Potential in the wings
Potential in the wings
January 6, 2007
GOVERNOR Deval Patrick's youth inaugural Thursday could have been a seat at the kids' table at a big wedding -- a seat far from the action. Instead, high school students were on stage, literally, at the Shubert Theatre. They filled the auditorium. They were the action.
The students said they came to see history: the state's first African-American governor. They came to talk about their issues and concerns. The student press was there, snapping photographs and requesting interviews with the governor. There was music, poetry, dancing, and high schoolers calling the governor "Deval " and telling him what to do.
Taking turns at the microphone, students talked about the environment and not having school books. They said clubs -- from Boys and Girls Clubs to Rotary programs -- kept them civically involved.
"Do you support charter schools?" a student from Boston's Academy of the Pacific Rim charter school called down to the stage.
"I support charter schools," the governor said, but added that he wants to fix state funding to spread money more effectively between charter and district schools.
The students talked about violence, suicides, and Boston's homicides. Patrick missed a chance to say explicitly that keeping all of the young people gathered before him safe is his priority -- a serious omission because, when asked, violence was the first issue several students talked about.
He did say: "If we don't make a big difference in my generation, you are in big trouble in your generation." And although the comment was about renewable energy, it seemed to cover many things.
"Don't worry about disappointment," Patrick said, act anyway, keep the fire under me.
At the end, stage lights lit the audience. The Brockton High School band marched in and played a song of orchestrated energy.
The event was a swim in an overlooked talent pool, a reminder that the state should pay more attention to its stars-in-waiting, from young black men to middle-aged Democrats in the political wings. It's the lesson of the season: If Deval Patrick was out there, full of unrecognized potential, it pays to see who else is.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what happens," said Jon Herrmann, a 16-year-old writer for the Newtonite, Newton North High School's newspaper. So far, Patrick and Social Capital Inc., a nonprofit organization in Woburn, have set up a web site, massyouth.org. And there are plans for an event with elementary school children.
What would be the worst thing? "If nothing comes of it," Kipaya Kapiga, 17, a Newtonite photographer, said of the youth inauguration.
This is the job for voters and those too young to vote: Create public pressure that makes inaction impossible.
January 6, 2007
GOVERNOR Deval Patrick's youth inaugural Thursday could have been a seat at the kids' table at a big wedding -- a seat far from the action. Instead, high school students were on stage, literally, at the Shubert Theatre. They filled the auditorium. They were the action.
The students said they came to see history: the state's first African-American governor. They came to talk about their issues and concerns. The student press was there, snapping photographs and requesting interviews with the governor. There was music, poetry, dancing, and high schoolers calling the governor "Deval " and telling him what to do.
Taking turns at the microphone, students talked about the environment and not having school books. They said clubs -- from Boys and Girls Clubs to Rotary programs -- kept them civically involved.
"Do you support charter schools?" a student from Boston's Academy of the Pacific Rim charter school called down to the stage.
"I support charter schools," the governor said, but added that he wants to fix state funding to spread money more effectively between charter and district schools.
The students talked about violence, suicides, and Boston's homicides. Patrick missed a chance to say explicitly that keeping all of the young people gathered before him safe is his priority -- a serious omission because, when asked, violence was the first issue several students talked about.
He did say: "If we don't make a big difference in my generation, you are in big trouble in your generation." And although the comment was about renewable energy, it seemed to cover many things.
"Don't worry about disappointment," Patrick said, act anyway, keep the fire under me.
At the end, stage lights lit the audience. The Brockton High School band marched in and played a song of orchestrated energy.
The event was a swim in an overlooked talent pool, a reminder that the state should pay more attention to its stars-in-waiting, from young black men to middle-aged Democrats in the political wings. It's the lesson of the season: If Deval Patrick was out there, full of unrecognized potential, it pays to see who else is.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what happens," said Jon Herrmann, a 16-year-old writer for the Newtonite, Newton North High School's newspaper. So far, Patrick and Social Capital Inc., a nonprofit organization in Woburn, have set up a web site, massyouth.org. And there are plans for an event with elementary school children.
What would be the worst thing? "If nothing comes of it," Kipaya Kapiga, 17, a Newtonite photographer, said of the youth inauguration.
This is the job for voters and those too young to vote: Create public pressure that makes inaction impossible.
