Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Students dissect, debate issues as Sun Youth Forum returns
After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum brought together hundreds of bright young minds and their insights on current events.
On gun control, abortion, water policy, statutes of limitations, breaking up the Clark County School District and more, about 450 juniors and seniors from CCSD high schools dissected and debated the issues with clarity, civility and wisdom.
Students gathered in small groups Tuesday in Liberty High School classrooms, professionally dressed, taking notes and earnestly raising their hands to add to the conversations as adults moderated.
The Sun Youth Forum was established in 1956 by Las Vegas Sun founder and publisher Hank Greenspun. Greenspun had a simple notion that adults should listen to the thoughts and opinions of youths — an elementary concept, yet given the times, a revolutionary idea.
That started what has carried on through multiple presidential administrations, wars and significant historical events, giving Las Vegas students plenty to discuss.
“I wanted to participate in something and hear other people’s viewpoints,” Rancho High School’s
Andrew Henderson said.
He came in thinking the drinking age should be raised until young people are more physically mature, but he came around to an argument for personal liberty. He had an “oh, I never thought of that before” moment, he said.
Linda Young, a discussion moderator and former School Board member, told her group that they were the upcoming generation to advocate for what’s right for all people.
“You’re going to pick up the mantle,” she said. “It’s going to be your turn.”
In another classroom, a brisk discussion on gun control volleyed between students with different perspectives.
“We have to do all these procedures because we’re afraid at any moment in time someone could walk in with a gun. There is nothing more scary than that. There is nothing more devastating than a teacher having to justify to parents why their child just died,” one girl offered. “If the Second Amendment isn’t really protecting us, yet taking lives away, then there is something that has to be changed. There are laws that have to be regulated.”
A boy a few desks down entered the chat. “So the question that I have is, what do you mean by this regulation? Because in a city like Baltimore or Chicago they have extremely, extremely strict gun laws,” he said. “It’s less a question of regulating the lawful owner and more so enforcing the law against those that bring it in.”
Another teen joined the discussion saying “Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws and yet they have some of the worst gun violence in the country. So are gun laws working then?”
Nobody raised their voice. They even laughed — with each other, not at each other.
El Mundo Spanish News co-founder Eddie Escobedo Jr., who facilitated the lively gun control debate, has been a forum moderator for nine years. He said the return of the forum is another sign of getting back to normal since COVID-19 hit the world.
“They are so smart they scare me,” he said of the students. “It scares me wonderfully.”
Students are eligible for scholarships, opportunities to write op-eds for the Sun, and televised and radio roundtables for top participants.
Alicia Flores Perez, who attends Rancho, talked with her group about how they’d improve the school system — as children of the pandemic, they talked about flexibility in attending school online.
“It’s something I’m super passionate about,” Alicia said. “It was amazing to talk with like-minded people.”
hillary.davis@gmgvegas.com / 702-9908949 / @Hillarylvsun