unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events. c-span is brought to you by your cable or settling provider. -- satellite. ♪ this week on q&a, a discussion with high school students attending the annual weeklong united states senate youth program. the about their interest in government policies and share some highlights from the visit to washington. >> 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 most impactful 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? [laughter] john lewis. i would say because it is a 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 there was a fire alarm when we first started. they did not get to see that. how about your week? >> i met, what harris -- i met kamala 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 said, i am kamala harris. i have never felt a stronger interest in running for office in my life. host: you have been chosen by 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. it has evolved in my life from coming from tanzania to hear and 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 with a variety of preconceptions 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? >> the librarian 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 an application and undergo a 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? >> there were a lot of surprises 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 some other state and they encouraged me to use this as a learning experience because i was not to experience in politics. everything i have heard and 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 feel separated in a disconnect 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? >> my name is james and i'm from utah and --

>> what will you remember this week? i don't know. >> what about this week? who will you most remember this week? i feel like this group of kids are people that are going to and ave made an impact in various ways. various -- they all have different religions, backgrounds, but they do share one thing and that's to change something. what they have's the most. >> thank you. back here? at this table? yes, ma'am? >> my name is lori.

so it was really cool to kind of see everything and how much everybody cares about their individual beliefs. i've always been a big believer fact that we need more bipartisan compromise and just to work o actually try together and make things better for the american people and i anda lot of that compassion empathy and hope and strength in this group. and i'm just really excited to see what these kids do with the of their lives. host: why do you think where you're from thinks one and done as you would say? >> it's just always kind of been a very conservative environment and that's not a bad thing but just where finitely i live, it will be more rural and everything like that. conservative more beliefs. i'll be minoring in intelligence. host: let's go back to the back here. yes, ma'am, stand up, please. and where name you're from? >> hi, i'm from connecticut and i attend the regional high school. host: what about this week?

what's the high point? scott and enator senators cane talk to us on two consecutive days was amazing. they both come from very affiliationsitical and spoke about a lot of the similar things. senator scott actually spoke 80% to 90% of ve things in common and we have to find that common ground to move forward. and something that i thought was really interesting about both of them is they spoke with how here the congress they actually don't get to know each other very well because they both come home states very often and they spoke about the need to get to know everyone better. them as a human which made it very real and genuine for us. 85% o if we agree on 80% to of all the issues, why is it we only talk about the 15%? really interesting question. i think what happens is that 15% overtakes everything else media and other sources focus on that 15% to 20%. focus on that little part of it, we aren't able to actually make progress. o even if we have the similar end goals, we focus on how we're not able to move forward.

and i think that having them about the need for ompromise and bipartisanship gives us more hope and talked about our generation taking that forward. seeing our co-delegates have different opinions but be able to listen to each other first inspirational for me. host: 104 students in this room across the hools country, two from each state and two from some of the territories military bases and there are 17 military mentors. who at this table wants to tell like?t this week has been this gentleman's hand went up. please stand up so we can see you. camera, where is it? right back here. what's your name? are where are you from? i'm from salem, oregon. host: give us the high point of week. >> i think the high point of this week was meeting a diversity of different people. wouldn't normally experience in salem, oregon. so i would say the high point is 103 other delegates especially when oregon, as other

very have said has not a diverse thought process of exactly what we believe in. a lot of us are on the more left side of our political and it was a learning experience for me and for everyone else. most peopleu saying in this room are on the left side of the political spectrum? >> no, i think we're all coming different parts of the united states and bring a different idea of what it means and our ideas on certain ideas.s and different and that overall, so i would say no to that question, no. is on the lef side. that's what makes it special. host: what got you interested in in the volved in this first place? >> i actually, first of all, i ecame an intern at my state's capitol building. and then i heard about the program, and i understood about all the different opportunities to meet government officials and i was really inspired to be a part of it. host: who has been your mentor week? >> my mentor has been lieutenant ames and he's been honestly the i'm so glad that they paired us together.

