Youth Council Ambassadors (YCA) is an Ithaca Youth Bureau organization made up of teens and adult Youth Employment Service (YES) mentors. Its mission is to convey to local political leaders what issues the youth of Tompkins County feel passionately about, and to represent those needs in government as effectively as possible. Through meeting with members of the Common Council and with ICSD administrators, its role has been to give students a voice, and to ensure that they have an impact in their community.
In response to the recent high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Youth Council was interested in gaging Ithaca students’ opinions on this controversial topic. The Council was also interested in how students would respond to this issue, given that teenagers have taken initiative on gun control reforms. Youth Council recently sent out a school-wide survey asking students about their responses to this year’s National School Walkout. In the survey of over 300 students, mostly from IHS, the results displayed some common trends. Seventy seven percent of students from IHS participated in the walkout, while 12.9 percent did not, and 8.4 percent wanted to participate but were unable to due to various reasons. Numerous students cited the cold as an obstacle to participate, while others thought the idea of a national walkout as a whole was not justified and would not garner any sort of national attention or legislation. Some students also argued that they disliked how the walkout’s purpose had shifted from a memorial of the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting to a protest for gun control. The majority of students who participated in the walkout mentioned that they were marching to support the cause of common-sense gun control legislation and further security in schools. As one student stated, “I wanted to be part of a larger movement against gun violence.”
The survey also included questions on how safe students felt in schools, and what could be done to improve school security. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being never and 5 being always, the survey asked “How often do you feel safe in schools?” Forty-six percent of students chose 4, while only 3.2 percent chose 1 and 18.4 percent chose 5. The subsequent question was, “ How would you suggest reaching a point where you feel safe or safer at school?” These responses were varied, but the majority of answers were related to increasing school security. Some students mentioned increasing police presence at school, and the implementation of security guards or school resource officers. Others mentioned increasing drills so that students know what to do in the case of a shooting. However, numerous students mentioned that there should be an increased dialogue between the administration and the students, to increase transparency on protocol and potential reforms. Other answers mentioned that mental health education should be increased in schools. Overall, the answers offered insightful solutions that should potentially be looked into by the administration of IHS.
On the topic of school shootings and safety, the Council also asked students where they feel safest. The majority of students said there safe zones were in their homes, where they can feel “welcomed and independent,” while others mentioned locations such as the library and teachers’ classrooms where they described feeling comfortable and accepted. Others felt safe listening to music or playing video games, while others admitted they didn’t have a safe zone.
One way in which Youth Council communicates with local leaders is through interviews. Members of YCA recently interviewed Principal Trumble and Superintendent Dr. Brown, where they gained insight on their duties in the ICSD and the Ithaca community at large. Dr. Brown noted that from being responsible for the safety of his two daughters and 6,000+ students, he has one of the most stressful jobs in the community. Brown also said he believes a leader is somebody people follow, rather than someone with ideas who fails to get their message across to others. He detailed his role as Superintendent and mentioned various ways in which IHS is planning to increase security in schools, as well as to increase confidence in the safety of ICSD.
Principal Trumble elaborated on similar ideas. He described that he wants to create an open dialogue between students and administrators. He also mentioned that IHS now has four points of entry, and hall monitors have been stationed at these points to monitor activity by these doors. Moreover, he explained that IHS will begin to have an increased camera presence to monitor actions taken at the school. He also described new swipe card technology that will be implemented at IHS in the future with the goal of securing different parts of our school. He also plans to implement more staff and student training, as well as utilizing IHS’s Student Council to facilitate conversation with students. Overall, Mr. Trumble affirmed IHS’s commitment to provide a safe, secure learning environment, and detailed various methods that IHS plans to adopt in the future to improve overall safety.
Youth Council continues its efforts to increase awareness on youth issues. The Council is creating YCA buttons and stickers, and will appear on TV Production’s news channel Lake Street News to promote its work. The Youth Council has also created its own original hashtag, “Our Voices Bring Change,” relating to the importance of teen voices and advocating for the beliefs that students feel strongly about.