or working against an issue can be a very rewarding experience. However, many young people don’t know where to start.

 “Fortunately I have parents who have been activists pretty much since they were my age so they already knew about different organizations. Honestly, for my organization all it takes is showing up. You just show up and everyone is welcoming and accepting. You immediately become part of our squad,” Cornejo said, “It’s not very hard to join an organization. You could help by retweeting their posts or donating $2, it really doesn’t take too much to make a difference.”

 For some people, one act of activism is enough, and that’s okay. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe in. However, Cornejo plans to keep working with the Puente Movement after high school.

 “I definitely do want to keep being a part of this organization and keep trying to spread awareness of what is going on in our communities,” Cornejo said, “This might sound selfish-but this organization has really helped me as a person, as an individual, it has opened my eyes to so many things and has educated me and taught me compassion and about my own culture.”

 The experiences gained from joining a cause can be described as ‘life-changing’. Many people find that helping out makes them feel not only better about themselves but helps bring them out of their shell. The ability to make a difference in the world is within all of us.

 “I definitely think joining an organization and being a part of something so big would really make a change, not to just our community and the organization, but also personally to you and your life’ Cornejo said.

 If you have a passion please pursue it. If you find a cause then fight for it. If there’s an issue out there that just makes you enraged then take a stance. We are young but we are powerful. We can make a difference in the world.