host: he's in the military. he army or marine corps? >> he's in the navy i'm pretty sure. host: i was in the navy and the marine corps. we carried them around. that's how that works. know it.ou didn't i'm sure you have to ask one of these marine corps what they think of that statement. learned hat have you from him? >> i learned that i think the biggest thing is i can do anything. i think sometimes we believe that you can't be a senator or court justice because there's such high officials. and i think what i've learned is they're just regular people who wanted to makeey a change in this world. and that every single one of us is exactly capable and has the to do that as well. host: thank you. i want to go to one of the mentors here in a moment. one of these, they look like they want to talk but i'm going to -- who wants to tell me about mentor program? you want to tell me about the mentor program? please?your name, >> verneda corbett.

you think i was right what i said about the navy and the marines? >> yes, sir. host: thank you very much. where are you from? what are you doing in the service? what was your goal this week with these folks? rock, from little arkansas, and my goal this week the delegates. a lot of the maturity that they work lacking on how to together, a lot of the guest speakers spoke about civility our ow we can't get to goals alone. so both sides no matter what your political affiliation is we to work together to make the world better. host: how are you picked? >> we go through a competitive as well. there's an application, letter of recommendation from our our officerong with record brief. host: thank you. about me for us to talk substance and things that you feel very strongly about. to start by asking you you met with the president of the united states yesterday. sure you have strong feelings in this room about this

president, this white house. who wants to tell me -- oh, my goodness, the hands went up quickly. stand up? what's your feeling about this president and what was your reaction after you met him yesterday? >> i feel that president trump know, most of his problems stems from a lack of to rstanding or wanting understand different people's viewpoints on different things. he's in a very closed doesn't nt where he really feed off of others. so i think that if he's more willing to listen to dialogue and, you know, feed from dialogue from other people's opinions then his administration would be better off because it has been quite chaotic in his years.ne and so so i think that if he opens up his mind and opens up, you know, willingness to listen, feed from other people, then his administration would take a more straight course. host: your name and where are you from? >> i'm from alabama. host: when you met with the president at the white house

yesterday, what was that like? experience.surreal it doesn't matter who occupies the office, it's the institution of the office. very humbling to be able to go and meet with him and president pence and first lady melania trump made a surprise appearance so that was very exciting as well. so no matter who is in the always, you know accident very exciting and very humbling to be able to visit and meet the president of the united states. host: anybody back here in favor of this president that you would up?e to speak let me go all the way to the back and get through this process. what is your name? where are you from? >> my name is kendall georgia.ain from kind of what tristan said, i am in favor of mr. trump as a president. but also, i think whether or not it was the coolest experience just to know that here we are a bunch of high schoolers from across the nation takinge the president is time to come and meet with us, to shake our hands. and it really humanized the because i think it's so easy and such a polarizing

political climate to just feed rhetoric and not realize he's a man, you know, just like us with a passion to to serve his country. so when he came in and shook our hands and yelled down the hall looking group at us, you know, made us chuckle, it was neat to see that human side of him. he's a person like you and i. so that was really, really humbling to know the president was coming to speak to us and time out of his day to do so. host: i am not a person. robot. that wasn't funny. so go back to the experience of being in the white house. what did you think about that real for you? >> it was totally surreal. i mean, you think about all the history that's been made there. presidents that have come before that have walked those halls and you feel this don't lming sense of, i even know if i can put it into words to think about that and a part of.t you're you're a part of living history in that moment and to have the president come and meet you in where so many before him walked is just overwhelming

and incredible and an experience. i can speak for all of us that we'll never forget. host: somebody else that wants to talk about president trump? anybody over here? yes, sir? please stand. my name is tate stevenson from lincoln county, tennessee and i do support president trump policies, not s all of them. but for me, it was to echo the others, it was just a surreal be in nce to be able to that office. and before coming to this program, i actually watched onald reagan when he met with the united states senate youth program 35 years ago and just to think this program has been long and alle that the history that's gone on since that was really surreal that we were all able to be a part of that. host: have you had conversations with people in this room that don't like president trump and of ou have, what kind conversations have they been? >> absolutely, i have. and rightfully so. so i think that's one of the great things about this program is the diversity in every way imaginable. and so a lot of issues that we've talked about today have been those issues that are the news ial and in today. and directly affect us.

