On February 24th, my RA, Julie, held a floor program about raising your voice and using your freedom of speech. Julie gathered floor-mates and others into the common room. She explained to everyone there that we are lucky to live in a place where we have freedom of speech, so we should express it. She told us that those who have a voice should use it, and they should use it to stand up for something they believe in. By doing this, Julie was speaking out for freedom of speech, which is something she strongly believes in.
After Julie spoke, she showed us all a background that she made. The background was a collage of pictures of protest signs people made to stand up for causes that they feel strongly about. For the majority of the floor program, Julie asked us to create our own protest signs utilizing poster board and paint. After we made a sign, we were encouraged to pose in front of the background and take pictures with our sign to post all over social media so others would see and the word could be spread.
The program was such a success. Making the signs was so much fun. It was a good way for our floor to bond and hang out for a night. The signs got everyone talking about things that wouldn’t normally come up in conversation. It was so interesting to see what everyone chose to write on his or her sign. I personally chose to advocate against animal cruelty. A few others did, too. The similarities and the differences in our signs got everyone talking and more informed about the problems happening in the world right now. The program was entertaining and informative.