SUMM continues to speak out

Anna Myers, Managing Editor|September 21, 2020

Board members Lindsay Love and Laura Bruner meet with club members to discuss the Period Project. The project began in 2019 in response to the lack of female hygiene products in the girls’ bathrooms on campus.

It has become apparent that younger generations worldwide are increasingly interested in bringing about change that leads to reform, whether that be in an environmental, political, or social atmosphere.

One club at Perry was formed for exactly that purpose.

The Students United for Modern Movements club is sponsored by history teacher Paul Kreutz, and encourages “discuss[ing] and attend[ing] events that peak [the club’s] interest,” according to senior club president, Abby Chandler.

The club’s most recent actions blossomed last school year into the Period Project, spearheaded by now-graduated president Aubree Reese. Chandler explained that the club noticed “how most of the bathroom around the school has little to no period products and were also extremely unsanitary.” The club went to school board members Lindsay Love and Laura Bruner and requested that hygiene products be made more accessible to the female population on campus. “We would like [the project] to reach district wide and then maybe even statewide,” Chandler detailed. “However, we’re taking baby steps and we are hoping to get [the project] throughout our school.”

Students United for Modern Movements also has aspirations to get involved in the Black Lives Matter movement that gained momentum over the summer after the death of George Floyd. Club sponsor, Paul Kreutz stated that while he has not been in touch with the club leaders yet this school year, he knows that “in the past [the club members] have supported BLM and marched in the protests.” Chandler mentioned this, explaining that she and another club member attended a BLM protest in Phoenix on May 31.

The Black Lives Matter protest also fell on the night that Gov. Doug Ducey mandated a curfew in the state of Arizona, and Chandler described the scene, saying “emotions were really high.”

SUMM markets itself as a nonpartisan club. Chandler elaborated that the club does not have “a specific political affiliation.” “We like to talk about and address current issues happening today and give everyone in the club the opportunity to attend and share events that are happening near us,” she continued.

More and more members of the younger generations have stepped up to advocate for social issues that they support, and Students United for Modern Movements express this action in their surrounding town and community.