whether it be gun control or mmigration and for me, it's really humbling to see those other perspectives and to be able to -- one of the things of the things that was really stressed throughout this week were civility and truly listening to i think that's something we all were able to do this week. host: how did you get involved in this program? so i was actually a senate page in the summer. so going through that loved my time there and loved being at the senate so then through a correlation of that actually united t about the states senate youth program. so that was where my interest came from. a page at was being like? what did you learn about senators that you didn't know before? >> again, to echo that humanizing experience, so i federal think of the government as this big bureaucracy and kind of out of touch but to physically be there n the senate floor and see the debates happen in real life is quite incredible and you really thato understand the sense it's a trying to get that bill passed or fighting for that the and they care about people that they represent and the nation as a whole.

host: do different senators treat pages different ways? >> yes, sir! that is a true statement as some friendly, some are just kind of there and treat you as a human, too, and then others a lot really don't get of interaction with them or for lack of a better term. host: thank you. who is a pro or somebody that doesn't support the president would like to be heard, yes? stand up, please. yes, sir. your name. >> my name is henry lear from south carolina. shot up pretty fast like you have a lot to say. what do you want to say about president trump? >> it's really clear that we lot of his at a policies are devastating to people who are part of my community, immigrants, people are, you know, lgbt, people many or, i think that so of his policies are direct attacks on those people. and i don't approve of that. tell him that yesterday? >> i wasn't able to. but i would have liked to. able to? weren't you auto he walked into the room and

gave us a few comments and walked out. host: what would you have said to him? >> i would have told him that amount of n enormous people in america who disapprove of what he's doing. do not stand by him. and that so many of his policies ought to be more thought out, wouldn't - i necessarily advocate for a change in his opinion. you can't necessarily do that. but i would at the very least like to see more people offering insight on policies that he puts through and advocates for before their actual implementation. host: thank you very much. understand that there are two students in the room from parkland, florida. although they didn't go to the school and then there's also someone in the room from, is it marshall, kentucky. i'd like to ask you that question because i know you all have been talking about it this week. and give please stand us your name and where you're from? >> my name is carly goldberg

from parkland, florida. host: what school do you go to there? >> north breyer preparatory minutes from douglas. host: what have you been telling fellow delegates about the experience? >> i think the main thing of what happened to douglas was a home. because it's your you don't expect something like this to happen so i think working with a lot of other students here and talking about it, you kind of have to push that point that there are a lot of different opinions. coming tand people are from those who believe in the second amendment or believe they should have more gun control. big point a really and we have to prove is you need that conversation to take place. there need that idea that needs to be compromise, that there needs to be something done. and i think it's pretty amazing hat regardless of where you stand on that political scale, everyone here has been working together and have been talking that we do ideas and need to ultimately working together to create another at ance that what happened douglas happening from anywhere in the country. host: what happened at your high school? >> what had happened, we had gone back to high school the

next day, because of that ended up d fear, we having a false alarm where we thought -- one of the teachers andght they heard a gunshot people came -- the squad came and the police came in and one his ccidentally discharged weapon on his way in to get to the students. so then we did actually have a potential shooting. so then that was covered on the news and we were in lockdown for about four hours. that just again, brought forth the idea that this has happened in our community. person knew, i personally knew kids in parkland, florida shot or or killed in the shooting at douglas, it was heartbreaking and traumatizing and we came out of there. proved that really point forward is we need to do something and regardless of if it can't get through state it can't get through federal government, it's up to us. and i think that's what we've never again movement and in our local communities and that's what we're seeing across he country in every state and across the world is that there is that need and that desire and of a youth ing activism. that if we can't get it done at

the government and state levels, we'll get it done here in our communities. host: who in this room -- [applause] who in this room has a solution to deal with the fear that students have across the country in high schools or any kind of a school? this gentleman back here, turn around so we can see you right over there. you from?where are >> i'm steven and i'm the other florida.from parkland, and what's been really herapeutic for me in the last couple of weeks is knowing that i can make a difference. no stretch of the imagination, i do not think it's that we're in the third largest state of the country, the two delegates came from parkland. an incredible opportunity to have been in this delegates, people be decision g to

