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"Without Y.U.C., we'd be just a mass of complaining people.
Organizing helps bridge the gap between students and administrators
so that we can be part of the decision-making."
Kwame Jones, Olney High School, March 2001
Organizing has both short term and long range benefits. In the short
run, organizing efforts by students are an effective tool for getting
things done: improving education. This may mean more books for students,
cleaner bathrooms, new computers, higher academic standards or more
after school clubs.
In the long run, organizing has benefits for the individual students
involved. Through organizing, young people, historically alienated
from decision-making processes, learn something new about themselves,
find dignity in place of mistreatment and self-respect instead of
a lack of self-confidence. They begin to use more fully the skills
and abilities which they posses: to work cooperatively with others,
to influence, to speak up and to fight back.
Y.U.C.'s organizing model:
Y.U.C. follows a specific institution-based model of community organizing
to empower youth and develop local leadership. YUC brings Latino,
African American, Asian and Caucasian youth together to identify
common concerns and take collective action to address them. Students
are organized through Y.U.C. chapters at local high schools. Each
chapter has a leadership team of fifteen to twenty students who
meet weekly and make the major decisions for the chapter. The leadership
team gains input form the larger student body through school-wide
surveys and listening campaigns.
Together students identify specific issues within their school or
community which could be changed. They gather information and conduct
research into the issues, then develop a strategy to address them.
Students meet with school and public officials to discuss the issues
and come up with solutions. Issue campaigns culminate with an action,
where officials publicly make commitments and students celebrate
their victories. Evaluation and reflection take place after each
step.
Leadership training takes place throughout the school year during
weekly after school meetings, intensive weekend retreats and an
annual week-long Summer Leadership Institute.
Through Y.U.C.'s organizing model, young people have been able to
address a variety of issues from safer streets to college preparation.
The most recent issues include:
School Libraries
Multi-Cultural Curriculum
Computer Technology and the "Digital Divide"
College and Career Preparation
Building Facilities
Privatization of Philadelphia's Public Schools
Student Educational Plan for Philadelphia Public High Schools
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