Youth Merit Voice in Decisions today
The following opinion editorial was submitted to The Oregonian by Ari Strudler and was published on Sunday, August 23rd, 2009.
By: Ari Strudler- Junior at LEP High School, Portland, Oregon
Youth across Oregon are standing up for what they believe in. Whether they are young voters who recently cast their first ballots or dedicated high school students, they are making change.
An example is the youth leadership summit in Salem, where I and more than 60 high school students debated Oregon’s future. The Aug. 7-8 summit at Willamette University gave students the opportunity to present their vision of an ideal Oregon to Gov. Ted Kulongoski and state schools Superintendent Susan Castillo.
The summit, presented by Oregon 150 as part of its Project 2059 online social network, was called Activate Oregon. The speakers challenged the students, the activities sparked creative energy and, most importantly, the presence of different-minded people created debate.
The power of the youth voice at Activate Oregon was remarkable, and it left some adults provoked with thought and new ideas. Martin Tull, a committed environmentalist and a facilitator at the summit, said: “There’s an opportunity to blend youth leadership and enthusiasm with the existing process, and really, the best solutions will come from existing leadership and new vision.”
We high school students are the people who will deal with the repercussions of choices made now. The bailouts, plans and choices that lawmakers push through are going to have consequences. Whether these consequences are good or bad, in 50 years today’s students will be in their 60s and living with the decisions their parents and grandparents made.
If what is being decided now is going to affect my age group the most, it’s important that my generation has more of a voice. We have goals and opinions about every single issue in Oregon. We want more foreign language and government in school, environmental progress, equal rights and an end to homelessness. In four years, today’s high school freshmen will be old enough to vote. We will change Oregon when we exercise that right.
Until then, high school students are speaking out. We are going to summits, talking to officials and learning about the political process. At Activate Oregon, Kulongoski and Castillo were seen taking notes on students’ presentations. Theirs is a good example to the older generations and future generations to come.
Take note. This is a time of change, and today’s high school students will be spearheading this change.
About: Ari Strudler is a junior at LEP High School in Portland. She is an intern at Oregon 150 and a youth adviser to state schools Superintendent Susan Castillo.