makers one day and have that mpact and to be able to personally make my struggles their struggle. ou know, and to personally impact and touch 104 people's lives. that will one day write, you know, policies i think is very special. as to the specifics, you know, things that i've been proposing by school board to our elected and to every official that i speak, you know, i the local and state level, think there's an understanding that not one solution is right vs. another. people will arrange that we need gue to fortify our schools. does that mean arming teachers is the right answer? no. say we need gun control but is banning ar-15s solution? no. because neither one gets the entire job right. needs to be done is a combination of different olutions, not republican

solutions, not democratic solutions. because quite frankly, both agendas are wrong. what needs to happen is we need o invest in mental health services, we need to harden our schools. commonsense gun regulations. no reason why someone who does not have the mental shouldy to own a firearm have one. there's no reason why after istake after mistake at all levels of government, that he should have been able to walk into that school. there's no reason why we, you know, we were able to detect the on and we should have been able to stop it before it happens. many's a combination of so different solutions and people eed to get over an agenda, get over, you know, my side is right. my side is, you know, your side is wrong. pick what's correct about all of the different sides and put it together. putting one side

with this side and parts of it. not the entire thing. ut it together for a comprehensive commonsense solution. host: thank you. here is the delegate from kentucky? oh, my goodness. i'll come back there in a moment. just ask others in this room, what do you feel the about?est if you were asked by a senator that you met with this week or aw or the president of the united states and you had a chance to tell them exactly how that be? what would let's go right here to start. yes, ma'am? abigail and me is i'm from glacier high school in montana. an issue that doesn't get a lot of attention is that of mass incarceration. in this country right now, we million people federally incarcerated. if you're an african-american chance u have a 1 in 3 of going to prison before the age of 18. and that's absolutely ridiculous.

however, on an executive level and even looking to the legislative branch, we don't talk about that. when we look at the judicial branch, dating back to the days f president clinton we see issues such as three strikes legislation and mandatory minimums where, unfortunately, you're committing small petty crimes, you could be sent to jail for up to 15 years and doesn't getsue that attention. we don't talk about it. because seeing african-americans, seeing groups, that doesn't make us uncomfortable but as soon as we see white people and in ee rich people involved the media, engaged in issues, that's where we see action. needs to happen is we need to look at those communities. of have a 1 in 3 chance going to prison, that's where the attention is desired. host: who else wants to express something? this lady, you had your hand up. you from? >> hi, my name is elizabeth from

westboro, massachusetts. host: what do you feel strongest about? >> i feel strongest about our health care system and the that need to be made to ensure that every american has quality and affordable health care. we are the richest nation in the world. who go have citizens bankrupt trying to cover basic health care costs. an outrage that is and we should be ashamed. our government focus o work in order to on this issue and create a health care d system in which our government takes responsibility for its health care their needs because, unfortunately, lthough our system includes elements of privatization, our government still spends an bsurd amount per citizen on health care. and i think that both on a human our and an economic side, country would be better served by increasing government funding its ds health care for

citizens. host: massachusetts led the way on changing health care. what grade would you give them? >> i'd give massachusetts, oh, my gosh, i give them an a. our citizens are well taken care of. that there are groups still underserved, we not only cus on increasing health care access through the entirety of america but making sure that access is especially for groups that are traditionally oppressed. i'm grateful to live in massachusetts and the assets there.re available and i hope to see the rest of the nation follow their lead. else feels strongly about something? yes, sir? hoosier? >> good morning. my name is connor and i'm one of the delegates from indiana. in the an issue that i m particularly enthralled with is just the overall -- the abject amount of inequality that

our world on the racial, social, economic levels. orardless if you're democrat republican, most people can agree that upward mobility is key to long term growth and the fact that millions of people especially children of color and of immigrant descent still face abject poverty in this country. people like john lewis and bernie sanders specifically impacted me and howed me that they were the ones fighting for change on every level. think specific programs, things like opportunity zones in low income areas. hese are things that enjoy bipartisan support from both sides of the aisle that at least have a shot at helping people who previously had no hope gain hope and i think that things like these -- things like these programs are truly the way to reduce the amount of and increase the amount of opportunity on a level that i've -- that can only be -- grow.an only >> connor in the last 20 years, we spent $15 trillion that we

