By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Three seniors from Moapa Valley High School recently got a chance to represent their community as well express their own views on a variety of subjects at the Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum. On Wednesday, Nov. 8. Lily Leavitt, Morgan Aikele, and Charitti Manis traveled with MVHS government adviser Charlie Cooper to the Las Vegas Convention Center where they met with around 1,000 other juniors and seniors from CCSD high schools for a day of discussion, debate, and exchanging of ideas on topics that affect teens today.
Topics for the forum were assigned ahead of time and each student was given a sheet of about 25 issues to research prior to the forum. Aikele participated in the “America” discussion group that discussed domestic issues. Leavitt was assigned to the “Around the World” forum that discussed international issues. Manis was in the “Home in Nevada” group that discussed state issues. Other topical categories included teen topics, education issues, law and crime, and potpourri.
Students were divided into groups of about 30-50 and put into a room with a moderator. Moderators for each discussion group included prominent community leaders such as senators and congressmen, state and city officials, business executives, educators, and community activists.The day consisted of four hours of discussion and debate with a break for lunch in the middle.
All three girls said they learned a lot from the experience. All were impressed by the atmosphere of tolerance and respect for other opinions. At the same time, they expressed the frustration they felt in listening to some students make blanket statements of rhetoric with no basis in fact.
“I learned that dialogue is good, but that repetitive rhetoric is not,” Aikele said. “Kids would just throw out their conjectures from things they had heard and it amazed me that they could be so adamant about things they really knew nothing about. They were just things they had heard but had no basis in fact or any proof.”
Aikele admitted, however, that it was heartening for her to see that there were just as many that made logical, fact-based assertions that showed a depth of intelligence and thought, which she felt boded well for the future of the country.
Leavitt agreed that the experience was very educational. “There were people from all different backgrounds and some even had experience in some of the topics we discussed, such as gun control laws,” she said.
Leavitt said that in one of the discussions, several kids were making blanket assertions that gun control laws should be tightened. Then a student who had worked in that field stood up and shared her first-hand knowledge of the current screening and application processes that potential gun owners already have to go through. “The kids who wanted more restrictive gun control laws admitted they actually knew nothing about current laws already in place and were just repeating things they’d heard,” Leavitt said.
“Once they heard about the laws and processes already in place, many changed their opinions. I learned that a little true knowledge of facts can affect public opinion.”
Manis said that she noticed a huge divergence in opinions between students from rural areas and their urban counterparts. “At first, hearing opinions that I felt were totally wrong made me mad,” she said. “I just wanted to argue with them. But as the day went on, I learned that there is great value in listening to and considering the views of others, even if I don’t agree.”
Manis said one her favorite parts of the day was when the group talked about education in Nevada. Although some kids immediately started attacking Nevada education, there were several people in the group who had given the matter some thought and study. “I was really impressed with several people who had thought things through and brought really good ideas to the table,” she said. “There were people with seemingly viable solutions to many of the challenges Nevada education faces.”
The first Sun Youth Forum was held in 1956. In addition to giving students an opportunity to discuss pertinent current issues there is a scholarship raffle. Scholarships this year were provided by the LV Sun, CCSD, Barrick Gold USA, NV State Bank and Touro University. None were won by MVHS students.
Cooper has been taking MVHS students to the forum for the last 14 years.
“I thought our students did a great job representing us,” Cooper said. “It was nice to see them get in there and express their opinions. Even though they were from a small town, there were a surprising number of kids that agreed with them. That’s the great thing about this forum: it doesn’t matter where you are from, everyone’s opinion is equal and everyone’s opinion matters.”
