Students relay their messages to the new president

Ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, we reached out to our network of teens across the country to find out what they hope his administration accomplishes.

The country remains divided and tensions remain high as the Coronavirus pandemic, racial injustice, and the climate crisis continue to impact communities around America. Hear what young people think about this time in our history, in their own words. 

Teachers: Interested in working with your students to create their own messages? Use this activity. 

Here they are in their own words.

COMPILATIONS:

• NewsHour: High school students share their hopes for the Biden administration
• Teens to the next administration: ‘Stop being so divided’
• What’s your message for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris? 
• How do we move forward and unify the country?

INDIVIDUAL MESSAGES:

• Racial injustice is top priority for this Gen Zer
• For this student, educational equity is top priority for the new presidential administration
• Jamie Margolin: “Take urgent action on the climate crisis.”
• Student to Joe Biden: Stress unity as much as possible
• Women’s rights on top of list for this young voter
• Teens wants Biden to protect Black and minority communities
• First-generation student on securing a better future for her family

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 

• Frederick V. Pankow Center, Michigan (Micah Martin, Darielle Baker, Brooke Ringstad, Carlos McWhorter)
• Oakland Military Institute, California (Genesis Diaz Velazquez, Nigel Feng)
• Hardy Middle School, Washington, DC (Kennedy Corley)
• Dominion High School, Virginia (Kevin Myers, Sonal Prakash)
• Howard W. Blake High School, Florida (Britnee Blake, Janelle Lewis, )
• Mercy High School, Michigan (Clare Jones)
• Haldane High School, New York (Daniel Phillips)
• Hughes STEM High School, Ohio (Shaden Lathrop)
• Beaverton Health and Science School, Oregon (Andrea Salazar Lopez)
• Mid-Maine Technical Center, Maine (Donald Mckenzie)
• Lincoln Charter High School, North Carolina (Mason Fitzpatrick)
• Green Hill High School, Tennessee (Ellie Cagle)
• Etiwanda High School, California (Kiera Eckhart)
• Westview High School, California (Damien Henson)
• McCallum High School, Texas (Mick Southwick, Meredith Grotevant, Nyla Lassiter, Amaya Collier)
• Brentwood High School, New York (Janice Aragon)
• Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Utah (Henry Frech)
• Desert Vista High School, Arizona (Gerald Johnson)
• Wauwatosa West High School (Aniyah Chambers)
• Free Spirit Media, Illinois (Emily Diaz)
• Black River Falls High School, Wisconsin (Faith Leisgang)

CHECK OUT THE FULL PLAYLIST HERE