have. what is your age group going to do about that? well, i think first thing we're going to do is we won't see a lot of that money for security, medicare and medicaid, i think that's a significant problem. toardless of whether we want or not, the thing you have to recognize is to be able to keep things like these social -- programs that we spend so much of our budget on, we're going to have to change them and we'll have to reform so that they can survive into the next generation and into the the next generation so and have social security medicare and medicaid so my grandson's grandson can have vital rograms that are for health, for people who are for those that can honestly live paycheck to paycheck. hings like cost of living adjustment and like raising the retirement age are things that have to at least be talked about have at least a shot at solvency of these programs host: who else has an issue they want to talk about? oh, my goodness. know why we were

doing this in the first place. now you're going to get to speak! stand up, please. i figured it out. host: your name. >> you can look at that camera over there. i'm virginia and i'm from maine and something i'm really assionate about is the affordability of college for a lot of people in this room, next yearg to college and it's this looming threat, the fact that college debt now large portion of your life for some people their terrifying and in this country, you know, we're always told go to school, go to college, you'll be able to make of yourself. but how are we supposed to make something out of ourselves when we go bankrupt trying to achieve that? host: where will the money come from? >> that, i don't have the to because i am only 17. but i just think it's an issue that we do really need to address. host: thank you. all right. let's -- right over here. >> hi, my name is sydney and i'm from illinois and i go to marion

catholic high school. t's an issue that i'm most passionate about right now is women's rights and opportunities. throughout our history, over served in the united states senate and 51 women have served. very small fraction compared to that of men and most portion are women serving currently. things like the pink tax which puts feminine hygiene products a higher tax than other ecessities or unfair opportunities -- like regulations against women's health care. those are -- those are resulting women are not given a seat at the table and we're seeing right now that women are greatg that seat which is and we see now that more women are going to college than ever before. college, hen we go to we see that very large portion experience rape or sexual assaults and that's a huge problem that we need to address. then graduating from college going into the workplace and worrying about how much you're going to be paid.

are you going to be seen as an equal? are you going to be assaulted? ill you have to stay quiet about that assault in order to pursue your career? those are questions that no human being should ever have to answer. and i think that that's something we really need to address in this country. whole bunch of hands over here. stand up and we'll go through quickly. i want everybody to meet you and what yourhear briefly issue is. come up. everybody in the room doesn't have to stand. just this group here. tell me our name and what you're most interested in. > my name is jamie and i go to franklin high school in maryland and i'm really passionate about daca. men, unfair that 700,000 women and children's lives hang in the balance because our a solution.not find it is not a democratic issue, not a republican issue. it's a human rights issue. people's lives should not be a political ploy in order to build a wall. they don't that know where they're going to live next. these people have not been to their home country since they

2 or 3 years old and this is the only country they've ever known and it is not right that not given this citizenship they deserve because they are americans. host: thank you. hi, my name is morgan edwards from frostburg, maryland. issue important to me is climate change. notion that we are the only country in the world that is not in the paris climate accords is travesty. every other country in the world as recognized the detrimental impacts of climate change and taken steps to address it. currently, we have not stayed on with the other countries and we're seeing the devastating impacts. we're seeing that hurricanes are more ng stronger and common. we're seeing wildfires that are becoming more severe. we saw what happened in puerto texas with the hurricanes this year and the wildfires in california. nd, you know, the common response after one of these fix the symptom of the problem. fix what happens whenever the natural disaster strikes. these events are going to keep occurring until we take

stop that the fact that we can't take action and problems that are occurring right now is very sad. >> yes, ma'am? wang from is annie connecticut. daca, an issue that i'm passionate about is the integrity of our elections in the united states of america. right now we see that the state department has been granted $120 election nce the 2016 to investigate russia. spend zero seen them dollars of that money and we have the midterm elections up very soon now and we be fearful of the integrity of our elections and democracy. ohio.m ronnie from one issue i'm passionate about is public health. we need to reinvest in our public health system. c.d.c. is losing so much of diseases ahead of time overseas which we ebola and also r

