Carbondale Reporter

State Sen.Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) recently hosted high school students from across her 58th District at her first Youth Advisory Council at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale.

Throughout the day, Bryant engaged students in political discussion over what they view as the district’s most pressing issues.

“They proposed legislation and discussed current concerns of our state and nation,” Bryant posted on Facebook. “Big thank you to Murphysboro Mayor Will Stephens, Jackson County State’s Attorney Joe Cervantes and SIU Chancellor Austin Lane for their contributions today. Thank you SIUC for hosting today’s activities.”

More than 30 students from at least 16 different high schools joined Bryant on the SIU campus.  

“It was truly exciting to see the students focused and engaged throughout the entire day,” Bryant said in a news release. “I am hopeful that today’s Youth Advisory Council provided these students with a better understanding on how our state government works, but more importantly I hope they learned that each of them have a voice in the process.”

Bryant touts her Youth Advisory Council as a “hands-on experience designed to teach local area students about public policy, state government, and leadership.”

Every high school within the 58th Senate district was able to nominate high school students that they believed showed an interest in government and public service.

“I believe it is important for the youth of today to get involved in government because we are the future,” said Carbondale Community High student Brandon Scott-Rivers. “Since we are the ones that are going to be taking over as time goes on, it is important that we learn about what we can do to change the future for all of us.”

Stephens, Cervantes and SIU Chancellor Austin Lane were among the community leaders making speeches to students in the early part of the day, with the students then breaking off into groups, where activities included working together to develop ideas for legislation that each group would present to the council for a vote.

Bryant met with every group during their discussion period, helping students with their proposals and how they could advocate for their issue. Bryant helped further the discussion by asking groups questions about their legislation.

These Youth Advisory Council sessions were created with the passage of HB0594 that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed off on at the end of November.