Amanda Gelender has been an activist and lobbyist on several key issues in her school and in her community, including the death penalty, the “war on drugs,” marriage equality, student rights, racial profiling and police brutality. For the past two years, Amanda has been a passionate and dedicated leader with the Youth Activist Committee of the ACLU of Northern California's Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project. In this role, she has helped to educate her fellow students about the core principles of the Bill of Rights and how those rights are relevant to their lives.
In addition, Amanda started a chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy at her school and participated in the summer program, “The War on Drugs: A Field Investigation by and for Youth.” Her commitment to the issue led her to testify before the California State Congress on behalf of the Drug Policy Alliance to support a bill that would halt random drug testing in schools. Amanda's testimony was lauded by activists and policymakers alike, and the bill passed the legislature with bipartisan support. Unfortunately, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill in September 2004.
Amanda continues to write articles and editorials in her school newspaper on key civil liberties issues and legislation, including California's recent Proposition 69, which expands the state's criminal DNA database to include innocent people.
“It's so important to get youth involved and thinking about their rights in order to empower a generation that is often overlooked in society,” Amanda said.
