Mission Statement

Team S.L.A.Y. is a group of twelve girls who feel very passionate about one thing - 'Self Love and Acceptance for Youth'. Together, we have built our movement to become a household name by promoting healthy living through in-class presentations, S.L.A.Y. Week and S.L.A.Y. Day, continuous promotion, and having the celebrity endorsements of Buzzfeed video producers Ashley Perez and Quinta Brunson at Culver City High School. Team S.L.A.Y. hopes to bring light to the dark truths most people simply ignore about the media and its negative effects on the youth.

Project Need 
Team S.L.A.Y. chose to tackle the important topic of  'Self-Love and Acceptance' that teenagers need to to embrace everyday.  The issue of comparing their own unique, personal characteristics with those presented by the 'mainstream media" creates an unrealistic profile of one's self image.  The need to address this issue becomes clear because Culver City has and continues to be the heart of the entertainment industry. From legacy studios like Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Culver Studios, to Sony Pictures, the idea of perfection and the perfect body image portrayed by legendary stars like Marilyn Monroe to Brad Pritt, continues to be pushed to the youth in our community through traditional and social media. Social media has negatively impacted the local youth creating an ideal of a perfect body image that most females and males would find difficult to attain. The pressures in our youth to conform and fit into such a mold can be overwhelming and for this reason, Team S.L.A.Y. has forged ahead to start a movement that can forever promote the importance of 'Self Love & Acceptance for Youth'.

So what did we do about it?

S.L.A.Y. Phase One 

S.L.A.Y. Week and Day Schedule 

Six groups of two Team S.L.A.Y. members conducted thirty-six in class presentations, including the Google Slides presentation below, for S.L.A,Y. week at Culver City High School!
For S.L.A.Y. Day, Team S.L.A.Y. asked teachers at Culver City Middle School if we could present our campaign through a Google Slides presentation. The outcome included presenting to twenty classes, including two extras who asked us to present to them on the spot!
This is the presentation we used for the high school and the middle school!

Just look at the outcome! 

We held S.L.A.Y. Week throughout our high school campus and S.L.A.Y. Day in our middle school, both with in-class presentations to teach our peers what 'self-love' is, why they should be educated about it, and how they can implement it into their daily routine. Look through this gallery to see the various activities we held on the campuses, and on our Instagram to spread the word, making it fun for everyone to get involved! 
High School S.L.A.Y. Week included:
Monday. March 13th: An all girl band who attends Culver City High School called, "The Damnsels", performed an original song based off of poetry contest winner Jenna Maxberry's poem titled "Skin" which was featured in the music video. Team S.L.A.Y. presented a Google Slides presentation to students ranging from ninth grade to twelfth grade.
Tuesday, March 14th: Team S.L.A.Y. hosted an activity where students could write one thing they love about themselves, mentally or physically, on our three boards titled "Slay The Haters", where students were encouraged to embrace the characteristics that shape them for who they are. Team S.L.A.Y. also presented a Google Slides presentation to students ranging from ninth grade to twelfth grade.
Wednesday, March 15th: Team S.L.A.Y.'s Sonya Allen photographed more than forty people in our photo booth where students could choose props and SLAY signs to pose with their friends! Also, Team S.L.A.Y. passed out free popcorn to students' delight!
Thursday, March 16th: Team S.L.A.Y. hosted a poetry slam where all Team S.L.A.Y. members read aloud the poems submitted into our poetry contest about 'self love and acceptance' while music was playing. 
Friday, March 17th: Buzzfeed video producers, Ashly Perez and Quinta Brunson, came and spoke about their personal experiences with loving themselves to a full room of eager students!
Middle School S.L.A.Y. Day included: 
​Tuesday, April 18th: In class presentations to all grades following with our photo-booth session and our "SLAY The Haters" activity where students could write one thing they love about themselves, serving as a self reflection. Team S.L.A.Y. also presented a Google Slides presentation to students ranging from sixth grade to eighth grade.

Post-Survey Data

Team S.L.A.Y. sent out a Google Form to a select group of our peers so we could get some feedback on the successes and shortcomings of our campaign.
As a result of Self Love & Acceptance for Youth Week and Self Love & Acceptance for Youth Day, Team S.L.A.Y. found many differentiating opinions about our campaign. However as a whole, 50% of students reported 'always [being on] social media'. 40.6% of students felt 'somewhat confident' equating to a 4 out of a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the most confident, Contradictory to this, 28.1% of students always compare themselves to others' whether it be in person or on social media. Also, 62.5% of students felt the location they live in has impacted the amount of pressure to conform to society's standards to obtain the 'right' body. 93.8% of students claimed they enjoyed either S.L.A.Y. Week or S.L.A.Y. Day and 46.9% of students felt their self esteem increased as a result of the activities and in class presentations. One of the most shocking statistics yet however, was over one third of students reported taking action to fit into what others expect them to be such as working out, skipping meals, and photo-shopping pictures. This statistic alone is one of the reasons why Team S.L.A.Y. took action to motivate and encourage students at Culver City High School and Middle School to try and change their mindset to love themselves for who they are. 

