20.127 Susan MacDonald-Bolanos LetterSusan MacDonald-Bolanos
macdonaldsusan10@gmail.com
September 13, 2020
Dear City Council:
My name is Susan MacDonald-Bolanos and I am applying to be on the Human Rights
Commission. I am interested in participating more in my local politics and community and was
excited to find a vacancy for the Human Rights Commission on the Northampton website. The
Human Rights Commission stood out among all other positions because of its particular
pertinence to my academic focus at Smith and current events.
I am currently a government and economics major at Smith College. As part of my
college education, I have practiced skills I consider useful to this position. Within my classes, I
have learned about what shapes a community and how local organizations and government can
help promote positive attitudes and actions towards others. This is especially important in the
discussion of human rights issues, a topic important in my classes. I would like to have a more
active role in responding to them and encouraging activism within my own community. In
addition, as a student, I have the ability to reach, coordinate, and mobilize with other students on
campus to promote human rights within the city of Northampton more than others would be able
to.
In regards to personal experience, as a teenager, I studied abroad in China with my
family. This means that the prevalence of xenophobic attitudes towards Asians and
Asian-Americans this year were especially disturbing to me, given that many of my friends and
peers were discriminated against. This means the Commission’s “Resolution Denouncing
Anti-Asian, Anti-Asian American and Xenophobic Discrimination” in May was especially
meaningful and powerful to me. I believe now is a significant time that draws for more attention
and activism from all citizens regarding human rights.
Thank you for taking the time to review my application for the Human Rights
Commission. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Susan MacDonald-Bolanos