“How do we empower youth against constant fear from adults?” I’ve been thinking a lot about the role adults play in shaping the communities youth grow up in. We pride ourselves on our love for our children… our desire to keep them safe. We wear it like a badge of honor… bearing the brunt of all of the ugliness in the world… so it doesn’t harm our kids. But what happens when all of that pressure… makes us ignorant to the real problems… when our fear spirals out of control… and we lose sight of what we were keeping them safe from in the first place? I’ve been thinking a lot about Nex Benedict… and the role adults played in the abuse and bullying they suffered in their life. Born from a desire to keep our kids safe… adult fear spiraled into something ugly and ignorant and harmful. Nex should still be here… but this isn’t just happening in Oklahoma. Across the country… adults are putting on their fearful badges and waging war in school boards and locker-rooms and hallways… And in our fight to keep our kids safe… we have become to blind to the real problem… and too scared to do anything about it. But what would happen… if we stopped. If we took a moment to listen to our kids… to let them lead us to something better? “You can’t kick us out of our school.” For this episode of Prevent-Connect… I was lucky enough to learn from staff and students at Atria Collective… in Middlebury Vermont… who stood up against transphobia in their school… and made national headlines in the process. “Wow people actually care about this.” “The only word I can think of is magical.” Their story came at an incredibly important time… and I hope offers us adults the inspiration we need to be bolder in our work… and to let the bravest voices among us actually take the lead. “We’re here… we’re queer and we love you.” I’ve been thinking a lot about the role adults play in shaping the communities youth grow up in… and how much would change if we set our fear down for a moment… and made room for youth power. Janae Sargent (she/they) (00:00) Hi, Linnea Theo Claire. I am so stoked to see you today. Thank you so much for hopping on with me. It has now been exactly one year since I've done an intergenerational podcast. which is my favorite kind of podcast to do. So really excited to talk to you about shared youth power, and adult and youth partnerships. Can you tell me a little bit about yourselves and how you all know each other? Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (00:32) I'm Linnea. I use they, them and she, her pronouns. I am the teen violence prevention specialist at Atria Collective, formerly Women Safe. We're located in Middlebury, Vermont, and we serve survivors of sexual and domestic and dating violence and stalking throughout Addison County, Vermont. And I've had the honor of getting to work with these folks through our youth advisory board. We are now on our third year of it, I believe. It's a really awesome group of young people that get to come together twice a month to talk about issues related to sexual violence and dating violence for teens in our community. And we get to pay them to do this work. And they have three different committees that they work on this board, which has been really cool to see how that's kind of been built upon over the past couple of years. Claire Clark (01:18) I'm Claire. I am in my junior year at Bergen-Zion High School. And I think it was like a year or two ago, Linnea came into my health class. And she started talking about the Youth Advisory Board at Women's Safe. one of my friends and I did that. And so that's how I know Linnea. She used to be with us. And then Theo I saw them on school a couple of times and like, I've had like, we have mutual friends. Theo (he/they) (01:47) And I was on a very early crew of youth advisory board members of sort of varying ages in high school who came together to try and tackle some difficult topics in our school's sort of collective classes and see what we could do to help bring a voice to those in need. Janae Sargent (she/they) (02:14) I used to be a youth engagement specialist at a violent, and doing violence prevention at a local rape crisis center. And Claire, when you said that, you know, when Linnea. comes to your class or came to your health class and was recruiting people for the Youth Advisory Board, I just kind of went like, and I felt like I was back in 2018. Again, doing that really amazing work, really tiring work and really exciting work. You know, youth engagement is kind of my big passion when it comes to violence prevention. And every year we get questions about how preventionists can better engage youth without doubt. We just did our annual survey and it was yet again, the top requested topic, you know, February. is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. And it's one of my favorite times, even though sometimes I get burnt out on awareness months, because it's a time when our field really talks about youth engagement and really asks intentional questions of how to do that. And Linnea, you just started to share about this. So I wanna come back to you. You all are on your third year, you mentioned, of Centering Youth Voices. And I think that that's a really cool period of time. because you've been doing it long enough to, you know, get your feet wet, put your boots on and practice it, but not so long that you're disconnected from how it started. So can you tell me a little bit about your youth engagement work as it looks now? and also like how it came to be. