Gen Zs can get a bad rap. From Tik Tok dances to their ever-changing lingo (it’s so swaggy, if you ask them), it’s easy for older generations to dismiss young people as uncaring and uninvolved. But the truth is our youth are a growing population of inventors and creators. Their generation is perhaps the most flexible in keeping up with (and creating) trends and adapting to new technologies and circumstances in a rapidly evolving world. But we’ve spent so long trying to get them on our bandwagon, we overlooked the fact that they’ve already built their own.
As a result, I’ve been asked the big question over and over — How do we engage local youth? The answers are simple to answer, but hard in practice:

These are some guiding principles that we’ve followed as we’ve continued to support the growth of the West Slope Youth Voice program, and so far, it’s worked. By the way, did you catch that? It wasn’t a typo, I said West Slope Youth Voice. That’s right. We’ve updated the program’s name. Because that’s what the students asked to do!
When we started this program, we had a fairly singular goal — to register students to vote. But year after year, the interns took the reins and expanded on that vision. Almost immediately, it wasn’t just voter registration, it was voter activation. Next, it wasn’t just talking to students about important issues, it was surveying them about their own needs and taking those responses to their legislators. And this year, it wasn’t just about supporting legislation that had already been introduced, it was working with local lawmakers to draft a bill on an issue deeply important to local youth, introducing it in session, and getting it passed with bipartisan support. They’ve been so successful because the students lead the work.

Okay, stick with me here and let’s dig just a little deeper. That survey I just mentioned that we created to pass out to students? It’s two pages long and, on the front, we ask them to rate specific issues on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of importance. One of the questions we used to ask was about public lands. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is protecting our public lands to you?” It typically scores lower than other issues. And on the back of the survey, we ask students open ended questions. One of those questions asks what they value most in living in their community. Overwhelmingly, over 51%, students respond that access to the outdoors is what they love most about where they live. So, we made a simple language change on the front. Instead of asking students about public lands, now we ask them about protecting our wilderness and the outdoors. And guess what? It now sits high on the list in terms of importance to local youth.

For our survey, that small change of language made all the difference. So when our interns told us that even though, for them, voting was the goal, the word “vote” was also a barrier, we listened.

Our interns were going to be standing behind their booths, registering and surveying their peers, whether the program was named West Slope Youth Vote or West Slope Youth Voice, but they also knew the amount of students standing on the other side might be determined by the language they use.

Voting can be a scary for high school aged students. Until they are 18, a lot of youth view engagement in our government as a “someday” goal, but until then, they’re just learning about civics. Most of them haven’t been introduced to their state and local lawmakers. So it would be intimidating to walk up to a booth that focuses on voting and think you don’t have the answers.

But their answers are exactly what we’re looking for. So even though voter activation is the goal, a change in the name means we’re more likely to make it happen.

Our West Slope Youth Voice students have already been hard at work this school year setting up booths and classroom presentations to connect with their peers about the importance of registering to vote and getting involved sooner. And whatever it is – the name change, the stickers, or tasty donuts — it’s working and their booths are bumpin! (This is where my 12-year-old would call me cringey for saying “bumpin.”)

Along with the name change, each year the students pick a theme to highlight their work in their annual video and Western Youth Issues Report. In their first edition, the theme was “Add Voting to Your Bucket list” and last year’s theme was “Burning Issues,” as we watched fires scorch the West and the pandemic rage through our communities.

This year, the theme seems simple but comes with a big message: “Don’t Sit on the Sidelines.” Our interns are looking to harness the power of student voices, whether they are old enough to vote or not. Because the moment they graduate, reality for them seems a bit bleak. Since their grandparents graduated, the cost for students to attend college is up almost 300%. And debt after graduation is even higher, at an almost 1,000% increase. With rising costs for goods and services and a failure to raise the minimum wage, wages are down 20%, yet rent is 50% higher and the cost of health insurance is at an all-time high.

High school students are graduating into an unequal economy and aren’t hopeful that older generations will save the day. So this year’s focus — “Don’t Sit on the Sidelines!” — encourages students to stand up, raise their voices, and take action now. Millennials and Gen Z will be the largest voting block within the decade, and our elected leaders should be listening now. So whether it’s as simple as a name change, or as big as passing legislation at the Capitol, our interns are ready to take on the challenge.

For more information about West Slope Youth Voice, please contact me at jeriel@westerncoloradoalliance.org.