Local politicians and activists convened at Southern Oregon University on Jan. 12 as part of an initiative to help students connect with democracy, advocacy, and policy.
Organized by SOU Honors College student Maisie Bandel-Ramirez, the event was organized in a Socratic seminar style discussion. The session featured a small, inner circle where brave students could discuss their thoughts on politics, and an outer circle where students could watch and support their peers. The attending local politicians and affinity groups gave small speeches as well, where they discussed their work and why they found it important to be loud with your political beliefs.
But why all the hype? What was so important about the event and why did so many people attend?
With over 50 students, several community leaders, and even SOU admin attending, this event showed how important it is for young people, and especially students, to feel empowered and to voice their opinions. Student attendees shared their opinions about community, understanding, information flow, and more.
“I feel that there is a lack of knowledge in youth education surrounding politics and government,” said Natalie Saling, also an Honors College student at SOU. “That is definitely a disservice to the kids in America, so I think I just needed to share my thoughts about how that needs to be changed.”
Many of the affinity groups talked about similar points, citing student engagement and the active support of young opinions as prime reasons to attend.
“I came out tonight because we really need to have more students, more younger people involved politically,” says Terrie Martin, a co-leader for Oregon District 2 (ORD2), who represents the congressional district that encompasses Southern and Eastern Oregon. “I love to educate and communicate, that’s part of what I do as an old journalist and instructor from the college, so I love working with people and younger people and getting them involved and having them find their own political power and learn how to use it.”
Alan Journet, a co-founder of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN), came to the event to help bolster student confidence and encourage them to get involved in policy making decisions.
“I came here because I wanted to share with the students as SOU what we’re doing and encourage the students to get involved, particularly in promoting action particularly at the state level,” Journet said.
Journet passionately believes in the power of young voices and actively spoke of the influence of young advocates in policy making when another speaker talked about their concerns for young people not being taken seriously in the real world.
Isabella Lee Tibbetts is the Vice Chair for the Jackson County Democrats and a current candidate for Jackson County Commissioner. She discussed her concerns about the lack of student involvement and how risky it can be when there are too many people of older generations making changes without young input.
“It’s very clear that the current politicians that are in power do not represent my younger voice and those younger than me,” Tibbetts said. “So, it’s really important that we hear younger voices and it’s also important that they want somebody to be inspired by.”
Bandel-Ramirez, the event organizer and host, shared her thoughts after the event concluded.
“I just want to say I’m so grateful for all of the collaboration and contribution from students I think that was really important, and also really grateful for the kind of cross-generational collaboration we were able to get today,” she said.
Photo by Mathew Peterson/The Siskiyou
