When I think of "policy forums," I envision a stuffy room filled with talking suits who toss around a bunch of big words. However, a public policy forum held at Dillard University earlier this week was a departure.
As I gazed around the room there were many young elected officials and college students, but what caught my eye was a group of high school students from Jackson, MS.
Hailing from Jim Hill and Piney Woods high schools, the group made the trip to New Orleans to listen in on the forum.
Renee Ombaba, a 17-year-old senior at Jim Hill High, said this was her first trip to New Orleans and she was “surprised at the condition of the city.”
“On the news you hear this and you hear that, but when you come here it looks like the city was in a time capsule,” she said.
As a member of her school’s Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Club, Ombaba said one thing she took away from the forum is accountability at the local and state levels of government.
“People always blame the federal government, but the federal government can only do so much. After they disburse the funds to states, it’s up to the states to use the money wisely. We need to also hold our state governments accountable to help fix problems instead of just blaming the federal government,” Ombaba said.
Charles Taylor, also a 17-year-old senior at Jim Hill High School, said of attending the forum: “It’s very significant for me to be here to listen and weigh in on this forum, because the people who are going to be affected by many of the decisions made here are the youth,” said Taylor, who serves as the president for the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties club.
“We are going to be the leaders of tomorrow, so it’s important that we engage in dialogue today,” Taylor said.
