We are vigilantes in a digital era. Digilantes is a grassroots effort to raise awareness to important social issues and the people who address them. Although our name, our graphic image and the terminology we use reflects a militaristic organization we are a non-violent group. We do not support a philosophy that will incite people to violent or illegal methods. Even so, we are enlisted in a militia that is waging a war against injury and injustice. The weapons in our arsenal include ideas, words, images and courage to stand up for the truth. When people are aware of what is going on they are better equipted to withdraw their support from individuals, companies and situations that tend to victimize those who are unsuspecting or powerless to defend themselves. We believe that arming people with information can provide an insight that will help us raise our common voice for important social issues.

Digilantes was first introduced into the classroom as a means of providing relevant subject matter and to empower students to see the positive impact they can have. Digilantes was founded by Larry Westover who teaches art and design at El Segundo High School and Arena High School. "The problems I see in education is that of relevance, and that the arts are viewed as a frill rather than a powerful means of communication and change", Westover said.

Westover and DeEtte Sprimont who teaches English, psychology and health found the concept of team teaching an interdisciplinary advocacy course compelling. We start with ABC's. Advocacy Based Curriculum offers a fantastic opportunity to empower students to become active participants in creating solutions in the world around them. Our goal is to raise awareness about important local and global issues. We have established our graphic identity, authored a mission statement and slogans, and continue to theme programs for causes that we adopt. We have also created an internet website that Metaviolet, a web development agency, has volunteered to host. This allows us to reach a broader audience and to enlist the assistance of others who share our vision. The internet address (url) is http://www.digilantes.com. Our crusade is to inform and involve everyone to work together to resolve these societal problems. The organizational skills that our students acquire will prepare them for employment while fostering social responsibility. The benefit associated with the causes that we address is also important. In the past we have focused on such issues as crime, animal rights, homelessness, the environment, substance abuse and literacy. We have found that students become very passionate about these issues as they become better informed.

The topics relating to advocacy have the power to stir our thoughts as well as our emotions. The skills needed to gather information, assimilate it, organize it, and share this information with others, is assisted by the motivation of working on something that we are passionate about. The additional benefit is the cooperative efforts of others who share an interest in a given cause that we are concerned about.

I suppose every militia worth it's salt should have some demands. Our goal is not to seek world dominance but to work together in a cooperative way to make the world a better place. What we want is world peace. We also want your participation. In order to change the world we need to change the people in the world.

We are involved in an ongoing process of identifying topics, contacting individuals and groups that share our vision for raising public awareness, collecting data, organizing this information for educational presentations as well as posting material on our web site.

We are asking for your help by providing content for our program. We will be happy to credit those who develop, sponsor and support the use of creative voice, in this important effort. We may not be able to stop crime or hunger but we can tell people what is going on and how to help. We have made partnerships with individuals, non-profit organizations, goverment agencies and businesses who contribute their creative efforts to assist us. We want to share this program with as many people as possible. We have seen a growing enthusiasm that has been an important element in motivating students and others in our community.