Outcomes

By addressing the issue of having immense pressure to conform to the media, Team S.L.A.Y. was able to encourage long-lasting 'self love and acceptance' for the youth at Culver City High School and Culver City Middle School. By also handing out t-shirts, stickers, and magnets to students at both schools, students are able to remember their importance and that everyone is beautiful inside and out in their own way. Through the development of the "Venice Beach Interviews", Team S.L.A.Y. was also able to ask the general public personal questions so the interviewees could ponder on how the media affects younger generations and how the future will be if the pressure to conform to 'ideal' standards continues. One of the short term accomplishments of S.L.A.Y. was incorporating our window clings into the girls' and boys' bathrooms at Culver City High School, which can be seen under the "Evidence" title. Through our personalized window clings, students were able to self reflect on the characteristics that shape them for who they are, before judging themselves by looking in the bathroom mirror. Since Culver City is legendary for its historical presence in the entertainment industry, through Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM) and Sony Pictures Studios, Team S.L.A.Y. can proudly say that we tackled the unspoken topic of how the media negatively impacts the youth and its dangerous outcomes related to health. Through also knowing our target audience, Team S.L.A.Y. contacted and welcomed popular figures, Buzzfeed video producers Ashly Perez and Quinta Brunson, to speak at Culver City High School to spread our message on their high platform!

Process

Team S.L.A.Y. conducted work toward our final project of Self Love & Acceptance for Youth Week, which occurred from March 13th to March 17th at Culver City High School, and Self Love & Acceptance for Youth Day on April 18th at Culver City Middle School. In order to prepare, Team S.L.A.Y. appointed positions, decided on which activities to hold, produced the Google Slides presentation, produced the scripts for the various videos, emailed Ashly Perez, publicized and gained hundreds of followers on Instagram. Team S.L.A.Y. began the process of publicizing on social media on November 24, 2016 and around campus three weeks in advance before S.L.A.Y. Week estimated to around February 20th, 2017. The recruiting process leading up to the scholarship team included the Co-Presidents, Gabriela Lopez and Karina Villarreal, interviewing in person and scoring each answer of every interested applicant. Team S.L.A.Y. met twice a week, specifically on Mondays and Fridays for eight months in order to perfectly plan for S.L.A.Y. Week and S.L.A.Y. Day.
Evidence

Emails

These are some emails exchanged between Gabriela Lopez and Buzzfeed video producer, Ashley Perez, for a discussion panel consisting of her & Buzzfeed video producer, Quinta Brunson - both famous YouTubers and advocates for self-love and women's equality.
Here, the Co-Presidents organized Team S.L.A.Y.'s 'To-Do' list and goals at the beginning of the year (January).
The team worked together to create the music video's plot and structure starting on March 4th and finalizing on March 16th, taking ideas from their own experiences to eventually work with YouTube Red professional to produce the video.
The documentary script began on February 7th and finalized on March 16th.
Flyers which were put up throughout campus to promote our movement which started on February 20th! 
Our Bathroom Mirror Clings designed by Esmeralda Benavidez finalized on February 20th - a specialist in graphic design!
Team S.L.A.Y. hosted an Instagram #SLAYLikeThem Challenge where we nominated people to post a picture of themselves and a friend, rant on why and how they admire their friend, use the hashtag #SLAYLikeThem, tag our Instagram account, and nominate their friends for a chance to win a VISA Gift Card out of two drawings!
The winners of the #SLAYLIkeThem Instagram challenge!

 Here's a sneak peak of the entries to the #SlayLikeThem Challenge!

