Next Gen Voices’ annual Civics Day presented students with convenient opportunities to take civic action locally Jan. 23.
According to Co-Founder and Co-Director of North’s Center for Civic Engagement, Claudia Wu, “This Civics Day we really want to focus on what students can do, it’s a little bit more student-centered. We really want to hear from students what they’re thinking about, what they’re concerned about, and also hopefully give them some pointers on what they can do.”
Civics Day consisted of a civics Jeopardy game during a-block, tables on Main Street with volunteer organizations during g-block, and a youth vote panel in the Little Theater during e-block. The volunteer organizations included the Centre Street Food Pantry, Girls’ LEAP, and the League of Women Voters.
Sophomore Alex Santonastaso said, “The panel was very informative, especially on how to know what’s right in your government and how to be able to differentiate what you want in a political party. I think it was really important that we learned how to register to vote and why it was important to vote, especially because a lot of young people didn’t vote in this election, just because they weren’t informed.”
According to Next Gen Voices, Civics Day taught students about their government, their voting process, and how to be engaged in their community.
Local organizations including the Centre Street Food Pantry, Girls’ LEAP, and the League of Women Voters were showcased during g-block.
“I think that oftentimes, individuals focus on politics with the big P and don’t follow on the more local chains that can be made that would make a significant impact,” said senior Janie Blumenthal, co-officer of Next Gen Voices, along with juniors Amani Arunga, Maya Soloman, and Shaelyn Shields.
According to Blumenthal, making students feel like they have the ability to make change despite our overwhelming political climate was a priority for this Civics Day.
“There’s a lot of turmoil right now in the political climate, lots going on, lots of scary things, and change. We really wanted to focus on ways that people could get involved at a smaller scale,” Blumenthal added.
According to Wu, Civics Day presentations encouraged students to be actively engaged in civics instead of viewing it as a long list of facts, figures, and statistics.
“Democracy is an incredibly difficult thing to manage, it is not a spectator sport,” Wu added “You need people to be engaged, you need people to vote, you need people to care, you need people to educate themselves on what is going on. I think it is very important that students learn the tools for engagement.”
