>> next q&a with participants is his andar's youth program d he will exit q and a with th participants in the senate youth program. after that, a discussion about politics and the media. announcer: this week, a discussion with high school students attending the week-long senate youth program. group talked about highlights from their visit to washington, d.c. host: what is your name and why

are you here? i am from des moines iowa and i am here to participate in the senate youth program. it is the 56th year and this is about interacting with those who make the policy of lives and those we know. i am mckenzie hawkins and i am fortunate to be representing my state at the youth program and this program is a firsthand look at government and the democratic process. we have learned from people who are in elected and appointed office and we have learned from 103 delegates and that is the experience on the west or left coast as some of us call it and we had the

opportunity to do that and it has been valuable. host: it is underwritten by the hearst corporation and has been in operation for 56 years. what has been the high point for you this week? >> john lewis. is ald say because it person i have always looked up to and have read about in history books and never would have imagined the same man i read about in the history books and gave his life for me to have the rights i deserve as an american and a black citizen in america, i got to meet him and that was the high point for me. host: we did this before and when wes a fire alarm first started. they did not get to see that. how about your week? -- i met what harris

harris and she has been an inspiration to me. she came up and introduced herself to me and stuck out her hand and i said i was mckenzie and i was crying and she asked if i had a last name and she kamala harris. i have never felt a stronger interest in running for office in my life. chosen byhave been your colleagues to give a speech at your dinner. give us 30 seconds. >> mine is based on the american dream and how it has manifested.

froms evolved in my life to hear andtanzania being able to go to the white house. this is something i never would have imagined would happen so soon. host: when did you come here? >> 2008. there were a lack of opportunities and it was no mobility for success or higher education unless you had the means. you need mobility for success. host: what are you going to tell the group? >> i came in and thought i had a lot of things right and i realize how wrong i was and i think i came into the program preconceptionsof i will talk to you about and

this week's taught me about how much i want to learn. host: we have to ask others. who would like to speak? let's take you. give me your name. >> i am from illinois. host: what was the high point? ian of congress and talking to her about her job and responsibilities. amazing moment. >> how are you picked? >> application process that everyone had to do by submitting a application and undergo group interview with a debate on current events. hasn't lived up to your expectations? >> it has exceeded. >> i am from lincoln east high

school and the high point for me was speaking to the chief judge of the 10th circuit and the justice and i was able to ask him questions about the possibility of a constitutional convention, which is an interesting issue i care about and i am interested in constitutional law. i learned so much from them and some of my opinions i never thought i would budge on, i did a flip on. >> what happened that you didn't expect? >> the connection with the delegates and i did not think i could get so close to so many and such a short time. everybody is so intelligent and passionate about everything and yeah. i just love you all.

>> what happened today you did not expect? forming these relationships in a short time was not what i was expecting. >> who is next? yes. >> i am from providence, rhode island. >> your week. what surprised you? surprisesere a lot of and this week has been emotional and i have grown and i was fortunate and selected to participate in the program and the test was a qualification for theyother state and encouraged me to use this as a learning experience because i

was not to experience in politics. andything i have heard learned and been a witness to, i have written down. i am motivated and see myself existing in a position of power in communities such as this one and pursuing opportunities such as this one and i feel like i'm isolated a lot and i tend to disconnectted in a and this kind of delegates, they have used empathy to understand and i would echo that this transcends political affiliation and ideology and i am excited to take over we have learned and move forward from here. host: thank you. over here. where are you from?

from name is james and i'm utah and -- >> what will you remember this week? honest, we met a lot of amazing people who have done amazing things and the people i will remember the most are my fellow delegates because my desire is to make an impact on people and affect this group is people who will and have made and have different religions, backgrounds, political opinions, and want to change the world. that is what i will remember the most. >> back here. you are from where? >> i am from mississippi. anyone impress you?

>> all of the delegates. i come from a place where opinion is one and done and there is not a lot of diversity and it is interesting to see how much people care about individual beliefs and i think we need more compromise and efforts to work together to make things better for the american people and i see a lot of that compassion and strength in this group and i am excited to see what people do with the rest of their lives. your place isnk "one and done." exposure to something outside was educational. i will attend the university of minnesota the two major and public policy -- university of mississippi to major in

holocaust in -- in public policy. >> what was the high point for you this week? andenators scott and king they come from different political affiliations and spoke about similar things. 80-90% ined about something i thought was interesting with both of them speaking about how, in congress, they do not get to know each other very well because they go back to their home states and they need to know each other better as humans and that made it real and genuine. about 80%-80gree 5%, why do we only talk about