Final Budget

Team Reflections 

We asked everyone in our team to share what they thought of S.L.A.Y. week and S.L.A.Y. Day, and here's what we got! 
Self Love & Acceptance for Youth Week has opened my eyes to learn that I am not the only individual who experiences a lack of 'self love and acceptance' at times. I am not the only individual who compares my body or characteristics to others'. As a result of S.L.A.Y. Week I have been able to understand how our campaign has impacted others through the kind words people have expressed about our campaign! People I do not even know have randomly approached a few members, including me, about how this campaign has addressed an issue they have been dealing with for a while. I have learned that 'self love' impacts an individual in all aspects. Without 'self love' one cannot obtain proper health mentally and even physically. Without 'self love' one cannot enter a relationship and leave without feeling a sense of loss of 'self worth'. Without 'self love' one cannot experience activities others would if they had the confidence to. Without 'self love', one cannot guarantee that they will not abuse drugs and alcohol. I have also learned that all of the details most people view as 'imperfections' are actually 'imPERFECTIONS' because they are the characteristics that define a person. My stretch marks are prominent, my body hair is dark, my face has acne, but those are what make me ME. When I was young I experienced the negative mentality of feeling 'worthless' and 'not good enough', and since I feel that it  starts at a young age I am so glad that we hit that target straight on. -Gabriela Lopez
S.L.A.Y week I think was very successful. Many people participated in the daily activities. I think the presentations also accomplished their purpose of educating the students on self acceptance and self love but I also feel like they successfully made the students aware of effects of social media. The students also seemed to become aware of the activities during the week because of the presentations that we did. -Esmeralda Benavidez
While we do not know how exactly our campaign week affected the student's thoughts on self love and acceptance, I am confident to say that we were successfully able to get our words out to 2,000 plus student bodies at Culver City High School. Many students enjoyed our photo booth/popcorn day, and the Buzzfeed speaker presentation. Obviously many students will still keep the stereotypical favor towards the "model" body figure, however receiving appreciations from students and teachers made me and the team proud of the action we are making. -Yuri Tateda

Slay Week was an amazing experience. I especially loved seeing how much it brought our school together. The amount of vibrance and jubilance that we were able to create from the various activities we assembled as a team. Speaking of which, I was also able to learn the importance of responsibility and leadership. It was a beautiful thing that we put together, but it definitely was not easy. I’m so enlightened by the fact that our high school, middle school, and culver city community was able to join in on our movement of self love. I feel that many people are ecstatic due to the fact that we brought this subject to light. It was breathtaking to be able to experience the difference we made. I’m truly honored that I was able to be apart of this year's campaign. -Carmen Reyna
I think slay week went exactly how we wanted it to go. We defitintely got our point across and spread awareness. In the presentations people could've participated more but we got asked some pretty great questions. The performance from "The Damnsels" got a lot of attention and the chorus stuck with a lot of people. I've often heard people singing it in the hallways. The "SLAY The Haters" boards also had a lot of people writing and most were serious and heartfelt. By far, the most effective thing in my opinion, was the photo booth. Maybe people just wanted the popcorn, but I think it was the biggest turnout we had all week. -Lesly Mason
The slay week was a success from my point of view from the class presentations to the fun activities we had. The promoting that went on on Instagram and all around the school was also a really good thing because I feel as if girls build la club was more out there this year than last year. We had a lot more movement going on, I believe it was because of the topic that we had that impacted a lot of teens. When we went to the middle school and promoted it for slay day we received a lot of happy comments and curiosity of the views that society has within media. In the middle school side we did "slay the haters" boards and there were so many kids 6th-8th who were participated in the activity. I feel that promoting this to the middle school side impacted me the most because that is when the kids start to realize what is coming for them and what they should be aware of. Over all, both middle school and high school presentations was a success because we had a lot more positive feedback rather than negative :) -Karina Villarreal
The slay week was a success in my point of view from the class presentations to the fun activities we had.
​-Ashley Bonilla
Having worked on the SLAY campaign presented many unique experiences that I feel so grateful to have been apart of. During the execution of SLAY week we were able to reach so many students from our high school and even middle school and being able to spread such positivity was amazing. Throughout our campaign we were able to challenge the belief that self worth comes from the physical characteristics we portray. Being able to do so we received so much heartwarming feedback and stories from peers about what this campaign did for them and how through it they were able to be reminded of how beautiful they truly are inside and out. What this campaign stands for should be and is the future we strive for to make the world a kinder place. -Brandy Vernnoff​
SLAY week went so well and I'm glad a huge part of our school and I  participated in it. The school band, our students signing our SLAY the haters poster, having a photo booth and people posting on social media to help spread our word, a poetry slam made by students pertaining to our campaign, and finally ending it with two famous guest speakers from buzzfeed which inspired me and everyone that came to listen and it was an amazing experience. I feel it made a huge impact to everyone who had participated in our fun activities. After the week I got a lot of comments about it and how much it made them want to make a change in society's negative effects of body image, self image, etc. I changed as a person being in this club and participating because at a point in my life I had consumed the negativity from society's norms and now I ignore it and I can truly feel beautiful and spread the love to others who had felt the way I did  :)
​-Sonya Allen
Hi guys! I'm Ariel and I am a member of SLAY. SLAY has been very impactful in my life because I have always felt self conscious about my body. Growing up I thought that being different was a bad thing. And I thought that because I looked different, I would have to change the way I look to "fit in". I later realized that if everyone were the same, there would be nothing that was unique. SLAY reminded me that embracing yourself and accepting yourself for who you are is essential. It's harder to realize when you're younger that you are beautiful but with age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes self-realization. I am very proud and thankful to have been part of SLAY and I hope to see Girls Build LA continue to motivate young women all over Los Angeles. #imperfectionismyperfection -Ariel Perez