NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Flanked by stained-glass windows, 54 New York City high school students challenge one another to imagine an ideal democracy.
Wood-paneled walls are covered in haphazardly taped posters that students worked together to create. Ideas are written in Crayola marker under categories such as 鈥渞ights鈥� and 鈥渞esponsibilities.鈥� Some posters are divided down the middle by an imperfect line, separating the students鈥� hopes and fears for democracy鈥檚 future.
On one side, their hopes. A free and fair process that works for the people. Lack of judgment toward different ideas and choices. Younger generation participates in democracy to keep it alive.
On the other side, their fears. More partisanship, further political divide. Inequitable representation of marginalized groups. Too many old people.
This is the third year of YVote鈥檚 Democracy Camp, held at the New York Society for Ethical Culture鈥檚 . The century-old limestone building faces Central Park.
After a day interviewing passersby on city streets and exploring issues such as mental health and fair education, a high school leader asks her fellow students to think about a question: 鈥淲hat is my role in an ideal democracy?鈥�
鈥楾he lies and the truth鈥�: Misconceptions about Gen Z
Collective anxiety around youth engagement in civic life lurks like a bogeyman in society鈥檚 nightmares.
Voter turnout among Generation Z 鈥� which demographers generally define as those born from 1997 to 2012 鈥� has historically been low. In the 2022 midterm elections, only one in every 10 voters nationwide was 18 to 29 years old, according to the . A survey predicts about 67% of registered Gen Zers and Millennials combined will vote this November. That鈥檚 compared with 94% of Baby Boomers.
Young people often don鈥檛 feel they know enough to vote, experts say, and believe political leaders neglect the issues that matter to them, such as climate change and gun violence. And older generations too often condescend.
鈥淭hey think we don鈥檛 care at all about the political climate of America,鈥� says 16-year-old Heba Elkouraichi, a 2023 YVote camper who helped plan this year鈥檚 program. 鈥淏ut in reality, we just don鈥檛 feel included. We feel that we鈥檙e not represented, either.鈥�
Mistrust is a factor, too. Just 20% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they trust Congress, and only 30% say they trust the office of the president, according to a report from CIRCLE 鈥� the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of hard to differentiate between the lies and the truth,鈥� says 16-year-old Olivia Cisse, a YVote camper. 鈥淭he lies kind of mess up the faith that you have in the government.鈥�
The debate over Gen Z鈥檚 engagement levels comes at a time when civics knowledge among Americans as a whole has plunged to new lows: A by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found 66% of respondents could name all three branches of government, but 17% could not name any. And just 5% of respondents could name all five freedoms covered by the First Amendment.
Educators see civics programs for students and teachers as a guidepost for democracy.
鈥淓very scientist, every doctor, every nurse, every teacher, every brick mason 鈥� every person 鈥� has a civic duty to our democracy and our republic,鈥� says Robbie Pelkey, who teaches social studies at Plainfield High School, southwest of Indianapolis. 鈥淭his is the most important subject that every American should understand.鈥�
鈥楢nyone can play a role鈥�
At Camp O鈥機onnor USA in Phoenix, students learn about the concrete and mortar that support America鈥檚 foundation.
The chatter of seventh and eighth graders rises inside a law school named for the nation鈥檚 first female U.S. Supreme Court justice. Soon, the students crowd into buses taking them from Arizona State University鈥檚 Sandra Day O鈥機onnor College of Law to the governor鈥檚 office.
There, the most courageous among them pull questions from a paper bag and read them aloud: What inspired you to run for office? What advice do you have for young people who want to run for office someday? What is the most challenging part of your job?
Gov. Katie Hobbs replies with the aplomb of a practiced politician and, later, poses for a photo with the group.
Ziora Obuekwe, a 13-year-old from Windsor, Connecticut, doesn鈥檛 ask a question. But she works her way to the front of the group for the photo op, posing with quiet confidence.
Later, she says, 鈥淲e got to talk to some very important people.鈥�
Camp O鈥機onnor takes students on a five-day journey through the workings of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, complete with field trips to the state Capitol, Supreme Court and governor鈥檚 office, along with the county elections department.
The lessons pair the serious with the playful.
On 鈥淐itizenship Day鈥� during this year鈥檚 camp in June, participants visit the Maricopa County Recorder鈥檚 Office, which oversees elections in the nation鈥檚 fourth-largest county by population. They cast mock ballots made to look like the real thing, voting on questions such as which celebrity they would prefer as a teacher. (Dwayne 鈥淭he Rock鈥� Johnson beat Taylor Swift in a surprising upset.)
