As part of a campus strategic initiative on student civic engagement, ETSU will host a regional forum to discuss “Youth: The REAL Future of the South,” sponsored by the Southern Growth Policies Board (SGPB), on Thursday from 6:30-9 p.m. in the Culp University Center Ballroom.
“Unlike many of the other SGPB forums being held in the region and across the South, this one is planned so that student participation does not require missing school,” said Dr. Deborah Harley, ETSU assistant vice president for Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership.
The forum is co-sponsored by the ETSU Claudius G. Clemmer College of Education, and special invitations have been sent to college students at ETSU, King College, Milligan College, Tusculum College, Northeast State Technical Community College, and high school students in the eight counties of Northeast Tennessee.
Invitations have also been extended to area youth organizations and youth leadership programs.
“We really want youth and young adults to come and speak their minds,” said Harley. “They have so much to say about this topic. We can’t send the right message to policymakers without their voices.”
To help student participants feel more welcome, college students will serve as facilitators at the event.
The SGPB forums provide an opportunity for citizen voices to influence public policy in state and local governments and local organizations. Suggestions and concerns arising from the forum will be submitted to the SGPB and used in the organization’s presentations during an annual conference designed to guide state governors and legislators. In addition, local organizations may contact Harley to obtain information about issues discussed in the ETSU forum.
To learn more about SGPB, visit www.southern.org. For further information about the forum, contact Harley at 439-5675 or via CELLinfo@etsu.edu. Due to ongoing renovation in the Culp Center, those with disabilities who need assistance should call the center’s main office at 439-4286.

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