those things? >> the media focuses on the 15-20% and, when we focus on that, we do not have progress. i think speaking about the need for compromise and bipartisanship gives us hope and talks about how comes to our generation to take this and move that forward and all of our delegates have different opinions and listen to each other and that is inspirational to me. students in this hall and there are 17 military mentors. who wants to tell us what this week has been like? stand up so that we can see you. right back here. what is your name? >> i am from salem, oregon. >> give us the high point of the week. >> the diversity of different people and i wouldn't commonly

made them in salem, oregon and the high point was the other when thereespecially is not a diverse thought process in what you believe in. most of us are on the left side of the political affiliation and different perspectives was a learning experience for me. host: are you saying that most are on the left? >> we come from different parts of the united states and bring a different idea of what it means on different policies and i would say no. not everyone is on the left and that makes it special. host: what got you involved? got involved as an intern at the capitol building and understood all the different opportunities and i was very inspired.

host: who has been your mentor? >> the lieutenant -- the lieutenant. i'm glad we were paired together. host: what division is he in? >> the navy, i'm pretty sure. i was in the navy and we carried the marine corps around. i'm sure you have to ask one of the marine corps officers what they think about that. what did you learn? question you can do anything. sometimes you learn that you cannot be a judge or justice and i am learning that they are regular people who decided that they want to make a change in this world and that everyone of us is capable and has the ability to do that. host: i want to go to a mentor.

who wants to tell me about that? >> what is your name? about think i am right the navy and the marines. >> yes, sir. goal this was your week? >> my goal was to mentor the delegates. a lot of the maturity they lack on how to work together, a lot of the guest speakers spoke about civility and how we cannot get to our goals alone. both sides have to work together to make the world better. host: how are you pick? >> we go through a competitive process along with other officers. aboutit is time to talk substance and things that you

feel strongly about and i will start by asking you, you met with the president of the united states yesterday and i am sure you have strong feelings in this president ands this white house. who wants to tell me -- my goodness, the hands went up quickly -- your feeling about the president and your reaction poster -- after meeting him? >> most of the problems trump a lack ofrom understanding of other viewpoints and he is in a closed environment where he does not really feed off of others and i think that, if he was more willing to listen to log and get other opinions, he would be better off. the firstn chaotic in year and i think, if he opens up ,is mind and his willingness

visit administration will take a straight course. first your name? -- >> your name? >> tristan. >> what was meeting him like? >> it does not matter who occupies the office, it is the institution of the office. it was nice to meet him and pence and the first lady made a surprise appearance and we were able to meet the president of the united states. host: is anybody in favor of this president that would like to speak? georgia.rom i am in favor of trump as a president and i think it was the coolest experience as a bunch of

highschooler's and the president met with us and it humanized the presidency and it is so easy in a political climate to feed into the media rhetoric and this is a man who wants to serve the country. yelled at us that we were a good-looking group and it is nice to remember that he is a person. it was humbling to know that the president spoke to us. host: i am a robot. that wasn't funny. go back to being in the white house. any of it not real for you? thehink about all of history and all of the presidents that came before and this overwhelming sense of thinking about that and being

part of living history in that moment and have the president come and meet you was just overwhelming and incredible and we will never forget that. somebody else want to talk about trump? >> my name is -- trump and a lot of his policies, not all of them, but this was a surreal experience with watched reagan meets the senate youth program and this program has been gone a long time and we were lucky to be a part of that. host: have you had conversations with people who don't like trump and what have they been like? >> i have and rightfully so. one of the good things about

this program was the diversity and a lot of the issues we talked about today are issues that are controversial and directly affect us, gun control, immigration, and it is humbling to see the other perspectives and a couple of the things that were stressed this week were civility and listening to others and it was something we were able to do this week. host: how did you get involved? ge.i was a senate pa i like that and found out about the senate youth program. host: what was being a page like? it is a humanizing experience and you think of the government as a big pure rock or see -- big bureaucracy.

it is aa sense that person trying to get a bill passed or a person fighting for the issue and they care about the nation. >> two different senators street page differentat ways? some are friendly and some come you don't get a lot of interaction from them, for lack .f a better term host: who is someone who does not support the president that would like to be heard. >> your name? >> i am from south carolina. >> what do you want to say? we recognize that a lot of his policies are devastating to immigrants and people who are lgbt and people of color. are -- of his policies

>> did you tell him that? >> i would have liked to. y not? was he walked in and walked out. plus what would you have told him? >> a lot people do not stand by him and his policies ought to be -- ithought out and just would not advocate for a change in his opinion, but i would like more people offering insight on policies that he puts through and advocates for before they are actually implemented. ast: i understand there are couple of students in the room and thereand, florida is someone from kentucky.