The camp is part of a slate of educational programs at the , founded by the late justice in 2009.
鈥淲hat the justice says is that you have to understand how your government works, because it鈥檚 complicated, and then you have to understand how you engage in it,鈥� says Ben Maynard, director of civics education at the institute.
The camp launched in 2016 with 48 students. This year, 100 attended from places big and small, near and far. Obuekwe, just a few years out from casting her first ballot, is among 34 out-of-state campers.
鈥淚 think anyone can play a role,鈥� she says, 鈥渘o matter how young they are 鈥� just getting engaged in democracy and government, just learning about it so when you鈥檙e old enough to vote, you can make a difference and make an impact on the leaders.鈥�
The camp is funded by donations and grants, Maynard says, and cost $1,200 to $1,500 per student this year. That covers counselor salaries, some meals and buses for field trips. Students attend for free, but they鈥檙e responsible for lodging and travel to and from Phoenix.
A by researchers at Georgetown University found that participants in a similar civics camp in 2019 saw improvements in their knowledge of history and civics.
Maynard says Camp O鈥機onnor doesn鈥檛 have a formal way of tracking campers after they leave, but he does point to one marker of success.
鈥淚f we have a student come here that doesn鈥檛 remember exactly everything that was said on 鈥楨xecutive Day,鈥� but they go back to their school and they want to be part of their student council, that鈥檚 a win,鈥� Maynard says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 someone who has become engaged with their community, and that鈥檚 likely someone who will continue to stay engaged as they get older.鈥�
鈥楶repared to take action鈥�
A few weeks later and 2,500 miles away, young people dive into democracy in a different way.
YVote was founded in 2017 by New York high school students worried about low voter turnout among youth and a lack of civics education. The core premise of the group鈥檚 camp is that democracy is flawed 鈥� and young people have a duty to help fix it.
鈥淭here鈥檚 space to be better,鈥� Elkouraichi says. 鈥淚f people my age continue to be civically active and politically active, then I鈥檓 hopeful that there鈥檚 going to be an upward climb.鈥�
On day four of this summer鈥檚 five-day camp, the question posed by a facilitator resonates: 鈥淲hat is my role in an ideal democracy?鈥�
The room falls quiet. Students reach for pens and start writing answers in their journals, illustrated with stickers and doodles.
The exercise is more than a philosophical query. Over the next year, each camper has to plan and execute a democracy project that they will take back to their boroughs.
Earlier in the day, they hit the streets to canvass strangers, heading to Central Park and the Upper West Side, with skyscrapers and yellow cabs in the background of their conversations.
At Columbus Circle, Cisse and her project partner ask people about gender inequality.
One woman rants for half an hour, taking drags from a cigarette as she recounts power imbalances she has faced with men. Another suggests the students create courses for their classmates on self-defense or respecting boundaries. And two sisters visiting from Bangladesh say they receive unsolicited comments on the street nearly every day.
Cisse, a junior at Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan, says she chose the subject because she is sick of hearing derogatory remarks about women at school.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so normalized,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 feel like people then feel uncomfortable and feel like they can鈥檛 speak up about it, because nobody does.鈥�
Cisse and fellow camper Talia Arcasoy believe women being comfortable and respected in the workplace is an important part of democracy. They walk away excited by the idea of creating workshops for their final project.
That鈥檚 why the youth-led camp exists, organizers say: to inspire young people to take action.
鈥淲e care a lot about what people do beyond voting,鈥� says Sonja Aibel, 17, a YVote leader. 鈥淓ven if we have participants who come away from the program not convinced that voting is the right choice for them, they鈥檙e still prepared to take action beyond that.鈥�
A by the Brennan Center for Justice found that young people engage in democracy in ways not often recognized, including volunteering, donating money, boycotting and community service.
More than 30% of Americans ages 18-29 have signed a petition or joined a boycott, and about 15% have attended a protest, demonstration or march, according to data from CIRCLE. However, survey respondents who were interested in civic engagement said they often lack information, support and opportunities.
The New York camp offers each student a $250 stipend for the week and another $250 once their projects are completed. The stipend is meant to broaden access, says Chris-Ann Barnett, YVote鈥檚 associate program director.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have to worry about the cost of getting here鈥� or 鈥渟pending a week doing something that鈥檚 not paying them,鈥� she adds.
