Over 1,000 high school students from across the country attended the ACLU’s National Advocacy Institute last month, coming together for a week in the nation’s Capitol city to learn how to make an impact in their communities.
Among them were 10 Arkansas students, including ACLU of Arkansas volunteers Sophia, Janet and Emily.
At the NAI, they:
- Discovered how to connect with others and the importance of community.
- Realized civic engagement in Arkansas needs a boost.
- Spoke to the state’s Congressmen about immigration and AI on “Lobbying Day.”
“I feel like I gained an entirely different perspective on what a community is actually like,” Sophia said. “I also learned that I really value community more than I realized. Not just because I need someone to hang out with all the time, but like needing to know that there's a group of people I can go to that care about the same things that I do, that we can kind of pick each other's minds and be like, “What are we gonna do about this? Like, what can we do about this? What should we do about this?”
Sophia considers herself to be independent, and said she is reluctant to ask for help. Participating in the NAI taught her that asking for help is an opportunity to learn and understand others.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Asked what stood out when they met students and adults from other states, the trio said Arkansans seem to be less politically active than the average American.
“So many people care about things that they don't even realize. They don't know that they care about it, and they won't know that they care about it until it's taken away, and then they're stuck. I just think that being able to have more people involved … would be so healthy for the entirety of our state,” Sophia said.
Janet said it was refreshing to hear different beliefs and ideals she hadn’t found in Arkansas, and for others to listen to hers. “It was very nice to be able to talk to somebody and speak your opinion without somebody saying ‘no, that's not right. You know that's wrong. You can't think like that.’”
IMMIGRATION
The students also shared that Arkansas’s Congressmen were receptive during the NAI’s “Lobbying Day” activity.
“I feel like we did a very good job at talking to them and explaining our ideas and our stories. And I feel like we weren't torn down as I thought we would be. They heard us out. They talked to us,” Janet said.
This was her favorite aspect of the NAI. She said she spoke to the Congressmen and their staffers about the need for a pathway to citizenship. “Immigration, I just feel like that's something that very strongly affects me, my family, my community,” Janet said.
The students were disappointed to hear lawmakers voice support for a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, but not for other immigrants. “You pick and choose, and I'm just like ‘we're all immigrants,’” Janet said.
There was some talk on securing the border as well. Janet said, “I do understand why we do need to have a secure border, but I don't understand why we can't make a successful pathway to citizenship. I feel like this administration isn't like pro-legal immigration.
“I feel like it's just like racism,” she said. “Even if you come here legally, they still just don't want immigrants in their country. … They don't even check if you have citizenship. They see the color of your skin and they target you. We need a pathway to citizenship.”
Issues with ICE and policing were also discussed.
Emily said her father had been stopped by police before, for going 2 miles over the speed limit, and she expressed some concern about probing questions from Congressional staffers during the NAI.
“We've always talked down about quotas, especially [with] police … Now there are literally blatant quotas in front of our faces. We're not even doing anything about it,” Sophia said.
AI & DATA CENTERS
The students attended elective classes during the NAI, too. Emily’s favorite was on AI. She learned a lot, including that you can opt out of being scanned by facial recognition equipment at the airport.
The Arkansas congressmen steered some of the Lobby Day conversations to AI and data centers as well.
The students said they are worried about how using AI in the hiring process can lead to discrimination and about the disproportionate placement of data centers in low-income neighborhoods. Sophia said she feels that people either love AI or hate it; there’s no nuance to it. She’d like people to understand there is a gray area.
Emily offered a poignant example: She met a woman who is blind and uses Meta AI glasses to help her shop, but also noted the incident where an OpenAI model escaped a test environment and broke into a real company’s servers.
ELEVATOR JAMS & CHARACTERS
Speaking of technology, the old school kind failed the Arkansas students during their day in the U.S. Capitol building.
Some NAI participants (and ACLU of Arkansas board members) became stuck in a Capitol elevator for several minutes.
While awaiting rescue, the group was asked via the intercom if they would like to hear some music and said they would. The person on the other end of the line began singing.
The Arkansas students giggled while recalling the odd event.
Another experience that stood out was seeing Sen. Lindsey Graham’s coffin as they marched in protest at the Capitol as part of the NAI’s “Day of Action” activity.
The students spoke about attending the ACLU's gala, too. At that event, their artwork was sold to raise funds, an artist drew caricatures for them, and Bruce Springsteen performed. Laverne Cox, an actress, New York Times best-selling author and advocate for transgender rights, hosted the evening. Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL player who in 2016 ignited a global movement against racial injustice and police brutality, was another speaker.
In addition, students said the most impressive speakers were ACLU staff, because they were in-depth and realistic. “I really liked the focus that they had on a more perfect union, and not the idea that we have been perfect, and that voting for one person is going to magically restore it,” Sophia said.
These young leaders are working hard to build an America, and an Arkansas, that protects everyone.