i want to ask you a question. could you stand. >> i am from parkland, florida. i go to north broward. think that the main thing that happened was a shock because it is your home and you don't expect that to happen. working with students and talking about it, you push the point that there are different opinions and you have people who believe in the second amendment and people who think there should be more gun control and you need the conversation to take place, compromise, something needs to be done, and everybody has been working together and talking about their ideas and we ultimately need to how together to talk about

to prevent this happening in other high schools. >> what happened in your high school? what who went to school and we had a false alarm and one of the teachers thought they heard a police came in and one of them had discharged his weapon on the way in and then we had a potential shooting and then that was covered on the news and we were locked down and that just brought forth the idea that this is absolutely happening in our community and i knew kids who were shot, injured, or killed and it was heartbreaking and traumatizing and what really proved this was we need to do something and, if they can't get through state or federal government, it is up to us and that is what we are seeing across the country in

every state and across the world. tore is this need and desire rekindle the youth activism and we will get it done here and our communities. --t: who in this room has who in this room has a solution to deal with the fear that the students have across the country in high schools or any kind of schools? this gentleman right here. >> i am am steve and the other delegate from parkland, florida. what was therapeutic for me was knowing that i can make a difference. imaginationh of the -- i do not think that the andgates came from parkland

i think this is an opportunity to be in the room with 104 delegates and people who are going to one day be decision-makers and have that impact and to personally make my struggle their struggle and of 104in touch the lives people who will one day right policies. as to specific things i have school boards and two elected officials that i stay to on the local and state level, and think that there is an understanding that there is not one right solution versus another and some will argue that we need to fortify this rules, but does that mean that arming teachers is correct? gun say that we need control, but is banning assault

rifles the solution? what needs to be done is a combination of different solutions that are not republican or democratic because both agendas are wrong. we need to invest in mental health services and we need to harden the schools with common sense gun regulations and there is no reason why someone who does not have the mental capacity to own a firearm should have one and no reason why, after mistake after mistake, he should have been able to walk into the school and no reason why we were able to detect the shooter early and we should have and it isto stop its a combination of so many

different solutions and people need to get over the agenda of my side is right and your side is wrong and pick what is correct about all of the put itnt sides and together for a comprehensive .ommonsense solution host: where is the delegate from kentucky? my goodness, i will be back there in a moment. what do you feel the strongest about? if you had a chance to tell them how you felt, what would it be? >> hello. issue that does not get a lot of attention is the mass incarceration. we have people federally

incarcerated and african-american females have a one in three chance of going to prison before the age of 18. when we look at the judicial of threee see issues strike legislation and, if you commit petty crimes, you could go to jail for 15 years and that issue does not get attention and we do not talk about it. seeing the minority groups does not make us uncomfortable and only see white and rich people -- and issues, we see action and we need to wheret these communities you have the one in three chance of going to prison. that is where the attention is desired.

host: who wants to express something? and iname is elizabeth attend -- host: what do you feel the strongest about? >> the health care system and making sure every american has the right to quality and affordable health care because we are the richest nation in the world, but citizens go bankrupt and this is an outrage and we should be ashamed. the government needs to work in order to focus on this issue and a revolutionized health care system where the government takes responsibility because our oftem includes elements privatization and the government

spends and absurd amount and i think the country would be better with increasing government funding towards citizens. massachusetts has led the way. would you give them? >> i think the citizens are taking care of well and some and i are underserved think that we need to focus on increasing health care access and making sure this access is i am grateful to live in massachusetts and hope to see the rest of the nation follow the lead. strongly about this? i am enthralled with the

inequality that exists on racial and social levels and most people agreed that the upward more built -- upward mobility is the key to growth and children of color and immigrant dissent are still facing poverty. john lewis and bernie sanders impacted me and showed me that they were fighting for change on every levels. the use are things that you enjoy bipartisan support and have a chance of helping those who previously did not have hoped get hope in things like this program.

