matured and learn how the products work, they are learning to take advantage of them for their own purposes. emma watch "the communicators" tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. ♪ >> this week on "q&a," a discussion with high-school students attending the week-long senate youth program. the students talked about their interest in government and politics, and shared 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 united states senate youth program.

56th year of it, anniversary of the youth program, and this is about interacting with those who make the policy of lives and those we know. host: and you? my name is mckenzie hawkins and i am from california 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 who are career public servants in a federal government, but we have also learned from 103 delegates and that is the most impactful students, coming from what is sort of a liberal bubble on the west or left coast as some of us call it and we had the -- i have not had opportunity to actor -- interact with people across the united states 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 is your highpoint this week? [laughter] high point this week is john lewis. is ausly, for me, he 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 literally 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: laughter, i assume, is because 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? what is the high point? senator from california, kamala harris.

i think she is an icon. she has risen up in the democratic party since you took office. 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'm crying the whole time, and she said, "you have a last name?" i said, yes, hawkins. she said, "i am kamala harris." i said, "i know, you are my hero." she spoke to me, and i have never felt a stronger interest in running for office in my life. that was definitely the high point of my week. host: you have been chosen by your colleagues to give a speech last night at the dinner. give us 30 seconds. >> mine is based on the american dream, what it is and how it has manifested. life,lly it evolved in my through coming from tanzania to this country and seeing the

opportunities afforded to me in my family, and being able to go to the white house. it is something i never would have imagined would happen so soon. host: when did you come here from tanzania? >> 2008. host: why? >> there were a lack of opportunities and it was no mobility for success or higher education unless you had the means. you are coming from a family that had the kind of wealth needed for that mobility for success. host: 30 seconds, what you going to tell the group? >> i came into this with thinking i had a lot of things right and i realize how wrong i was. i think i came into the program with preconceived notions about a variety of topics i will talk to you about and this week's taught me about how much i want to learn. host: thank you both. we need to move around this group and ask others what the high point of their week is.

who would like to speak? let's take you. give me your name and where you are from. >> i am from illinois. host: what was the high point? >> the high point of the week is meeting the librarian of congress, dr. hayden. talking to her about her job and responsibilities was such an amazing moment. host: how were you picked? >> i had to undergo an application process that everyone had to do by submitting an application and undergo a group interview with a debate on current events. host: has it lived up to your expectations? >> it has exceeded my expectations. host: high point for your week? and i'mme is nicole from nebraska and my school is lincoln east high school, and the high point for me was speaking to the chief judge of

the 10th circuit, robert henry, solis justice neil gorsuch. ask questions about the possibility of a constitutional convention, which is an issue i care about and i am interested in constitutional law. they both come from different places, and i learned so much from them and some of my opinions i never thought i would budge on, i did a flip on. it was very transformative. host: what happened that you didn't expect? >> the connection with the other delegates. i did not think i could get so close to so many in such a short time. everybody is so intelligent and passionate about everything and -- yeah. i just love you all. host: what happened that you did not expect? >> i agree completely that forming these relationships in a short time was not what i was expecting.

host: who is next? hands up, so i can get you quickly. yes, sir. what is your name? >> i am from providence, rhode island. i go to the met high school. host: your week. what surprised you? anything? >> there were a lot of surprises this week has been emotional, but i have grown personally and advocate democratic -- academically. i was fortunate and selected to participate in the program and the test was a qualification for some other state and they made sure they had a background of my civic engagement and passion and encouraged me to use this as a learning experience because i was not too familiar with politics. every single i have heard and learned and been a witness to, i have written down.

that is definitely something that has been inspirational for me. i am motivated more than ever 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. i tend to feel separated in a disconnect. this group 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. somebody. put your hand up. yes, sir, where are you from? >> my name is james -- host: turn around, there is the camera. >> awesome. i'm from utah.

week?what about this who will you remember this week? >> to be 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 i feel like this group of kids is people who will and have made impacts and have different religions, backgrounds, political opinions, but they do share one thing, to change the world. i think that is what i will remember the most. host: thank you. back here. anybody from this table? yes, ma'am. you are from where? >> i am from mississippi. host: your week -- anybody impress you this week? said, all what james the delegates. i come from somewhere where opinion is one and done and

there is not a lot of diversity in thought, and it was cool to see how much people care about individual voice. i have been a believer in the fact that we need more bipartisan 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. host: why do you think where you are from is "one and done"? >> it is a conservative environment, and that is not a bad thing, but being more verbal , -- rural, getting exposure to something outside was educational. host: what will you do next year? >> attend the university of mississippi to double major in public policy and intelligence. host: what was the high point for you this week? >> i'm from connecticut. host: what about this week?