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (03:50) Yeah, 100%. So a couple of years ago, we started to get a RPE, brain prevention education funding, which allowed us to explore some really cool new ways to work with youth and really like partner equitably with youth to do sexual violence prevention work. So one of the ways that we went about that was creating this idea of a youth advisory board. And in its first year, I'm sure Theo could attest to this, there was definitely some things we had to maneuver, but what really came about from this work and having a youth coordinator on that youth advisory board who was really helping us develop it and figure it out what it was going to be, we realized that there were so many different goals that we had to put them into different areas. So we have three committees. There is the adult committee, which is all about equipping adults to better support youth who are experiencing violence, but also answer questions about violence and relationships and sexuality. Then we have a community committee that's all about outreach and awareness to the community about different things that teens are experiencing as it connects to violence. And then we have the sex education committee, which Theo and Claire were both part of on different years, which focuses on improving sex education in our schools in Addison County, especially in making that sex education be more LGBTQ plus inclusive. So there's lots of really cool work that they've gotten to do over these past couple of years. And it's been really awesome to see kind of how it's continued throughout the years and how it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Janae Sargent (she/they) (05:23) Thanks for sharing and correct me if I'm wrong, but those committees, the priority areas that the Youth Advisory Board takes, those were also youth led, right? So youth came up with those ideas that wasn't something that Atria kind of prescribed. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (05:38) No, no, it was more about, from my perspective, helping them try to figure out how to put it in these boxes, right? Thinking about all the different goals that we had and all the amazing different work that we wanted to do. And we're like, okay, well, we can create committees, right? So I think my kind of role in that was more about supporting the youth and figuring out like, okay, what are those little boxes that are gonna help make our, help us be able to reach those goals easier in creating those committees? So yeah, I would definitely say that was youth led. And also, I forgot to mention that really important part of this that we realized pretty early on is that we had to pay youth to do this work, right? So that's really important part of this process. And on that Youth Advisory Board of 12 folks, two of them are also interns that are working with us throughout the year on more extensive projects. Janae Sargent (she/they) (06:13) Mm-hmm. Great, thank you for sharing. do think it's a good tone to set. Like... we cannot, if you want to do a youth engagement work, you cannot do it without paying youth. Like from here forward, we cannot ask youth for unpaid labor. That's ridiculous. Especially when we work with youth to fill out our grant objectives and youth are already so busy, if we want them to be our partners in this work, we have to treat them like our partners in this So, and Linnea, it sounds like you've been a part of this since the beginning. Theo and Claire, you have also kind of been a part of this since the beginning. What made you want to join the Youth Advisory Board and organize around sexual violence prevention? Theo (he/they) (07:10) My biggest roles were in the sexual health curricular classes and I had a very lacking health experience in the high school and that was mainly based on fear-based engagement. So I wanted to help provide a safe space for people who wanted to ask questions and provide a space where people felt comfortable actually engaging. from the people who were in that class instead of just having things sort of spoken at them. I wanted to engage everyone and also have it be as queer friendly as possible. Claire Clark (07:49) Okay, for me, I think like, the whole class was like, right up was always kind of like, ugh, and then like talking about like sex ed was always just kind of not, I don't know, it just didn't, almost like kind of boring or it didn't feel super like interactive or super like, it was, you know, as Diego said, it fear-based. And I think part of the reason why like, well, first of all, I heard about the Youth Advisory Board and- I was just like, okay, this could be, I think this is like interesting and like, you know, being able to like talk to adults and around this time I had started like this social justice group at my school full send. So it was kind of to continue on my activism work, I guess. And I think part of the reason why I chose sex ed was cause like, it's so like heteronormative in health class, or it's so like, you know, you're all you're only learning about male and female sex and I think for me that was really frustrating having friends who are part of the LGBT community, me myself being a part of the LGBT community and also having friends who are trans. of it was even just like hearing like in school just my friends you know experiencing homophobia. I believe that like a big part of solving like racism and homophobia is education. thinking about how to like better this sex ed curriculum and make it more inclusive can help with homophobia. Janae Sargent (she/they) (09:15) Well, I will say it's not just something that you personally believe. It's also something that's backed up by facts and figures. And, you know, it's interesting as, as you both were sharing Claire and Theo. So I'm on, I'm in California. So I'm basically on the other side of the country. And, you know, people tout California as a really progressive state. And even though we have laws and policies. around LGBTQ inclusive sex ed, evidence-based sex ed. I hear the same things in my local school district. And when I was working directly with youth, they said the same exact things. So what you're saying I think is validated across the country, I hear it overwhelmingly whether people are in red or blue states. And, you know, heard this from teens that I was working with four years ago. And I felt this when I was a teen, So it is clearly an issue. And it clearly while we have moved the needle, not enough. And it's so deeply tied to sexual violence prevention. So Linnea, I applaud you and an atria collective for hearing that and lifting that up because sometimes I see violence prevention and intervention agencies struggling to make that connection. So even though California and Vermont share some similarities, obviously, talk to me a little bit about the landscape at Vermont. What is going on in your state, in your local communities, and how does that shape the work that you do? Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (10:58) Yeah, I think I really connect to what you were saying earlier about the way that people view California and how people tend to view Vermont in a similar way as being a very progressive state. And a lot in a lot of ways we are. And Chittenden County where Burlington, Vermont is, which is like the town that most people think of the city most people think of when they think of Vermont, that's in Chittenden County and every county outside of that is considered rural, right? So here in Addison County, and in Virgins in Addison County, right? We're in a rural community, which means that we have a really diverse group of folks with different political beliefs and backgrounds and experiences. It also means that when it comes to like forming youth connection and youth organizing, that it's sometimes harder to find those spaces because it's a rural community, right? I do want to give a shout out to one awesome organization, Outright Vermont, that really works to make sure there are spaces for queer youth in Vermont to gather and they have an awesome Friday night group. But outside of that, it can be kind of hard to find those spaces for people to come together. So I think the fact that we're in a rural place in Vermont, lots of farmland, definitely contributes to kind of what we're seeing both in the schools, in education, as well as the advocacy work we do at Atria Collective too. Janae Sargent (she/they) (12:16) Yeah, thank you for sharing. Also in a rural area and went to school in a very rural area. So I hear you. Sometimes when people describe the state, you're like, well, there are more than one city in the state. So one of the reasons I've been extra excited to chat with you all, and I have been for months, is because earlier this year, when I was working with Linnea on resource guide and our web conference around advocating for school-based prevention strategies, I heard a story about a pretty incredible demonstration that you all put together and it made a big impact on your community and I think you know in the context of that story which I'm excited to dive into it really highlights the core of why and how to follow youth voices. So let's kind of rewind the clock a little bit. Take me back to last year. What was happening at Virgens High School? Claire Clark (13:19) It was like the last week before school ended and I was driving in the car home with my mom and she told me that there a parent group who wanted to bring in this anti trans to have this conversation about how he thinks that being trans is bad or isn't because he had the operation done and it didn't work out for him so he kind of automatically I mean I personally thought he just was just like okay it's bad because like it didn't work out for me um but when I first heard that I was like okay yeah I bleeped this out but I was just like what the f**k like I was in the car and I was talking to my mom and she's like and because she's on the school board So I obviously I was just like, what the f**k? Why aren't you guys doing anything about this? Like, why are you letting it happen in our school? And she's like, well, as none of us want it, but as a public school, like we can't like discriminate against any group, whether, you know, we could kind of have to put aside our personal beliefs. I mean, at first it was kind of like, what can we really do about it? when I originally talked to her, I was kind of like, I don't actually think this is gonna be a big deal. I was kind of like, I don't think this is actually gonna do anything. I didn't think it would actually happen. So I was like, they're probably just threatening this or whatever. And then I think it was that night or the next day. I started seeing it on Instagram and social media, going on all my friend's stories, going on everybody's stories. Then I got a text from Linnea saying, hey, what are we gonna do about this? some youth are like, joining together to have a conversation about this. And so, and you know, maybe brainstorm some ideas. And so I was just like, yeah, 100%, like I'm so down. Janae Sargent (she/they) (15:03) Dang, that sounds really powerful. And I commend you for getting on a call about it so quickly. I think it is important for us to kind of pause and think about, you know, for our listeners who maybe haven't done this work for a long time or they're struggling to see the connection. I think a lot of times when people think about sexual violence prevention, they think about healthy relationships education. And sometimes, even though I think we're all on the same page, it can be hard for people to make the connection between. all of the anti-trans stuff happening in the country and sexual violence prevention. I think there are some people who would hear that and say like, oh yeah, that's really rough, but that's not something for us to take on. what is it about an anti-trans speaker coming to speak at your school? that exacerbate sexual violence? Why is this something that for you all, you were like, I need to take this on? I'd love to hear both from Claire and Theo from a youth perspective of how this impacts your friends and could impact you and Linnea from someone working in the movement, kind of from that perspective. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (16:15) Well, there's absolutely a connection, a strong connection, between anti-trans rhetoric and higher rates of sexual violence, right? We know that queer and trans youth are at a particularly high risk of experiencing sexual violence. So if we need to do sexual violence prevention work, we have to make sure that we are creating a community where trans and queer youth feel safe. And actually, in the organizing of the... transphobic event that was happening that this was a direct response to. There actually was like a big connection between the sexual violence prevention work and the queer inclusive work. And so at the time, right in Vermont, we have this awesome thing called Act 1, which mandates that every kid K through 12 gets sexual violence prevention education every single year until they graduate. And we were at the elementary school in Virginia doing our Act 1 programming, and healthy relationships and asking for permission and bodies and babies and all those wonderful things. And there was a parent who was really, really