increasing the opportunity that can only grow. we have spent 15 train dollars we do not have. what is your age group going to do? >> we just will not see that for social security, medicare, and medicaid and the thing you have keepingnize is that programs that we spend our budget on, we have to change them and reform them to survive and so that i can have social security, medicare, and medicaid and so that we can have this program for people who were in livety and people who paycheck to paycheck. the cost of living adjustment and raising the retirement age

have to at least get talked ofut and have a chance increasing the solvency of these programs. has an issue? stand up. you can look at the camera. and a thing iia am passionate about is the affordability of college because it is a looming threat with college blasting a large portion of your life. we are oh is told to go to school and go to make something out of yourself, but how do you make that when you go bankrupt? host: where does the money come from? >> i don't have the answer, but i think this is an answer we

need to address. >> over here. >> my name is sydney and the issue i am passionate about is women's rights and opportunities. this is a small fraction compared to men and most of these are women serving currently and things like the pink tax puts feminine hygiene anducts at a higher tax regulations against health care result week as women do not get a seat at the table and we are now seeing women get that seat and more are going to college, but we go to college and a large portion have two experience rape

or sexual assault and it is a problem we need to address and going to the workplace and worrying about how much you are going to get paid and if you are going to be sexually assaulted and have to stay quiet. these are questions no human being should answer. >> stand up and we will go through this quickly and i want to hear what your issue is. give me your name and tell me what you are most interested in. dacaam passionate about that ourt is unfair congress cannot find a solution. it is not a democratic or republican issue and it is a human rights issue.

it is unfair and they don't know where they will live next. these people have not been to their home country since a were two or three years old and it is not right that they are not given the citizenship that they deserve because they are americans. myi am from maryland and issue is climate change because this notion that we are the only not in thethe world paris climate accords is a travesty. everybody has taken steps to address this and we have not stay on course and we are seeing the devastating impacts and we see the wildfires become more withe and what happened the wildfires and the common fix the symptom

these willlem and keep occurring until we stop that and the fact that we cannot leave a better world for the children is sad. and im from connecticut am passionate about the integrity of our elections in the united states and we are seeing the state department granted $120 million to investigate russia and we have seen them spend none of the money and you have the midterm elections coming up and we should not be fearful of the integrity of the election's. >> the issue i am passionate about his public health and we need to reinvest in public

and we --this country i come from ohio and it is a state that was hit by the opioid crisis. we need to fix this crisis. think there is a crisis? >> i have seen it and you can see it in the statistics and the stories make me passionate. i care about political polarization and it is not sexy, but is important. comef these issues do not to fruition if both sides do not needct each other and we

every right to be equal and we cannot have leaders who exploit the division of our country. >> did you say bangalore? charlottesville and want to talk about homeless veterans. my grandfather was in the marine corps and my great-grandfather was coast guard. interesting joke. i have seen so many homeless theirns and appreciate service and think that we should create more policies to protect them and their families because they sacrificed russ and we need to appreciate them more and they should not be on the street and worrying about food and shelter

when they have sacrificed so that we could have the rights to speak about these problems today. so, thanks you. charlotte's and i am passionate about segregation on a high school level and 80% attend -- es whye is a reason charlotte's 50th in terms of social mobility and it is time for reform because you're right to a good education should not be contingent on the size of your bank account and that is a problem my city needs to fix. >> i'm from colorado and i'm civicned about expanding

engagement. gorsuchent from neil when benk with me was franklin was asked what type of government they were planning and franklin said, a republic, if you can keep it. it is important for people to be educated in civics and so many issues to resolve by a populace that is knowledgeable about politics. >> i am going to the back of the room to talk to the lady from kentucky and's getting the background on what is happening namenuary and what is your and your high school? >> i am from kentucky. but what happened there?

fire in the opened common area of my high school. >> how many were killed? wo.t >> did the school change anything? >> they change the entry points and there is a general increase in the police presence on the campus. dealat else was done to with this fear? griefhave trauma and cancers and we had therapy dogs come for a while and they are absolutely amazing. coming together as a school in trying to rebuild and coming together as a family.

host: tell us why you got and who in the program might have led you this way? >> him from nashville and i want that the moment i decided i wanted to post when chris murphy had his filibuster. i was not outside or messing around and i was watching c-span . host: you just made my day. i was researching

scholarships for college and it got more interesting to me and i this hasyou that's been an unreal experience to be the brightest political minds this country has anoffer, we are all in environment where we can really immerse ourselves and cultivate ourselves into becoming future political leaders. host: thank you. your name. belgium overseas. >> added you get involved? >> i have a mentor and i want to show notes my social studies he got me involved

and lot of extracurriculars one of the things that germany the political process in the united states and i want to be able to make a difference and this week has been about rediscovering the american identity and seeing the passion of all of these delegates. i never could have expected all these well spoken people and this is rich handle the passion in my own country and it has been humbling. >> thank you. we will keep moving. >> ok. sounds good. and i was louisiana

really inspired to do this program by my freshman english ford me thishe had email and she really guided me and i was thankful for that and my parents had been a catalyst for this. publiccame to doing service, my mother was assaulted and i didn't want that to happen to anyone else. i saw their senators making changes in the field of domestic violence and i thought it was an now would be a good time to learn what they have to say and what they are doing to build and improve and meeting people who share these experiences is a massive part of