>> having senators scott and king talk was amazing. they come from different political affiliations and spoke about similar things. scott talked about 80-90% in common, and we have to find a common ground to move forward. something i thought was interesting with both of them was they spoke about how here 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 everyone better and know them as a human, which made it real and genuine. host: if we agree about 80%-85%, why is it we only talk about the 15%? >> that's a really interesting question. i think what happens is 15% over take something else because the media focuses on the 15-20% and, when we focus on that, we do not have progress. even if we have the similar end goal, we focus on how we are not

able to move forward. i think speaking about the need for compromise and bipartisanship gives us hope and they also spoke about how it comes to our generation to take this and move that forward and all of our delegates have different opinions and listen to each other first, it was really inspirational to me. host: 104 students in this room from high schools across the country, two from each state, two from the military bases, and there are 17 military mentors. who wants to tell us what this week has been like? this gentleman's hand went out. please stand up so that we can see you. right back here. what is your name? where are you from? >> i am from salem, oregon. host: give us the high point of the week. >> meeting the diversity of different people i wouldn't commonly have met in salem, oregon.

and the high point was the other delegates, especially when there is not a diverse thought process in what you believe in. a lot of us are more on the left side of our political affiliation command meeting different perspectives was a learning experience for me. host: are you saying that most in this room are on the left? >> no, we are all from different parts of the united states and bring a different idea of what it means on different policies and different ideas. so i would say no. not everyone is on the left and that makes it special. what got you interested in being involved? >> i became an intern in the state capitol building and understood all the different opportunities i would get to meet government officials, and i was very inspired. host: who has been your mentor? the lieutenant. he has been the best mentor.

i'm glad we were paired together. host: is he army or marine corps? >> the navy, i'm pretty sure. [laughter] host: i was in the navy and we the marine corps, we carried them around. i'm sure you have to ask one of the marine corps officers what they think about that. anyway, what did you learn? >> i think the biggest thing is i can do anything. sometimes you learn that you -- you believe you cannot be a supreme court justice because they are such high officials. what i learned is that they are regular people who decided that they want to make a change in this world and that everyone of -- every one of us is capable and has the ability to do that. host: i want to go to a mentor. one of these -- doesn't look like they want to talk, but who wants to tell me about the mentor program? what is your name? do you think i am right about

the navy and the marines? i know you are not in either service. >> yes, sir. [laughter] host: where are you from, what are you doing in the service, and what was your goal this week? >> i am from little rock, arkansas, 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. so both sides, no matter your political affiliation, have to work together to make the world better. host: how are you picked? >> we go through a competitive process as well and there is an application along with a recommendation from officers. host: thank you. it is time to talk about 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. i am sure you have strong

feelings in this room about this president and this white house. who wants to tell me -- oh, my goodness, the hands went up quickly -- your feeling about the president and your reaction after you met him? >> i feel that president trump overall -- most of his problems stems from a lack of 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 dialogue and get other opinions, he would be better off. it has been chaotic in the first year, so i think if he opens up his mind and his willingness, to listen to other people, his administration will take a straight course. host: your name? >> i'm from alabama. host: when you met with the

president, what was that like? >> it was a real experience. it does not matter who occupies the office, it is the institution of the office. it was humbling to be able to go and meet with him and pence and first lady melania trump made a surprise appearance, so that was exciting as well. always exciting and humbling to be able to visit and meet the president of the united states. host: anybody back here in favor of this president that would like to speak? let me go all the way to the back and get through this process. yes, ma'am where are you from? >> i am from georgia. i am in favor of trump as a president, but also i think it was the coolest experience as a bunch of high schoolers across the nation and the president met with us, and it humanized the