i come from ohio so i come from one of the states that's been hardest hit by the opioid crisis. need to address that public money issue and put more to fix the opioid crisis as well. host: why do you think we have an opioid crisis? >> i see it in my town. you can see it in the statistics. what really make me passionate about it. host: yes, ma'am? and i go is caroline to banger high school. s the issue that i care about is polarization. while it's not exactly a sexy really important because all the issues that the delegates just cited are not if g to come to fruition both sides of the aisle don't respect each other. we need leaders at every point every government in community, in every state, in around the world to actually respect each other and act like everyone is equal. leaders who e exploit the divisions of our nothing will e

happen. host: did you say banger high school in maine? >> yes. thank you. >> i'm mackenzie smith from virginia nearby charlottesville i would like to talk about y main issue is homeless veterans. my grandfather was a united states marine corps and then my grandfather was the united states coast guard. so very interesting about the joke. i would just like to say i've seen news reports lately about how in las vegas mainly so many homeless veterans and i appreciate their service and their sacrifice to their family and to their country. they put their lives on the line. and i think that we should create more benefits and protect them and their families and their future and they sacrificed for us. we need to appreciate them more. they should be not living on the treets worrying about food and shelter when they have sacrificed and given their lives to e can have the right speak about these problems today so thank you. >> thank you. yes?

>> my name is luke and i'm from charlotte, north carolina. passionate about school segregation and school inequality on the high school primary level in charlotte particularly. 80% of minorities attend majority poverty schools in charlotte. that number for caucasian students is in the 20's. of the 50 largest cities in the 50thd states, charlotte is in terms of social mobility and reform.me for i'm a firm believer that your happiness rsuit of and good education should not be contingent on the side of your bank account, color of your skin the neighborhood you're from. that's a problem my city needs to fix. host: thank you. yes, sir? from name is aaron colorado and i and one issue i'm very concerned about is expanding civic engagement. gorsuch ement by neil that stuck with me is when he of when a ory

commoner approached ben franklin and said what kind of government are you planning? benjamin franklin said a republic if you can keep it. and ultimately, it's up to the to, you know, es be able to vote with a conscious educated in civics as well. that's how many of these issues can be solved. populous that's engaged and a populous that is knowledgeable politics. host: thank you all very much. i'll go back to the back of the to talk to the lady of and get as i promised background on what's happened fortunately i think it was in january. yeah, your name is and where are you from? school?our high >> my name is clare harmon and i'm from marshall county high school in benton, kentucky. host: what happened in marshall county? >> on january 23rd of this year at 7:57 a.m. a fellow student opened fire in the common area of my high school. host: how many people were

killed? two. host: what happened to the school after that? what -- did they change anything? yes. we currently have certain entry points we are allowed to enter the building through. bag checks. we have the metal detector wands general increase in police presence on the school's campus. >> what else was done in the to deal with what i ould suspect would be just fear. >> we have trauma and grief counselors on campus. constantly now and we had therapy dogs come in for a while them've heard that some of are still there. they are absolutely amazing. everyone enerally coming together as a school and just sort ebuild and of come together as a family. host: we only have about 10 minutes left and i want to ask this room to tell us you got involved in the program. who might have led you that way?

was it a parent, teacher, was it a friend or was it on your own? yes, sir? please stand. >> my name is ben from tennessee and go to montgomeriville academy and i wanted to let you know probably that i really t realized i was in the public service i wanted to follow the night chris murphy hosted his filibuster auto the senate floor. and i stayed up until about 3:00 a.m. that morning watching c-span. the volume was too loud because my mom came downstairs and thought i was ausing trouble or something and, you know, i wasn't outside messing around but watching in the morning. host: you just made my day, by the way. >> we've got a good connection now. i probably was looking into this researching scholarships for college and the more i the more o it, interesting it became to me and i thought it would be a great

pportunity and i can tell you that so far in this program, unreal experience to be around, you know, the real future leaders of america. he brightest political minds this country has to offer. and we're all in an environment immerse ourselves in what we're passionate about and cultivate ourselves into political ture leaders so this has been the opportunity of a lifetime for me. host: thank you. back this way because i want to get as many people involved as possible. es, sir, your name, where are you from? >> hello, i'm mark from brussels, belgium and come from the d.o.d. school overseas. host: how did you get involved? do you have a mentor? have a mentor. i'd like to shout out mr. van social studies teacher, psychology, lot of my classes, my coach and got me in a lot of the extracurriculars that helped me find my passion for, you know, ebate and discussion and politics in general. thing that drew me

