Urban Go-Team 2014

Adventures in Elections & Voting

About

Welcome to the Civitas Urban Go-Team blog!

In Civitas Urban Go-Team, high-school students explore St. Louis, seeing live evidence of the issues that affect quality of life, work, play and education in any metropolitan area.

This year, eleven students will join our staff of four for a three-day long adventure in voting, elections, and campaigns. The program will run from June 2 through June 4. Highlights will include street polling in downtown St. Louis, a view of elections from the St. Louis Board of Elections, a panel discussion with elected officials about what is involved in winning elections, and student production of campaign video commercials.

Overview of Go-Team

Urban Go-Team offers experiences not available through textbooks or in a classroom setting. Go-Team participants absorb knowledge through guided field trips, on-the-street observations, and lively interactions with government officials, urban planners, journalists, environmentalists, bankers, developers, labor leaders, citizen activists and social services professionals.

These interactions promote awareness of current issues, such as land use, eminent domain, sprawl, urban design, planning, zoning, density, economic disparity, job creation and job losses, finance, taxing, historic preservation, environmental concerns, transportation planning, and many others. Urban Go-Team’s ultimate goal is to encourage students to become knowledgeable, active citizens of any community in which they choose to live and work.

Urban Go-Team activities begin each spring and move towards one or two weeks of field work in the summer. Students are encouraged to produce individual or collaborative projects to reflect what they learn each year. Recommendations are forwarded to civic leaders and members of the media. Frequently decision-makers open their minds to new ideas after meeting with members of the Civitas Urban Go-Team. We hope to challenge the students in the program and all citizens who inhabit our community.

Adventures in Elections & Voting marks our 9th Urban Go-Team since 2002. To learn more about the history of this program, visit our Past Go-Teams page.

Purpose of this Blog

Ever since the beginning of the program, student reflections have played an integral role in Urban Go-Team. At the end of each day, students write down their thoughts about the speakers they heard, the places they visited, the surveys they collected, the people they talked to, and any other points of analysis or commentary.

Traditionally, these “wrap-ups” have been typed and stored away. But this year, we want to give students a platform to take their insights and recommendations beyond the Civitas office.

By making these analyses open to a wider audience, we think we can influence the conversation around urban policy. Most importantly, we  hope to build an active online community of young people passionate about public policy, experiential learning, active citizenship, and urban life.

About Civitas 

Civitas Associates is a St. Louis based non-profit that encourages students and teachers alike to approach the world with creativity, compassion, and critical thought.

In addition to Urban Go-Team, we organize Model United Nations programs and activities that promote active citizenship and world awareness for high-school and middle-schools students attending public, private and parochial schools. Civitas is not associated with any school, school district, religious or political organization.
Civitas Associates
10845 Olive, Suite #155
St. Louis, Missouri 63141
(314) 367-6480

 

 

 

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