Members of the Vermont State Youth Council gather in December 2022 at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier. Photo courtesy of UP for Learning
Rose Howell of Burlington High School and Anna Hoppe of the University of Vermont are working with the Underground Workshop, a network of student journalists partnering with Community News Service.
“Young voices are not listened to as well as they should be,” Joshua Stearns, a 12th grader at Hanover High School, said. “I think a lot of people believe that just because somebody’s young means they don’t have anything to say or what they say isn’t valuable.”
On Jan. 30, “a door of opportunity for many [young Vermonters]” to have their voices heard opened, according to the Vermont State Youth Council’s first recommendations to the Legislature.
In 2022, the Vermont State Legislature passed Act 109, which established the Vermont State Youth Council. The Youth Council is made up of 28 middle and high schoolers from around the state who serve an advisory role to the governor and Legislature.
In January, they presented their first recommendations on youth voice, climate change, equity, mental health and education, as well as keeping youth in Vermont and the future of Vermont’s “rural character.”
Stearns is the Youth Council’s chair, as well as a member of the Youth Voice Committee. Growing up on the border between Vermont and New Hampshire, he struggled to feel like he could get involved in either state, but the Youth Council felt like the right fit.
“I think in hindsight [I internalized this] belief for myself that I didn’t deserve to get involved in either state because I wasn’t fully enough of Vermont or enough of New Hampshire,” Stearns said.
However, being a part of two states’ communities has given Stearns a unique perspective.
“My community emphasizes community [over] blind faith in an arbitrarily drawn line. And I think that’s really taught me compassion and empathy really well,” Stearns said. “Even though they’re the twin states, they are really different.”
Looking at what both states are doing well and what they’re struggling with has helped Stearns see what works and can be improved, so he “immediately” wanted to get involved when he heard about the Youth Council.
“[I wanted to] ensure that there would be a path for young people to make change in the state in the future,” Stearns said.
This includes making paths for a diverse range of young people. Stearns added that the Youth Council makes a conscious effort to represent Vermont’s diversity.
“I think many people when they hear Vermont and diversity in the same sentence, they might be taken aback at first, but I think the Council represents Vermont’s diversity in many ways,” Stearns said. “Everybody is very, very different. And I think everybody brings so much to the table.”
Stearns described the importance of having a diversity of youth representation in government. However, Stearns also acknowledged that the Youth Council “only truly elevates” the voices of the 28 students on the council. The Youth Council is working to address this through planning public hearings and surveys to get more youth input, but they also have to ensure that youth are listened to.
“I think so far, most of the people we’ve talked to have been incredibly receptive to the idea of the youth council and youth voice being heard,” Stearns said. “But I think we can never be complacent. … Everyone, no matter your age, has to be an advocate for young people and their voices.”
Astrid Longstreth, an 8th grader at Camel’s Hump Middle School, has become an advocate through her role on the Youth Council’s Climate Change Committee.
“My dad has always been very passionate about doing things to help stop climate change,” Longstreth said. “So from a young age, he taught me about those things and that has made me interested in the environment.”
After hearing about the Youth Council from her dad and teachers, she applied.
“I feel like [climate change has] been a really big part of my identity, she said. “it’s just part of my everyday life, even [in] little ways.”
Longstreth has learned a lot about activism since joining the council, and admits it was a struggle at first.
“It’s definitely been kind of a learning process to learn about all the different governmental functions. … We were creating bylaws for the council and I was like, ‘what the heck are bylaws?’” she said. “But I feel like I’m also starting to get a better grasp about a lot of things.”
Longstreth also mentioned a meeting with the governor, and said that it’s “a good step for them to be listening to us.”
“One challenge [during the recommendations in January] was not having data from a survey or public hearings,” Stearns said. “I think our envisioned process is to look at the results from the survey and then take that and see what youth want us to focus on.”
Stearns felt their impact is yet to be seen statewide, as they spent a lot of time building the foundation for the council, but said they’re working to normalize the consistent consultation of youth. Longstreth felt similarly.
“We’re inheriting this world and its problems,” Longstreth said. “And if we want to make a better world, then we’re gonna have to do something to make that happen.”
While the two are grateful for their opportunity to strengthen the role of youth voice in the state, they acknowledged it can be frustrating as well.
Stearns said the different layers of council and following the handbook of rules can be tedious, and Longstreth said understanding this process was difficult to grasp at first. Both felt the process is worth it to advocate for youth voices.
Part of this process is dealing with stress.
“It’s definitely a lot of work and sometimes I just need a break. I’m very, very glad meetings are two weeks apart, because that’s probably my limit,” Stearns said, “On the other hand, it’s just very gratifying work. And kind of that feeling of … trying to improve our communities.”
Longstreth expressed this sentiment as well, adding that the mental health aspect of activism has both positive and negative effects.
“It can be really anxiety-inducing and worrying … [feeling like] are we doing enough? Am I really helping?” she said.”[But it’s] also very gratifying to know that I care. … I want more people to care.”
While the Youth Council previously received over 200 applications, Stearns hopes that they’ll receive even more as, for the first time, Youth Council members help appoint their successors. Stearns hopes to launch the application before the end of the school year in order to align the council and school year schedules.
Since the Youth Council members were appointed for staggered three-year terms, half of the Youth Council will be leaving this summer. However, they are eligible to reapply.
At the end of the year, Stearns will be stepping down from the Youth Council to attend college at Brown University.
“I also am really excited to just see what else is out there for me to help contribute [to] and use my experience on the Youth Council as I go forward,” he said.
However, the biggest determinant of the Youth Council’s future success is whether it gets extended. It is currently set to end on February 1, 2026.
“If it does [end in] 2026, I hope …[to increase] involvement with other young people throughout Vermont. And I hope for our recommendations to appear in policies in the future,” Stearns said.
If it is extended, Stearns hopes that the Youth Council will become a “platform for all youth in Vermont.”
Longstreth hopes to see Vermont work on more conservation to protect biodiversity and stop climate change as well as more development of renewable energy. She emphasized how this benefits not only the environment, but people and the state’s economy.
“Things that people think of when they think of Vermont are connected to the outdoors, so preserving that will both help our environment and help you promote a place that you want to be in and that other people want to [be in too],” she said.
She hopes that the Youth Council will be around longer to help with this.
“I want to know that we’ve done something,” she said. “I want to help youth realize that they can make a change in the world, and that they don’t have to be on the Council [to] do that, but I want to help them [use] their voice.”
Stearns also made it clear this all revolves around young people and ensuring they have opportunities to advocate.
“I hope that Vermont will become a state where no young person is left asking themselves, ‘How do I contribute? Where does my voice fit in?’”
This story, one in a six-part package on student activism, was produced during the recently completed school year.