YOUTH GOVERNMENT DAY

Youth Government Day Gives Youth Tools to Raise Their Voices

The ACLU of Wisconsin hosted an exciting and successful Ninth Annual Youth Government Day on November 18th at Marquette University.

This day-long, free event brought 225 Milwaukee High School students from 11 high schools to explore basic civil liberties and how to get active on local, national and even international levels.

The educational event included a fiery debate for a Milwaukee Public School Board Director seat in a mock election between Nikotris “Niki” Perkins and LaShawndra Vernon. Niki won by only a handful of votes cast on authentic ballots and tallied in a Milwaukee Election Commission electronic ballot box. Although many students were happy with the election results, the news frustrated a few students who had chosen not to vote and then realized that the candidate they favored had lost by only a narrow margin.

Community Partners Teach Students About Their Rights and Talents

Amazing volunteer presenters with a wealth of professional experience led high school participants through the activities and workshops on active citizenship. Community organizations such as the Urban Underground conducted workshops on the history of the prison system and youth rights on the street, and the Social Development Commission facilitated a workshop on youth organizing around social justice issues.

Other workshops included hands-on opportunities for students to express their creativity and opinions through activist t-shirt printing, the creation of video public service announcements (including one calling for the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women which will be sent to legislators), blogging for justice, and political cartooning. There were over 35 volunteers who dedicated themselves to this event.

Youth Government Day is coordinated by the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation’s youth civil liberties education program. It is co-sponsored by Marquette University and Marquette University Law School It has additional support by Urban Underground, Inc., the Social Development Commission and the City of Milwaukee Election Commission for providing real voting booths and an optical scan machine for the mock debate and elections.

There were many dedicated volunteers who made this fantastic and empowering day possible. Without their commitment Youth Government Day IX wouldn’t have been such a great success. From early morning registration to graphic design or workshop facilitation, these volunteers did a first-rate job. In no particular order, they are Matthew Addison, Joseph Riggenbach, Ann Lang, Matt Laux, Ava Hernandez, Nicole Thomas, Josh DelColle, Carolina Soza, Salvador Gomez, Devin Trudell, Judith Rodriguez, Lester Kern, Ebony Taylor, Angela Lang, Alex Sverdlik, David Crowley, Monika Harris, Joey Zamarippa, Kari Garon, Juliet Jaeger, Luis Diaz, Daniel Stiepleman, Dee Patterson, LaShawndra Vernon, Nikotris Perkins, Phillip Balestrieri, Tyler Clark, Alli Kilas, Valeria Gonzalez, Adam Hernandez, Emiliano Corbett-Soza.

You can view videos from the Youth Government Day event at the ACLU of Wisconsin’s YouTube page, www.youtube.com/acluofwi/

Youth Government Day – Teaching Youth About Effective Citizen Action

This is a unique approach to teaching about the functions of government and how individuals can make effective grassroots change.

The Youth Government Day program uses realistic role-play, hands-on workshops and hot topics pertaining to local and international levels that directly affect young people. Participants with varying levels of interest and dedication to civic involvement will be briefed by Youth and Technical Advisors. The students then carry out specific functions of government or develop materials and media that can be used to advocate or create the changes that they want.

This year’s topics/workshops will include:

Creating Video and Audio PSAs

Participating students will first explore a little of the history and use of Public Service Announcements and video messaging. They will view some professional and independently created videos pertaining to various civil rights and civil liberties topics (such Milwaukee’s gang loitering ordinance and Milwaukee youth created Voting Rights Videos). They will then work with community volunteers and professionals to create a civil liberties-based video Public Service Announcement that will be posted on YouTube and the ACLU of Wisconsin website.

Know Your Rights – facilitated by Urban Underground

Want to know what your rights and responsibilities are when law enforcement wants to search your car, backpack, or humble abode? Do you really have the right to an attorney? What happens if you’re wrongly identified as a suspect and brought in for questioning? Find out these answers and more in this exciting workshop.

Lockdown/ Raise the Age - facilitated by Urban Underground

This workshop will explore the dominant myths about the prison system in this country and explore the truth behind these myths and how this affects our communities. Participants will also examine how individuals, families, and communities are impacted by the mass incarceration of poor and working class people of color, and discuss how we can increase the number of youth entering college instead of prison.

Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

President Jimmy Carter signed CEDAW on July 17, 1980 and submitted the treaty to the Senate for approval a couple of months later. Since then, the US Senate is one of only a handful of nations that has not ratified this treaty. Participants will learn about discrimination against women in the United States and create a video narrative that will be posted on YouTube and sent all across the USA to encourage others to add their video responses. After a year the collected videos will be sent to Congress imploring them to ratify this treaty to help end discrimination against women during.

Introduction to Youth Organizing – facilitated by Social Development Commission

Tired of racism, fear and oppression in your school or community? Do you want to do something about it, but are not sure where to begin? Learn the fundamentals of organizing around social justice and civil liberties from different experienced leaders in Milwaukee. Perfect for young leaders.

Blogging for Justice

Participants will learn about the importance, history and impact of political blogging and political media. They will meet and hear from local political bloggers and media personalities who represent a variety of viewpoints. They will learn how to create a blog and develop media contacts. Afterwards they will write their own scoop on a civil liberties topic, some of which will be posted on our website and perhaps other media sources.

Political Activist T-shirt Making

Clothing as political expression? Participants will learn about their rights and responsibilities concerning free speech and expression through timely examples such as the “Bong Hits for Jesus”, “Impeach Bush” and “Awesome God” incidents. They will then be guided to create their own political or activist t-shirts on the subjects of their own choosing by experienced t-shirt artists.

Studentdent Privacy – Searches, Consent and Your Rights

Can your teacher search your bag or cell phone? Can they demand to see your emails or Facebook page? Students’ privacy rights don’t end at a school’s front door but must be balanced with students’ safety. Learn where the line is drawn between authority and youth, so that together we can make school a safe and inspiring place.

Political Cartooning and Art

Editorial cartoons, lampooning, spoofing and social/political commentary have long been apart of our culture. The Simpsons, Boondocks, Family Guy, Robot Chicken and American Dad are just some examples of the more popular animated forms that complement the works of people such as Tom Tomorrow, Francisco Goya, Thomas Nast and many others. Participants will hear from several political artists and cartoonists, see some of their work, learn about the history of this art form and create their political/social cartoons (non-animated), some of which will be displayed on our website and other media.

YGD is coordinated by the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation as part of its extensive outreach to youth. It is co-sponsored by Marquette University, Marquette University Law School, with additional support by Urban Underground, Inc. and the City of Milwaukee Election Commission.