upset about our education and didn't see it as being appropriate. And in addition to that education that we were providing at that elementary school, that elementary school was also providing further education on queer identities. And so in response to both the school doing that as well as us coming into the school to provide that education. that parent reached out to a couple of different conservative news media outlets, including podcasts and some newspapers, to talk about this. And then decided to start the Vermont chapter of Parents' Rights in Education, which we know is a national group that is basically working against a bunch of equity practices and policies in schools, including LGBTQ plus inclusivity practices. So there really was a direct connection of the motivation of that parent and that chapter to then host this anti-trans speaker at the school in response to the education that she was seeing both from us and from that elementary school that she didn't approve Theo (he/they) (18:20) I think a big part for me as a trans alumni student, it put basically all of our work at risk, all of the members of the... Earlier, Youth Advisory Board Club immediately were in uproar, and a majority of my friends who are also trans alumni, as soon as we heard about this event occurring, were frightened, just simply because the- percentage of trans and queer students at Virgens is growing and it's a large percent of the community now and Our entire Movement atria and also at Vergens just as a student body was to make everyone feel as safe as possible because we had such a large queer community and that put that at risk and our immediate thought was just well what are we going to do about this we got to we have to do something to show that we're still here and we're still going to protect everyone no matter what's going on in this community and so then we were all in a massive zoom call and group chat and extensive planning and planning and planning. And I mean, in less than a couple of days, look what we made. Janae Sargent (she/they) (19:59) There is also some really robust data around the pathway between homophobic bullying, so bulliers, early in life. and sexual violence perpetration later in life. So linking people who are who are homophobic when they're kids, to people who might be more likely to perpetrate sexual violence later in life. So it is very much tied. And something that I say often, and have heard often and learned often, is creating LGBTQ inclusive environments in our schools does not only benefit LGBTQ students. One of the biggest protective factors, so things that keep people safe from sexual violence, are connected communities. And when we talk about and think about marginalized groups, when we create a safe space for the most marginalized people in our communities, everyone benefits. There is a misunderstanding that, you know, if we create inclusive environments for LGBTQ folk that straight and cis folks lose out. That's not true. What we're doing is building empathy and kindness and respect and those things really translate. So now I want to transition into what you all actually did, because I think what is so powerful, and there are multiple facets of what's really powerful about the demonstration that you all put together, number one, that it truly was youth led, number two, that it was a really intergenerational effort, and number three, We just talked about a lot of hate and what you all did was uplift a lot of joy and create those connected environments I won't spoil it too much. Um Can you talk to me About some of that organizing what went into it? Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (21:52) So yes, after we heard about this anti-trans speaker that was going to be coming to the school to basically. have this conversation with people in the community about why it's bad to support trans youth and help youth access gender affirming care. A lot of adults and youth all came together, right? And we're like, we have to do something about this. We have to have some kind of response. And I honestly don't remember where the spark all started of who reached out to who first, but I just remember it was a back and forth and all of us reaching out to each other, like, oh my goodness, what is going on? We have to do something, right? And so. as Claire and Theo were highlighting earlier, we got on a Zoom call that night. That was on a Thursday night in June, and the speaker was coming on that following Tuesday, so we didn't have a lot of time. And so first we had to start kind of at the basic, which is what were our goals for having some kind of response to this event? Because that could really look like a lot of different things. And what was really important, I think in the beginning of that process, is like, what were the young people's goals? because there were some older folks on that call, right? Some other adults whose goals were not in line with what the young people's goals were for what they wanted to see out of this kind of event. And I don't know, Theo or Claire, if you can talk a little bit to that kind of particular piece of it. Claire Clark (23:05) When I joined the call, I just remember I was really like upset and I was happy that like other people were upset like with me kind of and we just started like brainstorming like what we wanted the outcome to be I remember one of the things we talked about was like because obviously we're mad to just like hijack the thing, like take over the wifi or like take over the speakers and everything. And one thing I remember saying was throw rotten tomatoes at them. Theo (he/they) (23:33) Hehehe Claire Clark (23:35) Yeah, so I I'm glad that they were there to kind of like calm me down and like actually kind of think of something Logistically because honestly by myself I probably would I just gone in there and throw in some tomatoes and you know, Theo (he/they) (23:49) I think from all of our Zoom meetings, our main base goal was to be as undestructive as possible. We wanted to... kind of base our whole event on sort of the opposite of what this person was bringing, because they were channeling so much of their own personal anger and distrust and hurt into their speech. We wanted to do pretty much the opposite and bring in as much