towards applying for this program, i've lived overseas for 14 years and been removed from the charged political process that's in the united states. and i want to be able to make a know, this and, you is really -- this week has been my t kind of rediscovering own american identity and seeing the passion of all these delegates around the room. mean, i could have never expected, you know, so many intelligent well spoken people really, you know, these issues and are so passionate about it. t really has rekindled a passion of my own in my own country and it's been humbling. host: thank you. let me keep moving. yes, who have we not talked about before? >> sounds good i'm from louisiana and go to catholic baton rouge and i was really inspired to do this program first by one of my teachers, my freshman english me her, she had forwarded

the e-mail to our department of education had sent us. me along. she guided me into doing that. i was thankful for that and then had really been a catalyst for public service and being involved. my father and mother have really struggled during my life when it came to doing public service, my mom was assaulted when i was a that inspired me to want that from happening to anyone else again. i have the out opportunity to come here and meet senators that are making change in the fields of domestic violence and un whatever it may be, i thought it would be an opportunity to speak ith people that have the same vision of the future that i have now and eventually one day they'll have to go and be able to take their place so now would time to learn what they have to say, learn what they're doing and build off it and then mprove it being able to meet people like this who share the same experiences is also been a massive part of why i wanted to join. host: who else has a story? you got bout how involved? yes, ma'am. auto ahi, i'm from idaho.

to jerome high school. and i think just how i've grown life into uenced my getting into politics and that helps me find this program. of the main thing is like idaho has this amazing program for kids to learn about a government and it's two-year program through your seventh and eighth grade year called know your government. of i think it just kind empowered me to get involved and to search out programs that about our earn more government because it's so relevant to us. it's literally affecting my as we speak. so just, you know, getting involved and looking for because we all have to pay the bills, right? host: what's the number one thing you learned this week? number one thing i've learned this week is how to just be a little bit more open i ded because i think, like said, we can get the tunnel vision and we hear kind of a lot of one sided views but being more open. but also, fighting for what we believe, you know, that doesn't completely let go of your previous beliefs. it means you have to look at the

and maybe compromise a little bit to make sure that the best outcome comes for everyone around you. host: i know you've all taken journals.otes in your do you think that we ought to maybe put them all on line so everybody in the country can read them? it's transparency. that's what we talk about in this town all the time. yes, sir. your name? where are you from? [applause] clapping for they you? >> i don't know! you a hug? host: yeah. >> i want to say it's an honor to be here. i'm from orange, new jersey, 2009, with may 20, my family. my mother came in and then five later, she was able to raise enough money to bring me, my two brothers, my older sister and my father to the u.s. host: from what country?

from nigeria, that's my homeland. that's why i'm here. systemic. is it takes the wisdom of the old and the energy of the youth to the change in america. i live in a community where our underfunded by the state government for over a decade. s a result of this, we cut tennis, cross country, after school program, s.a.t. program this, we will face the -- we're being victims of the school to prison pipeline. literally, sometime in december, a student -- a previous student of the in front playground at my gym that for a gym and because of this, we suffer from the i'm here to ne and make that difference. i'm here not because i'm living this for me but living this that in the se future that wants to help for the people in africa to the nigeria that i haven't forgotten about you.

people that have came here and learning so i can come back to my community, not just in and it ut everywhere affects it globally and i'm here to meet people, to meet people delegation e black to the asian delegation to the hispanic delegation and every and i person that is here appreciate this opportunity that asked some tough questions to neil gorsuch and been a phenomenal opportunity and this the people back home. people that live in what we'll call the hood. that's e somebody here lived in this urban area. in this jungle and has exceeded expectations and here fighting for you. guys to know that i'm here and i just mean program is this here for you. and we will be the leaders of ecause, again, heit is episodic but leadership is systemic. thank you. host: thank you.

