Simone Washington: Brings Activism to Trinity’s Campus

Simone Washington, center, was key in organizing Trinity's
involvement at the March for Our Lives in San Antonio.
(Photo by Julia Weis)

By Julia Weis

If you’re a student involved on Trinity’s campus in some way, then you probably have run into Simone Washington at least once. The sophomore is active in the Student Government Association (SGA), Black Student Union, and Trinity Progressives. She has been active on campus for as long as she’s been at Trinity.

Washington, 20, organized Trinity's first ever Activism Fair as a part of the university's celebration of the Martin Luther King Week. The fair, held on January 18, showcased about a dozen activist organizations from San Antonio, such as MOVE San Antonio, RAICES and Haven for Hope, encouraging students to volunteer off-campus.

After the white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia in August, Washington began to plan the event as students approached her asking how they could help. According to Washington, the event was a huge success and one that she hopes to continue in the future.

The year before, Washington organized the Human Library Project, where individuals volunteered as human "books" and people who came to the event "read" the books. To do so, participants would have an individual conversation with the human book and try to understand them better.

Washington recruited people from across student organizations in order to get a wide variety of student representation. "That was getting people out and hearing stories of people who have been pushed to the margins, like people with mental health issues, who don’t always get to tell their story. We had really interested participants," Washington said.

These are just two of many events that Washington has organized or helped organizing. She loves being involved in multiple capacities on campus because she feels it’s the best way she can have an impact. “I think I do wear lots of different hats,” she said. “I’m a strong believer that you need to be active as somebody in the student government, and have an ear to the campus, and I think that’s what my involvement has allowed me to do.”

Aside from being an SGA senator, Washington uses her position as vice president of Trinity Progressives to bring to light social issues such as gun violence, reproductive rights, mental health issues, and more. Just this past semester, she has helped the organization bring influential politicians like Bernie Sanders to campus, as well as put on events like the Mental Health Awareness Week and #2MinuteCivics, an event encouraging students to vote in the March primary elections.

“I think SGA sometimes needs a social-justice lens, and I think we’ve seen a shift towards that in the past few years, especially with President Nick Santulli and Amulya focusing on issues that need to be addressed,” Washington said.

Santulli spoke to Washington’s dedication, having worked with her on SGA in the previous year. He described her as compassionate, capable, eloquent and fun.

“Simone is having a huge impact on Trinity's campus through her positions in SGA and Trinity Progressives. From securing access to free menstrual products to organizing a fair to connect students with local political activists, Simone is always seeking new ways to make a positive difference on her community,” Santulli said.

Washington said that the journey to where she is now wasn’t always easy. She started off with too many commitments and was forced to limit her involvement in order to prevent herself from stretching too thin. She thought about joining a Greek life organization, but decided she should narrow her focus and pick a few organizations where she could make a significant impact.

When she’s not organizing activist events or listening to the needs of the student body, Washington spends her free time playing the alto saxophone and roller skating.

She has been in a saxophone quartet for a while, and calls playing alto "a big stress reliever." She also loves roller skating. "I remember when I was campaigning for SGA, I had a booth set up and I just roller skated around and talked to people," she said. "But I need to break those out again. People are starting to forget my legacy as a roller skater.”

Washington also hopes that the events she's organized during her time at Trinity carry on in the future. “My dad talks a lot about legacy to me. I do want to have a lasting impact at Trinity and at life in general. And trying to figure out how I’m going to do that has been a challenge,” Washington said. “I think I’d like to see the Activism Fair carry on well past my graduation year. So we’ll see.”