At this week’s Round Table, Emmanuel, Hannah, and Inyoo spoke with Mitul Gouni, a junior at Allen High School in Texas, an involved member of his community, and author of the bookOne Flag: A Nonpartisan Guide to American Politics. A student in his school’s International Baccalaureate program, Mitul is intensely curious and dedicated to deepening his knowledge of history in particular. Outside of school, Mitul serves as an organizer for Toys for Texans, a regional nonprofit that collects and donates toys to underprivileged children in Texas. He has interned with both Republican and Democratic Representatives through the U.S. Congress, listening to lectures from notable politicians, such as Senator Rounds and Speaker Pelosi.
Through our conversation, we dove into the Gen Z voting bloc that has an exceedingly high amount of potential, honing in on our shared concern that many young voters consistently skip Election Day. Why is that? What role do and can organizations like YVote & Next Generation Politics play in mobilizing young voters? We also discussed the fact that test scores are dropping across America, yet our leaders don’t seem to be focused on counteracting this alarming trend effectively and expansively.
We concluded our conversation with exploration of the qualities we’d like to see from a political leader. We agreed that 1) A political leader should have the courage to compromise, without the fear of criticism and 2) A political leader should emphasize that having youth engaged in civics is important in today's world. Political leaders should modify education policies and start championing civics education because it all starts with youth. Thank you for listening!
