Engaging youth take part in local government
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–
Students took over the Davis City Council meeting on March 20 to wrap up this year’s Youth In Government program.
Twenty two students signed up for the program which offered opportunities to shadow a city official for a day, sit in on a City Council meeting and then run a mock meeting themselves. 
Senior Ale Ruiz participated in the program last year and enjoyed it so much she decided to do it again this year.
“I signed up because its a cool opportunity to see how the city really works and how it all comes together,” Ruiz said.
Last year, Ruiz shadowed the Fire Chief, while this year, she got to see a completely different side of the city as she followed Sheila Allen from the School Board. The two went to a meeting with the superintendent and other officials and examined the Davis High Veteran Memorial parking lot, as it was an issue that was on the agenda for the mock meeting.
Leal followed Lucas Frerichs, who is also on the city council and said he learned a lot from sitting in on a real council meeting. By seeing how the system works, Leal believes that teenagers can see how they can make a differences in their government.
On March 20, the students who participated in the program got to run a mock council meeting, take over the positions of the officials they shadowed to give reports to the council, make comments and make motions on how to respond.
The agenda for the meeting included discussions on issues that affect teenagers in Davis, such as recreation, employment opportunities and the DHS parking lot. In addition, issues concerning Davis businesses and water problems were discussed at the meeting.
Just like any other city council meeting, discussion was open to the public.
Mayor Joe Krovoza briefly interrupted the meeting to give a quick talk to the participants about the program. He mentioned how important it is that people are involved in their government, including teenagers, and the effect that local government has in everyday life. Later he also recognized everybody who participated in the event.