happiness and joy and light to our celebration, because that was the baseline of it's a celebration of queer joy and trans youth. and we want this to be like a moment of everyone coming together peacefully instead of like a riot. Although I have no objections to throwing rotten tomatoes. Janae Sargent (she/they) (24:45) I mean, when you're doing organizing, especially organizing around really ugly and hateful things, you have to have space for both to say I wanna throw Rotten Tomatoes and then to think intentionally about what we're going to do. I think what I love most about this, and we are gonna get to the actual day for our listeners. I'm trying to keep you held on with bated breath. We're bringing you there. I worked at a local rape crisis center during the aftermath of George Floyd's murder and the murder of Breonna Taylor. working on a youth organizing team, our youth wanted to organize, they wanted to join marches, and so did we as staff. And we ended up taking time off to do that in our personal time, because our organization was scared to demonstrate because of all the political implications that come with that. Even a joy centered event is hard for organizations to wrap their heads around. So for me, the fact that you all actually demonstrated at this thing, at a politically charged event says so much about the trust that Atria Collective had in you. And I also know from our prep call, it was not all sunshine and roses. So can you kind of talk to me about that balance of a- adults and youth and really do having an intergenerational effort to put this together. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (26:24) in this kind of group of folks that had come together, right? We had lots of different experiences with organizing, whether it was the young people or the adults. And it became really clear early on that one of the youth goals was to be visible without being confrontational, right? And we know that this event, right, it was happening at a high school. It was after school was out, right? And so who that was really targeting was... the queer and trans youth at that high school. So it was incredibly important that it was their experiences and their stories and their needs that were at the center of whatever we were going to organize to combat that. And it was really important, I guess. for me and for Atria Collective to make sure that we kept bringing the youth voices to the front when some of the other really eager adults, well-intentioned adults, who wanted to support were starting to kind of step on some toes a little bit and forget kind of like the youth mission and vision in organizing this. Janae Sargent (she/they) (27:24) How did you as the staff member who worked on this project, Linnea, make that balance? How did you step in and uplift Theo and Claire and their peers while not shutting down the adults? Because I used to work on intergenerational teams and it is a tough balance. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (27:46) I remember especially in some of those first few meetings of always bringing it back to what that youth goal was about being visible, but not being confrontational, right? Because I think one of those big rubs was around having this awesome rally at the school. And there were some adults who saw that as being too confrontational, right? They were scared, like, ah, if we do it at the school, right? what is that going to open us up to? What kind of confrontation might there be? Let's just avoid, avoid. Which was like so not aligned and vibe with what the young people wanted. They said, no, we want them to see us. We want them to know that we're here. We don't want to get confrontational in a way that's aggressive, but we want to be visible. We want those people who are going to this event, the transphobic event that was happening inside the school to know, right, that we're here. We're queer, we support the queer people in our community and we're not going anywhere and you can't kick us out of our school, right? We're not gonna run away scared somewhere else, right? So I had to frequently just kind of push back against adults who wanted to change that perspective and change the direction of that to say, hey, remember, we're not the people who are most at risk because of this event, right? It's the young people that are. And as far as having an organization that... is behind that as like, atria collective also supporting with this, right? I mean, it's really in line with our mission and our goals. As we were talking about earlier, this was really about supporting community connectedness and support, right? That keeps people safe, including queer folks and including keeping people safe from sexual violence. And I do remember initially having kind of a conversation with some of the quote unquote higher ups about Hey, is this okay that we're supporting with this? Like, I feel like this is in line. Just want to get the check mark that you also think it's in line with our work. And they were like, yeah, 100%, as long as it's actually youth-led and youth-centered, then yes. And I was like, awesome, fantastic. Janae Sargent (she/they) (29:36) Hmm. Oh, I related so much to so many things that you said there because I've been in similar conversations. And I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any of that fallout happened or backlash against the organization or the people involved happened because of this demonstration. It sounds like the only things that happened out of this were really powerful, impactful, and positive. And Linnea during our prep call, you said something that I thought was so, so powerful. I remember writing it down. You said something about adult fear and youth power. Can you kind of phrase that the way that you did? Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (30:21) In doing this work in the anti-violence movement, we're talking about power and control all of the time, and when we're talking about centering youth in leading sexual violence prevention work, there's such fear from adults of giving up that power to the young people, right? To really take on that work that is centered around them. Right? Young people are the experts of their own experiences and know what's gonna work best for them. But that can feel really scary when you're this adult that's had the power and control over young people to be like, wait a second, oh, I have to share this. What is this gonna mean? Right? And so we're constantly seeing that battle, especially in schools of how do we empower youth? against this constant fear from adults. We're definitely always having adult fear and youth power kind of bumping up against one another and trying to find that balance. Janae Sargent (she/they) (31:10) Hmm. Thank you for sharing. Yeah, I think youth power over adult fear. We learn fear as we grow up. And I think adults are riddled with fear about everything. I am. Look at my bills and the things that we've seen. But you know what? That is not always, that's not the way that you organize. While yeah, some of those perspectives can be helpful, the bravery following the bravery of youth is a really powerful thing to do. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (31:38) And that's one of the reasons that I love working with young people, right? Like Claire and like Theo is because y'all are always so courageous and are like, I'm not scared. Let's take those risks, right? Adults have to learn how to be risk tolerant instead of risk adverse when it comes to supporting youth. And like Claire was saying earlier, right? Let's, let's throw the tomatoes and like, no, of course, that's not what we did in that particular circumstance. But that like current of like, I'm willing to take a risk to stand for what I believe in is something that I think youth are so good at that adults as we get older. get a little bit more timid and more timid around, right? Janae Sargent (she/they) (32:08) Mm. Theo (he/they) (32:11) We threw the theoretical tomatoes. I said we're throwing the theoretical tomatoes, but yeah, close enough. Janae Sargent (she/they) (32:11) Yeah, we're throwing joyful tomatoes. What did you say? Did you just say the same thing? You're what? Yes, theoretical tomatoes, joyful tomatoes. We're team joyful tomato here. Okay, so then let's fast forward to June 20th, 2023. Tell me about the rally. Theo (he/they) (32:23) Exactly. Claire Clark (32:36) so Monday was the day that like, I like met with the adult group kind of for the first time. And so we kind of we went to three squares to this little cafe. And we sat down and we were there for like, I don't know how long like an hour, two hours, I don't know, but I was the only like youth there. And I just remember I was kind of intimidated a ton of adults and then they're just me and they kept like coming to me for and we're just like, is this good? Like blah, blah. But it was like really helpful talking with them and to kind of finally get on the same page. So like, we did that at like three or four PM. and the thing was the next day. So we really had to pull things together. And then that morning. It was like, I don't remember what time it was at, but I talked to my parents. My parents briefly knew what was going on because I kind of do these things where I will get super involved in something and I'll just, activism-wise or event-wise, and I will kind of be like, oh yeah, by the way, there's this thing that I'm planning in response to this or whatever. And... they were really impressed by it. And so that morning I went and helped set up tables. There were a ton of different like stations. We had food, we had hot dogs. And then from there we, you know, marched to the green. When I was talking with the adults that kind of like came to like a agreement that we would kind of do what the kids want to do, but then move. And so we were, we were able to compromise on something. And I think, honestly, it couldn't have gone any better than it did. It was very like, for me, it was very shocking because like, you know, little Vergens like we don't get a lot of like, news or anything. But it was like, I was emceeing the event at the school and I just remember looking out into the crowd and I was just like, wow, people actually care about this. Because I was just like, okay, I really hope this doesn't just turn into some little wimpy thing. But it turned out to be way better than I could have imagined. And it was kind of like, you know, the past couple of days, I was just kind of, it was kind of consuming my mind. And so that was kind of all I've seen in my life, trying to finish up like... the last couple of days of I feel like for me, I wasn't really thinking about what it would look like in the outcome. It was kind of more, okay, get this done, get this done, get this done. And then just seeing. what, you know, I had helped create was like very rewarding, I guess. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (35:13) And Claire absolutely rocked it as emceeing it and giving speeches and like helping reel the adults back in because there was this other group of adults who wanted to do something totally different. We were like, wait, no, come join us. Right. The students are leading this one. That's who we need to center. And to answer Claire's question. there ended up being over 500 people at our event, at our awesome, wonderful, joyful celebration and rally and demonstration. And there was only about 60 people that actually went to the anti-trans speaker inside of the school. And the goal was, right, we were gonna show up, it started at 5.30, their talk started at six. So they would all see us there when they arrived to go into this transphobic talk. And then when they all came out, when it ended at 7.30, we would all be gone. That was the idea. So they get there, there's this huge celebration of love, and they're like, oh wow, and then they come back out and we're not there. Janae Sargent (she/they) (36:06) And I mean, wow, 500 people for what four days of planning, like huge props to you. Oh my gosh, that is, I can't imagine how powerful that was to work on to MC but also to attend. Theo, can you tell me a little bit of what was the atmosphere like there? What did it feel like to be a part of this? Theo (he/they) (36:32) Honestly, the only word I can think of is magical, simply because like the second I walked onto the front of campus, I was berated with bubbles and music and sparkles and rainbows and just, you know, everything under the sun, party-wise. And it was just... breathtaking scene