In New York state, high school graduates can receive a on their diplomas to recognize proficiency in civic knowledge, skills, mindset and experiences. Students earn points by doing things such as taking electives that promote civic engagement.
Two of this year鈥檚 YVote campers attend a school in Manhattan that confers the seal. Organizers plan to reach out to ensure the students get credit for their final camp projects, and they hope other schools will follow suit.
Research from CIRCLE shows that big metropolitan areas such as Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and New York are more likely to have access to the best civics education. During the 2020 presidential election, surveyed expressed interest in learning about the race, but a third of them didn鈥檛 have access to a course about U.S. government and institutions.
Rural teens whose parents were less educated faced even more difficulty accessing such courses, research showed.
鈥榃e want to support democracy鈥�
The federal government doesn鈥檛 mandate civics education, and a 2022 report by the found only 38 states 鈥� New York among them 鈥� require some form of civics courses in schools.
The controversial No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 prompted a on standardized testing and less emphasis on subjects those tests don鈥檛 cover. This, coupled with pandemic-related learning loss, led to for social studies and civics, experts say.
Schools have 鈥渇ocused a lot more on pushing math, science and reading, (and) because of that, social studies kind of falls to the wayside,鈥� says Brianna Diaz, who wrote a report about the change in civics education for . 鈥淭eachers mentioned that they lost instructional time 鈥� because other things, the school decided, should be a priority.鈥�
For those trying to build a curriculum, the nonprofit provides model programs for various grade levels to a network of teachers and students across the country. It also provides , such as an event overseen by the Indiana Bar Foundation in June.
About two dozen social studies, history and government teachers from across the state convened at Indiana University Bloomington to learn how to improve their civics teaching skills.
They listened to presentations about trust in elections and the origin of the Civil Rights Act. They workshopped lesson plans and brainstormed how to explain difficult subjects such as slavery or contentious elections.
TaShena Melton, who has taught for nine years at Calumet Christian School in Griffith, Indiana, recalled preparing a lesson for students in 2018 on the value of bipartisanship.
Melton showed her students a video of former President Barack Obama鈥檚 for Republican Sen. John McCain. Before he died of brain cancer, his 2008 presidential rival to speak at his funeral.
Melton told her class that even though the two had competed for the highest office in the land, they still respected one another.
Her students responded with their thoughts about McCain鈥檚 decision.
Liar. Cheat. A traitor to his own party.
鈥淚 ran out of words to try to explain how I felt at the end of that class. That was probably when I almost lost hope,鈥� Melton says. 鈥淭eachers as a whole, we鈥檙e struggling with how to deal with students who have a jaded view鈥� of democracy.
Plainfield High School teacher Adam Ferguson acknowledged in one session that teachers often do not take college courses or get training about how to handle controversial issues. His advice: Don鈥檛 avoid the conversations, and don鈥檛 call them debates. Use the word 鈥� ,鈥� because it鈥檚 more thoughtful.
Even as some educators, political leaders and academics voice support for civics education as an ideal, tensions are growing over its execution.
Some fear civics learning can veer into indoctrination. , a coalition of conservative individuals and groups, advocates against what it calls 鈥渁ction civics鈥� in favor of standards that 鈥渢each American students their birthright of liberty.鈥�
Action civics, the group says on its website, 鈥渞eplaces classroom civics instruction with political commitment, protest and vocational training in progressive activism.鈥�
States across the country have pushed policies that limit or outright ban things such as critical race theory. The governors of Virginia and South Dakota in 2022 administered executive orders banning critical race theory in the classroom.
Also in 2022, prohibited classroom instruction from being used to 鈥渋ndoctrinate or persuade students in a manner inconsistent with certain principles or state academic standards.鈥� Specifically, the law forbids teaching any of eight 鈥渟pecified concepts鈥� related to 鈥渞ace, color, sex, or national origin.鈥�
Some young people wade through all the voices, saying they just want space to learn.
鈥淲e want to give young people the opportunity to learn about politics and learn about civics and learn about how to maintain democracy without feeling like they have to stick to one side of the spectrum,鈥� YVote鈥檚 Elkouraichi says. 鈥淵ou can have your views, but you can also work with the greater population toward having everyone鈥檚 voice heard.鈥�
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News21 reporters Joshua Harrison-Williams, Hannah Lee and Vivian Serafin contributed to this story. This report is part of 鈥淔ractured,鈥� an examination of the state of American democracy produced by Carnegie-Knight News21. For more stories, visit .
Delaney Chase And Emily Richardson/news21, The Associated Press
