OPINION: An opportunity for our youth to join public service
We often hear about the apathy of our youth in government and politics. Indeed, those between 18 and 25 years old vote the least among any other age group. As a former high school teacher and current college instructor with the City University of New York (CUNY), I have seen first-hand the lack of interest many students have for public policy and service. Clearly, we need to do more to inspire our next generation of leaders to take an active interest in their government and community. Recently, New York State took an important first step by lowering the minimum age requirement to be appointed to a community board from 18 to 16 years old.
Allowing younger people to serve on community boards will also give those who already have an interest in public service a concrete way to contribute to their neighborhoods and gain valuable experience.
Last month, I once again had the privilege of serving as a faculty coordinator for the annual CUNY “Model New York City Council”, a program that allows 51 New York City high school students with an interest in government and public affairs to have a mock debate and vote in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. These driven students attended weeks of Saturday classes where they learned about public policy making and civic engagement. They were assigned the actual districts of sitting council members so they could study the demographics of those districts, so that when they spoke from the desks of City Council Members at City Hall, their arguments reflected the opinions of their “constituents”.