Introduction In this class we have looked at numerous data and statistics relate

Introduction
In this class we have looked at numerous data and statistics related to health disparities, and have evaluated the different types of social justice and health disparities issues. We have also looked at ways in which we can be advocates for change. Now it is time to apply these new advocacy skills on an issue of your choice!
Your Tasks
Task 1- Decisions, Decisions
Decide Your TopicYou will need to pick a topic related to anything that we have gone over in the course.
Here are some ideas to help guide your decision:
Explore trending events/topics in the newsWhat are news reporters currently focusing on? Oftentimes politicians are also focusing on these issues.
Examples of news sources: CalMatters, NPR, CNN, Fox, BBC, MSNBC, and etc.
Research proposed/recently passed billsWhat are some issues that legislatures have recently voted on or will be voting on soon?
Examples of where to find this information: CalMatters, CA LegiScan
Decide Who You Will Write ToNext, you will need to decide who to write your letter to. It is recommended that you:
Write to the legislator that represents your district and/or
Write to a legislator who works on the topic you’re writing about.
CalMatters has a new tool that allows you to find your legislator, as well as identify legislators who work on key topics. You can access this information on their page, Glass House: California Legislator Tracker.
Please see the Directory of Public Officials for their contact information.
Task 2- Rough Draft
Next you will create a rough draft of your letter. Your letter can express one of the following:
You are angry about something, and want others to know it
You think that an issue is so important that you have to speak out
Part of your group’s strategy is to persuade others to take a specific action
Or you want to:
Suggest an idea to others
Influence public opinion
Educate the general public on a specific matter
Influence policy-makers or elected officials directly or indirectly
Publicize the work of your group and attract volunteers or program participants
Please refer to the guidelines found in “How to Write Letters to Elected Officials”, which can be found on the next page. General guidelines can also be found in the powerpoint presentation preceding this assignment.
You only need to submit the letter, not the project reflection. Points for this task will be based solely on whether or not you submitted a draft. (10 points)
Task 3- Peer Response
Once you have completed and submitted your draft to the Project Rough Draft assignment page, you will complete 2 anonymous peer responses. You will provide the following feedback to your assigned peers:
How closely they followed the format provided in the “How to Write Letters to Elected Officials” guidelines.
Strengths of their letter
Areas that need to be improved in their letter
Spelling/grammatical errors
The names of your classmates will remain anonymous. lease use the attached rubric as a basis for your feedback. Grades given by students will not be accounted for in the final submission of the project at the end of this course.
This task is worth 20 points, 10 per peer review completed.
Unsure how to submit a peer review? Canvas Community has a guide with a step-by-step explanation on peer review submission.
Submission and Grading
Submitting this Assignment
Tasks 1 and 2 will need to be completed and submitted on December 2nd by 11:59 PM. You may submit this assignment either as a text entry or a file upload (.doc, .docx, .pdf)
Task 3 will need to be completed on December 9th by 11:59 PM.
Grading
This assignment is worth 30 points. Points will be awarded based on level of completeness. A total of 10 points will be awarded for Tasks 1&2, and 20 points will be awarded for Task 3.