why one to join. >> who else has a story about how you got involved? >> i go to jerome high school and think how i have grown up has influenced my life and this help me find the program and the program fors this kids to learn about the i think that this empowered me to get involved and search of programs that help me this is sobecause relevant and it impacts my we allas we speak and have to pay the bills, right? >> what was the number one thing you learn this week? open-minded more because you get tunnel vision

believeting for what we doesn't mean you don't have to ,et go of your previous beliefs but does mean you have to compromise to make sure the best outcome for everyone around. i know you took copious notes. would you put them online? this is transparency. it's what we talk about. yes. your name. where you from? why are they clapping for you? >> i don't know? can i give you a hug? an honor to be here. i came here in 2009 with my family and my mother came in

2004 and raised enough money to family from my nigeria. i am now here and i'm in this program because i believe that leadership is systematic and it takes the wisdom of the old and the energy of the new to lead america. our school has not been funded well by the state government for a decade and we cut tennis and cross-country. have victimsis, we of the school to prison pipeline his student was shot in front of the playground that my and we have a school to prison pipeline, but i want to make a difference and i am living the stream for those

who want to help the people in africa and nigeria. i have not forgotten about you. i am coming here to learn to go back and make a difference everywhere and affect life globally. blackt people in the delegation and asian delegation and everybody who is here, i andeciate this opportunity it has been phenomenal and these people who live in the hood, you have someone who lives in this expectationseeding and i want you to know that i am here in this program is here

leadership is systematic. host: yes, sir. >> we are both from new jersey. we were at the state department and he gave a speech about batman and it was pretty's -- it was pretty cool. host: why did he talk about batman? >> i am not quite sure, to be honest. is to learn am here from everyone in my community because it is pretty liberal and i think i am really here to argue and learn and it has been interesting to argue and learn and the justice said something the other day that stuck with

me. you don't have to be disagreeable to disagree. i got to know people as friends and jokers before their political views and learning more about people before stances that is why ind am here. idea to getwas the involved in this? >> i applied and did not get accepted and i interned for the congresswoman and worked on a thatthat my class wrote was introduced in congress later that year and i think that i found out about this program by exploring where my interests would take me and i was not too

sure. me, this was a learning process and a didn't have anyone to share the experience with and had to do research. we have four minutes left. say what you want to say. delegates and the i think that one of the main takeaways from this week is the importance of civility and how you would reconcile compromise with the need of people in my generation to be bold. this is compromise and think we all and i

being assertive and open-minded to different ways to achieve the goals we want. >> where are you going to college and what do you want to be? good question and, if you know the answer, let me know. i'm interested in environmental -- environmentalism and want to work in public law. i'm interested in corporate reform. they are kind of far part, not really an share need for innovation and we all need to be work in i would like to public interest law to advocate for those who are unable to fund mobility andonomic

there was a unified front that protected people and created a market for millionaires and billionaires to mark -- two bets on the lives of the disenfranchised and i don't want it to happen again and don't think it is going to be rich litigators to save the poor and it will be people who care about the future. that is my first dream and i would like to be a senator like many of us and advocate for environmentalism. saying that climate change is standing not warrant ovation, the blue party does. >> this is the united states with 50outh program

states and military bases around the world. it is underwritten by the hearst foundation and works in conjunction with the senate. what do you think? we are out of time and i think everybody did a good job today. thank you and good luck to you. announcer: to give us comments,

visit us at our website. this is also available as a podcast. next, the professor at the city university of physics in new york and we talk about his book about interstellar travel and our destinies beyond earth next sunday. >> washington journal is live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up, the foreign policy fellow on u.s. and brookings relations and the founder of the free range kids movement talks

about utah becoming the first state to legalize free range the cost of the senses and some of the controversy surrounding it. be sure to watch washington journal. join the discussion. >> this week is the 50th anniversary of martin luther king's assassination. join us on tuesday. we are live from the university of memphis with the pulitzer wednesday willd have live coverage of the outdoor service with remarks from civil rights leaders like jesse jackson.

includes walter cronkite announcing the assassination and a portion of his funeral in atlanta. , live coverage00 of civil rights leaders past and present. announcer: british prime minister theresa may taking questions from the members of house of commons. after that, a discussion of politics in the media followed by a border control briefing on the effectiveness of the border wall. another chance to see q&a on this year's senate youth program at 11:00 p.m. the british prime minister theresa may discussed the cambridge analytica investigation into the misuse of