UA to Host Alabama Youth Summit on March 23

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ‚ The University of Alabama will host some 75 high school seniors from around the state as they seek answers to some of Alabama’s most pressing problems at the Alabama Youth Summit on March 23.

The students, all of whom have been involved in Boys State, Girls State or Alabama Youth in Government, will break into committees to discuss issues including constitutional reform, education, environment and human relations, the justice system, safety, and tax and election reform. The students will then come up with suggested solutions to these problem areas and present those solutions to a member of Gov. Don Siegelman’s staff.

Student leaders for the summit will be Katie Boyd of Enterprise, governor of Alabama Girls State; Kenya Lee of Auburn, governor of Alabama Youth in Government; and Pettus Randall of Tuscaloosa, governor of Alabama Boys State.

“These high school student leaders will present their vision of how to have a better Alabama from a youth point of view,” said Dr. Kathleen Randall, associate vice president for student affairs at UA.

The day-long program will begin with introductory remarks at 9:30 a.m. in UA’s Ferguson Center and continue with committee meetings from 10-11:30 a.m. Following lunch with UA President Andrew Sorensen and Football Coach Mike DuBose, the students will present their committee reports from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Josh Hayes of Siegelman’s staff will be present to hear the students’ assessment of the most pressing issues facing the state from 5-5:30 p.m.

Boyd, Lee and Randall will make a presentation directly to Siegelman at a meeting set for April.

Note: For a schedule of events or a complete list of participants with hometowns, contact Cathy Andreen at 205/348-8322.

Contact

Cathy Andreen, Director of Media Relations, 205/348-8322

Source

Dr. Kathleen Randall, UA associate vice president for student affairs, 205/348-8228