Become A SPA Peace Partner

As an active junior in high school, I am well aware of our world's injustices that our generation has inherited. I see no reason for fellow humans to desperately suffer under harsh conditions while we easily live a luxurious lifestyle. When I heard about the Student Peace Alliance’s efforts for a Department of Peace in the U.S. government, I was delighted that this could be a way I could take action to create peace.

Many times it's frustrating, as a teenager, to feel that I do not have the ability to actively contribute to help change the ways of our society. Everyday, the media displays horrid atrocities in other countries that become just another "ordinary" news story of religious genocide and slaughter. I feel as though the numbers of deaths are just considered statistics and not real humans who are fathers, sons, and mothers--family members to loved ones.

Through the campaign for a Department of Peace I have learned there are a multitude of strategic grassroots approaches that reduce domestic and global violence. However these practical and effective approaches are rarely sufficiently supported. A Department of Peace that will focus on effective nonviolent strategies gives me a new-found hope that further drives my passion to make a real and greater difference.

I am president of my city's local Student Peace Alliance in Oxnard, California at Pacifica High School where we organize locally in partnership with SPA chapters throughout the country to have a national impact in support of the Department of Peace. Our club has traveled to peace events such as the SPA national conference, raised money through planning fun movie nights, and has called the offices of our local congressmen and congresswomen to encourage them to support the Department of Peace.

By doing this, I feel content that I am doing my part to see that the world is a better place. Especially for my generation, it is vitally crucial that we take action and educate others to join. My monthly donation is creating the intention of a safer world for future generations. I can't see any other way to spend my money.

That is why I am a SPA Peace Partner. By donating monthly to the campaign for a Department of Peace and Nonviolence, I am putting my own effort into making peace a reality. I believe we together can accomplish so much more, because honestly, we have to.

Join us--become a SPA Peace Partner, and put your energy into making this world a safer place for future generations.

With hope and grateful appreciation,

Nadia Rodriguez
Oxnard, California Student Peace Alliance President