OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
JUNE 12. ZOOS
The Next Generation
When I think chonge I think big picture
Christine Jarlstrom People sa/
start small but m/ goals are b>g
sq / s
PSU Student Christine Jarlstrom is an Activist
to Wotch-ond Look to for Inspiration
By KATHRYN MARTINI
Christine Jàrlstròm is not your average 19-
year-old college student. While her classmates
are heading out to a party or hanging at the
mall, she’s brainstorming new ideas to make a
difference in the world.
Jàrlstròm is an activist for change. She
spent her first year of college at Portland State
University volunteering eight hours a week at
the Women’s Resource Center, working on
several campaigns and founding a new or
ganization on campus. She rallied at counter
protests against the Westboro Baptist Church
and for abortion rights.
She marched in the National Alliance on
Mental Illness (NAMI) walk; she attended
the Trans-awareness Day, the Night of Noise,
an anti-Prop 8 rally and a vigil for slain abor
tion provider Dr. George Tiller. She partici
pated in the campus production of The Vagina
Monologues and in nearly every event PSU’s
Queer Resource Center or Women’s Resource
Center sponsored.
She did all of this while maintaining a 3.9
GPA.
Born in Sweden, Jarlstrom - first pictured
in my May 29 Living Out Loud column
- comes from a long tradition of community
service; her mother is a teacher, and her grand
mother worked for and was closely associated
with the Girl Scouts. Her family moved to
Portland when she was 4, and Jarlstrom soon
became involved in Girl Scout activities; she
believes such early efforts helped shape a civic
mindset.
Her parents divorced when Jarlstrom was
in the seventh grade, and she realized then
that many children didn’t have “traditional”
families. She wanted to stand up for her own
- and others who were different. “I didn’t fit
into typical school activities and I found I did
fit in well doing volunteer activities,"Jarlstrom
says. “It’s what I was supposed to do.”
In middle school she taught a class about
women in math and the sciences for elemen
tary school girls, and at Beaverton High
School she tutored students who were gang
members. She wanted to empower them, to
encourage their education and success - de
spite the absence of a two-parent household
and other challenges.
At 16, Jarlstrom was invited to volunteer
with the National Abortion and Reproduc
tive Rights Action League (NARAL)’s Teen
Choice Action Team. She spoke with other
adolescents about sex education, the HPV
vaccine, abortion issues and awareness. The
19 .ft«
? but Jarlstrom doesn’t feel it’s a piece of infor-
| mation they need to have. “I don’t think it’s
experience proved a life-changing one - she
found that discussing topics she was passion
ate about was easy.
A staunch feminist and queer advocate,
Jarlstrom believes in standing up for diversity.
“My feminism is ending oppression against
all people,” she says. “The greatest way to ac
complish this is through activism.” She feels
it is critical to put ideas into practice, quoting
Emma Goldman as inspiration: “No real social
change has ever been brought about without a
revolution ... revolution is but thought carried
into action.”
Jarlstrom says her aim is to teach others
about feminism, gender and sexual identity.
People frequently question how she identifies,
important and I don’t need to explain myself,”
she states. “If they want to know [who I am],
then they should become my friend.”
Though the academic year is just ending,
Jarlstrom is already working on new ways
she’ll make a difference. Among her next
projects, launching a Portland State chapter of
Active Minds, a national program that raises
awareness and reduces the stigma of mental
health issues on college campuses. She was
inspired earlier this year after a student jn her
residence hall committed suicide and no one
seemed to really talk about it.
Jarlstrom called on the vice president of
Student Affairs to ask what could be done;
shortly thereafter, she learned of Active
Minds and put a plan into action. “When I
think change I think big picture,” she explains.
“People say ‘start small,’but my goals are big.”
What does Jarlstrom envision for the fu
ture? After completing her degree in Women’s
Studies at PSU, she plans to leave Oregon and
pursue her master’s in a field for social change
or leadership. She hopes to either work for or
run her own nonprofit organization.“! want to
inspire others to do something in their com
munity,” Jarlstrom says, “and take initiative to
make a difference in the world.” JW
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