This year’s California Advocacy Day on March 28 invites and encourages students from Jesuit High School Sacramento to visit the California state capitol in downtown Sacramento and participate in faith-based advocacy.

Director of Service and Justice Ms. Sara Brabec, one of the organizers of this event, explains what this upcoming event is about. 

“[California Advocacy Day] is a collaborative project of the secondary schools of the Jesuit West Province that really came out of the experience of the [Ignatian family] Teach-in, in Washington D.C.,” Ms. Brabec said. “We focus on Jesuit high schools and universities and parishes gathering to do faith-based advocacy on the federal level.”

Charles Sanders ’23 went on the Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice last fall and hopes that the California Advocacy Day will allow him to bring what he learned about social justice to the Sacramento and California communities.

“It’s a continuation of the Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice that I went on in October,” Charles said. “Which was really fun because I got to learn from so many people about different social justice issues and even got to advocate for specific issues in meetings with congressmen. [This will relate to that] on a more local level.”

Ms. Brabec believes that California Advocacy Day will be a great chance for the students participating to not only talk with other students from fellow Jesuit schools who are interested in social justice but also meet with California state legislators.

“We will be gathering and having an opportunity for some of the students from other schools to meet each other, do some workshops with students presenting to one another what they are passionate about, we will have Mass together as a community, and then just some social time,” Ms. Brabec said. “The next morning we will have a prayer vigil at the state building and then go and meet with our legislators.”

Ali Zaidi ’25,another student participating in California Advocacy Day, hopes to address issues of homelessness and other issues that are important and topical in the Sacramento community.

“I definitely want to see an improvement in the issue of homelessness in the Sacramento community, specifically, more resources for homeless people and more government support in getting housing for homeless people,” Ali said. “Additionally, [I would like to discuss] improving the carbon footprint of Sacramento in general and working on more environmentally friendly practices whether that is in schools, restaurants, stores, or at a city-wide level.”

Mrs. Brabec encourages all students to check out California Advocacy Day for an opportunity to learn how to apply Jesuit teachings in the political sphere.

“I would just encourage any student who wants to learn more about being a faithful person engaged in political life to check out the programming,” Brabec said. “All of us are called to be faithful citizens and engage our representatives, especially as young people who are not yet able to vote.”

Ali believes that Jesuit students have the ability and opportunity to participate in government and help advocate for social justice.

“It is really important to advocate for social justice because as students at Jesuit, we are in a position of privilege where we have the resources to make change, and I think we should take advantage of that,” Ali said.