High school students will amplify their generation's concerns Dec. 14 in the year's first meeting of the elected Austin Youth Council.
The organization will discuss its 2012–13 topic priorities, including texting while driving and public transportation.
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and the City of Austin established the youth council in 2011 to give youth opportunities to be heard. The group held its first general assembly meeting in September, elected council members and sought input on discussion topics at Austin-area schools during the past few months, according to Chiquita Eugene, citywide program manager for youth and family services and initiatives.
Participating students must maintain a minimum 2.5 grade point average and participate in at least one student-led extracurricular organization, Eugene said, noting the goal is to include students who are representative of the city's youth. This year, the Austin Youth Council includes the following students, who each represent one of Austin's nine geographic districts:
- Lauren Alexander, Austin Waldorf School
- Hafsa Anis, Lanier High School
- Caitlin Blasingame, Crockett High School
- Dakota Dively, Griffin School
- Rowan Gannon, Liberal Arts & Science Academy
- Jasi Kennedy, Texas School for the Deaf
- Sebastian Lopez, Anderson High School
- Connor McAtee, St. Dominic Savio High School
- Rachel Nayer, St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Dively, a senior, said one area of focus for the organization is the $1 each student is charged to ride public transportation daily to school. Some students can't keep up with that price, he said, so the youth council will discuss possible ways to address that.
"By giving the students a voice, we can find solutions for the problems these students face," he said.
Nayer, a junior, said she has always been concerned with social and environmental issues both in her community and globally, and the youth council is providing her with a chance to make a difference. Helping high school students prepare for their careers is another goal she said is excited to talk about with her peers.
"Making Austin accessible to all generations of people from all different backgrounds will really improve the city overall," she said.
After discussing each issue, the Austin Youth Council will work with city staff to form a recommendation for the City Council, Eugene said.
"We're working very hard to have students create the recommendations, we will be there to facilitate the process and guide them through it, but we are building leaders, and so we want them to be able to create their recommendations as well as present them to the mayor and the City Council," she said. "We're very excited about it, and this just the tip of the iceberg."
The meeting takes place at 5 p.m. in City Council chambers at Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St.