honestly to see so many people come together to celebrate queer joy and queer happiness and to prove that we are still here and we're not gonna take that I mean are you serious of course we're gonna say something in opposition Claire Clark (36:58) Thank you. Janae Sargent (she/they) (37:08) Mm-hmm. Theo (he/they) (37:12) So yeah, overall just an incredibly powerful experience. I mean, we danced, we partied, we blew bubbles, the whole works, it was amazing. Janae Sargent (she/they) (37:22) Oh, I love it. And you know, I'm thinking back to still that adult fear versus youth power. We know that the vast majority of anti trans rhetoric is fear motivated. It's and it's based on people who have never actually met a trans person. And you know, thinking about that 60 people attended this fear motivated event, and 500 people attended your joyful event and that was purely based off of you all. That was your power. clearly, that right there is a perfect example of youth power silencing adult fear. That is exactly what we need in this world and I am so Stoked for you. I'm like proud to know you and proud that happened in this movement. That's just incredible. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (38:16) to add to that piece of what you were saying about how the youth power overcame the adult fear when I was kind of reviewing all the different news articles y'all can look it up right there's lots of different both local and national news articles about this one of the newspapers describes the inside as being peppered with gray hair because there are so many like older folks in that particular space well we had everybody else of all different ages, which was like super cool to see that even like the news, right? The news company recognized that. I'm like, oh, like, yeah, there's, there's not any young people in here in this room. Janae Sargent (she/they) (38:51) Hmm. Oh, yeah, I can perfectly imagine that. Um, so we've talked about what that felt like during that day, obviously, June 20. That's almost a year ago now. What kind of lasting impact have you seen this have at Vergens and that moment on your community? Claire Clark (39:14) I mean, I can't really say for sure, but I think there's definitely been a little bit less homophobia going around the school. I think people are just more accepting, I guess. Also, I think for a small town, it's a big victory because it's also now like we've created something in like now like it is going to be an annual thing um like little city big pride or small something like that um and you know because there's you know middlebury always each year has a pride parade in burlington but like brigens has never really had one and i think like um even though we're like a small town i think like We still deserve to have a celebration and still, and I really hope that this can continue being a thing. And, you know, obviously, like, I'm going to be graduating in a year, but I really hope that it, like, sticks Theo (he/they) (40:12) Simply from fellow like friends who are still active students, I would say that there has been a decrease in homophobia, transphobia, at least from my knowledge. But it's definitely not the end of the road and we have a lot more work to do. Janae Sargent (she/they) (40:34) Totally. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (40:35) And I hope that I think right from the queer youth that I've talked to, that I've worked with, right? That while there might still be homophobia and transphobia existing, right? That we did send a message that if you are queer or trans, you do belong here and you have people who love you and care about you and wanna support you. And we're working to try to kind of overcome that isolation that can come from being a queer young person in a rural community. So. At the very least, right? Queer youth know that there's other youth and adults who care about them in their community and will show up for them. Theo (he/they) (41:12) We're queer, and we love you so much. Janae Sargent (she/they) (41:15) Yeah. Okay, related but different. What kind of lasting impact has being a part of that rally had on you each individually? Theo (he/they) (41:27) That's a good question. Janae Sargent (she/they) (41:28) I didn't plan that one. Sorry, catching you there. Theo (he/they) (41:31) No, all good, all good. That's a good one. I'd say personally for me, it has given me more of a perspective simply from living in such a rural place. I thought that there wasn't many other people like me, at least in our state, being out in the woods, a trans kid on my own. It was... definitely empowering to see so many people I could relate to in one space. And from being at that event, I've still kept in touch with everyone who was there. I still talk to Linnea regularly. I look forward to seeing messages from Atria, anyone from Atria. And I think it's just given our community a little boost in progressiveness as a whole and just, you know, there actually is a very large majority of trans queer people out here and it's given a voice to us. Claire Clark (42:37) I think for me, like I just, I mean, when it's given me hope for the future and like that, you know, change can happen and you know, there is support and the fact that like 500, it was 500, right? Or something like that. Like 500 people came and it was only four days of planning. Like, it just kind of gave me hope and inspiration that like, going further, like I do want to continue. down my line of activism and stuff like that. And, you know, when I plan events like these and there's a big outcome or gets a community together, it just it feels really rewarding. And I think it just kind of gave me hope. And sometimes I can kind of get like, well, is the work that I'm doing actually worth it? Like, what's it actually doing? Am I just wasting my time kind of, but then I think back on this event or I think back on like. other events I've planned and or other things I've done. And it's kind of like, it does make an impact and, you know, there is a reason why I'm doing it. And, you know, I'm, I'm not alone and it's not just all in my head. And it kind of can help get me out of my kind of funk and that kind of wanting to give up mindset. I feel so much more like a part of the community because before, like, I kind of felt like isolated, I guess, or like compared to just coming together with the adults and hearing their perspective, I think for me was really helpful. Because it kind of felt like, oh, they don't really care. They just kind of want to do their own thing. Like, but I think once we came together, like we definitely, it definitely helped. And I feel much more connected to the community as a whole. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (44:16) And it's just a constant reminder to me about how resilient and awesome young people are, right? It was amazing to see all these different connections and relationships that we had built with the youth that we were working on through our RP programming and through school, being able to kind of use those skills that they had learned to create something in real time in response to something happen in their community. And also to see those other adult allies step up, too, right? Like, we want to support, too. We want to help. That was also really, really wonderful. And yeah, just gave me so much faith in our community and it was such a wonderful and incredible thing And I always think back to it when I think about hey y'all like we can Respond to things that are happening right now too, right? We can do that again What do y'all want to do y'all have the power y'all have the skills we can make it happen Janae Sargent (she/they) (45:01) Mm-hmm. I love that. And when Claire was speaking, you talked about feeling more connected to your community. That's what we're in this for. Those are the things we talk about in our web conferences and the CDC is like community connection. If you're struggling to make the connection, there it is right there. Well, I think that to me feels like a really... beautiful place to kind of wrap this conversation up as much as I want to keep talking to you all forever. I feel like people have so much that they could learn from you still. As we close this, how can people learn more about you all the work you do and get connected if they're feeling really jazzed up hearing this conversation? Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (45:47) Yeah, so you can go to our website, which is atria.vt.org. And you can learn all about the work that we do, including the work that we do with youth and our amazing, incredible Youth Advisory Board and all the stuff they're up to. We also have an Instagram that we're pretty active on, which is atria.vt. We also have a TikTok. Haven't posted it in a little bit, but there are some Youth Advisory Board folks on there and we will be posting again. Janae Sargent (she/they) (46:17) I did check out your TikTok as I was doing. Theo (he/they) (46:19) forgot about that. Claire Clark (46:21) Yeah, it's true. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (46:21) Yes, it's Healthy Relationships 802. Janae Sargent (she/they) (46:24) embarrassment. The second embarrassment from these two. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (46:28) Yeah We always ask for permission before we post stuff of people on our social media. So, you know, we're all about consent and all of the young people consented to have their beautiful, lovely faces who are on there. Doesn't mean that we weren't a little embarrassed, but. Claire Clark (46:28) Wait. Janae Sargent (she/they) (46:33) I thought it was good. I feel like there was like one where you were like celebrating and fall foliage and I was like wow that's very Vermont and very cute of them. As you know prevent any big fan of yours on Instagram we don't have TikTok because it would just be me and that would be weird but I can attest that your TikTok is also great. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (46:50) Yes. Janae Sargent (she/they) (47:01) Well, I just really appreciate you all so much. And, you know, for people who want to learn more about how to get to this spot of empowering youth voices, I'm gonna include all of PreventConnect's work on youth engagement in the description in the show notes of this podcast. We did a podcast series last year, talking to organizations across the country, especially youth and youth led organizations and youth led work about how to get from step. zero to this right here to planning a full demonstration that makes national headlines. So feel free to check those out. We'll also link some of our web conferences. Linnea, Theo, Claire, I am such a big fan of yours. Thank you so much for being on this podcast. Oh, yeah, for our listeners, we are also on YouTube right now doing little hearts at each other. So come check us out. Theo (he/they) (47:49) Thank you for having us. Claire Clark (47:56) We were on YouTube. Janae Sargent (she/they) (47:58) Yes. Yeah, we're on YouTube. This, you are on my second video podcast now, so we will be on our Spotify, Apple Music, all of that stuff, but we will also be on YouTube. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (48:15) We're not on it in this moment. Theo (he/they) (48:16) It's funny, I've been watching the sun slowly set for me and Linnea. Janae Sargent (she/they) (48:17) No, no, no. Oh my gosh. No, I'm so sorry. Sorry Theo, what'd you say? Claire Clark (48:17) Okay. Theo (he/they) (48:23) No, you're totally fine. I've been watching the sun slowly set for me and Linnea and it getting progressively darker and then the one California girl in the sunlight. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (48:30) Yeah. Janae Sargent (she/they) (48:35) Well, I'm in the lamp, I have a lamp. Um, you know what? We do the best we can with a minimal budget. We're not out here with studios, but that's okay. We're out here doing the best that we can because we work for the anti-sexual violence movement or at a coffee shop or we are in high school and we are still making an impact. Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (48:36) Yes, this is hard care. Theo (he/they) (48:42) Yeah Hell yeah. Yes. Claire Clark (48:53) Thanks for watching! Linnea - Atria Collective (they/she) (48:53) Yes. for uplifting the amazing voices of Theo and Claire. Thank you. Janae Sargent (she/they) (48:54) Thank you. Theo (he/they) (48:57) Thank you, thank you. Janae Sargent (she/they) (48:58) My pleasure. Thank you. 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