[applause] yes, sir? please stand and turn around here so they can see you. yeah, we're both from new jersey. i can tell you why they clap for him. we were at the state department and he gave a speech about batman. that was pretty cool. host: why was he talking about batman? sure to be eally honest. my name is josman from heights i attend jersey and heights town high school. and so the reason i'm really here is kind of to learn from everyone. in my community at least, it's liberal leaning democrat so i think i'm really here to argue and learn. so it's been really interesting from my friends who are conservatives. liberals. who are really, the justice said something that stuck with me and just because you disagree doesn't mean you have to be disagreeable. really meant a lot to me because i got to know ll of the people here as

friends and personalities and know ers before we got to each other's political views. being able to have the chance to people before t learning about stances is really important. really with why i'm here is to learn from everybody else here and the diversity of views we share. host: where did the idea come from to get involved in the first place? >> that was actually my own research. i applied and did not get accepted and applied as a junior the summer, i interned for my congresswoman. on a bill that my a.p. government class wrote. it was actually introduced in later that year. i found out about this program interests would take me. my brother was interested in it as a high schooler and learned a lot from him. went to work in technology. for me, it was a learning

i didn't have it with.o share i had to learn on my own. host: we have four minutes left. you want ou say what to say. >> i'm one of the delegates from delaware. i go to newark charter high school. i think one of the main takeaways from this week like some of the other delegates have talked about is civility and how we going to compromise, how are we going to reconcile compromise with the need for my generation to be bold. the bold is a saying for the reason. me, the fortune is social progress. it's compromise that's comprehensive. of the opeful vision future. and i think for lots of issues hat previous delegates have mentioned, we all share a common rereq to be bold in what we believe in. to be assertive in what we believe in. but to be able to also be open

inded to different ways to achieve the goals that we want. host: where are you going to go to college? you want to be? >> where i'm going to go to college, that's a great question. answer, please let me know. i am mainly interested in environmentalism. i'd like to work in public interest law. environmentalism, i'm interested in corporate reform. they're kind of very far apart really. they both, i think, both share a innovation and for, again, going back to the idea that we all need to be bold in our vision and for for the future. i'd like to work in public to create a public interest law firm that advocates unable to findare that upward economic mobility to, for example, in the recent ecession, there wasn't a unified front that protected lower income people from taking mortgages that eventually created an entire market for millionaires and

on their es to bet lives that are already poor and disenfranchised. travesty and disgrace to the free market system and american dream. i don't want it to happen again. i don't think it's going to be litigators in big cities who are going to save poor people. it's going to be people who have people at, going to be who care about the future. so that's my one dream. after that, i'd like to be a like many of us here. i mainly advocate for nvironmentalism because the fact is, it's not at the top of any viable political agenda. saying climate change is real oesn't warrant a four minute standing ovation but the blue party thinks it does. at the orporate reform top. host: thank you very much. for the audience at home has this, this is the united states senate youth program. 104 delegates from 50 states. the military bases around the world. 17 mentors from the military

group.ave been with this it's underwritten by the hearst foundation and they are working united nction with the states senate. and rainy gilford is the director of this. what do you think of rainy? >> we are out of time. you did a good job. and good luck to you. or giveree transdiscrimina tras your comments, visit us at q&a.org. they are also available at c-span podcasts.

>> next, professor of physics at the city university of new york will talk about his book "the of humanity" interstellar immortality and our destiny beyond earth. that's next sunday on c-span. c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you this ately coming up morning, foreign policy he fellow at the brookings nstitution on u.s.-russia relations and recent threats by russia and the united states and of rnationally and founder the free range kids movement talks about utah becoming the state to pass a law legalizing free range parenting. former n thompson,

director of the u.s. census bureau on the cost of the 2020 ensus and some of the controversies surrounding it. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern this morning. join the discussion. wednesday morning, we're in the next ntana for stop on the c-span bus, 50 capitals tour. willna lieutenant governor be our guest on the bus during washington journal. starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern. we asked high school students to choose a provision of the u.s. illustrate why it's important to them. our second prize high school winners are p.d. and grace, 12 graders at capital high idaho where se, c-span is available through cable one. in their winning