presidency because it is easy in a polarizing political climate to feed into your rhetoric. this is a man who wants to serve the country. he yelled at us that we were a good-looking group, it made us chuckle and it was needed to see the human side of him and remember that he is a person. it was humbling to know that the president spoke to us. host: i am not a person, i am a robot. [laughter] that wasn't funny. [laughter] go back to the experience of being in the white house. any of its surreal for you? >> it was totally surreal. you think about all of the history and all of the presidents that came before and you feel this overwhelming sense -- i don't know if i can put it into it's just just to -- put it into words -- just to think 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. host: somebody else want to talk about president trump? anybody over here? my name is kate stephenson, i'm from lincoln county, tennessee. i support trump and a lot of his policies, not all of them, but ? the others, it was a surreal appearance, and before coming, i watched ronald reagan meeting with the program using go, and to think that 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 in this room who don't like president trump, and if you have, what kind of conversations have a bit? >> absolutely i have and rightfully so. one of the good things about don't like president trump, and if you this program was the diversity in every right imaginable. -- every way imaginable. a lot of the issues we talked about today are issues that are controversial and directly

affect us, whether it be gun control, immigration, and it is humbling to see the other perspectives and a couple of the -- two 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? >> i was actually a senate page. , ing to that experience love my time there and being at the senate. through a correlation of that, i found out about the senate youth program. host: what was being a page like? what did you learn about senators you did it noble for the snow before -- what do you learn about senators you did not know before? >> it is a humanizing experience and you think of the government as a big bureaucracy and out of touch. you get a sense that it is a person trying to get a bill passed or a person fighting for the issue, and they care about

the people they represent and the nation. >> two different senators street different senators treat pages different ways? >> some are friendly and some , you don't get a lot of interaction from them, for lack of a better term. host: thank you. who is somebody who does not support the president that would like to be heard? stand up, please. yes, sir, your name? >> i am from south carolina. host: that hand shot up pretty fast. what do you want to say? >> i think it is clear that we recognize that a lot of his policies are devastating to people who are part of my immigrants, people who are lgbt, people of color. so many of his policies are -- direct attacks on those people. host: did you tell him that? >> i wasn't able to, but i would have liked to. host: why were you able to?

>> he walked in the room, give us a few comments, and walked out. host: what would you have told him? >> there is an enormous amount of people in america who disapprove of what he is doing and do not stand by him and his policies ought to be more thought out and just -- i would not advocate for a change in his opinion -- you cannot necessarily do that -- but i least like toery see more people offering insight on policies that he puts through and advocates for before they are actually implemented. host: thank you very much. least like to see more people offering insight on policies that he puts through and advocates for before theyi e of students in the room from parkland, florida, although they did not go to the douglas high school, and there is someone from marshall, kentucky. i want to ask you a question.

if you could stand and give us your name and where you are from. >> i am from parkland, florida. host: what school do you go to? >> i go to north broward. 10 minutes from douglas. host: what if you been telling douglas about the -- delegates about the experience? >> i 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 the big point you need to prove is you do need the conversation to take place, there needs to be compromise, something needs to done, and regardless of what you stand on the scale, everybody has been working together and talking about their ideas and we ultimately need to work together to talk about how to prevent what happened at douglas from happening anywhere in the country? host: what happened in your high school? >> we had gone back to school

today, and because of the tension, we ended up having a false alarm and one of the teachers thought they heard a gunshot from andy swat team and -- and the swat team and 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 on lockdown for about four hours, and and that just brought forth the idea that this is actually happening in our community and i knew kids who injured or killed in the shooting at douglas, and it was heartbreaking and traumatizing and what really prove that was we need to do point something and, if they can't get through state or federal government, it is up to us, and that is what we are seeing in the "never again" movement and across the country in every state and across the world. there is this need and desire to

rekindle the youth activism and we will get it done here and our communities. host: who in this room has -- [applause] host: 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 back here. rekindle the youth activism and where are you from? i am steve, and i the other am delegate from parkland, florida. what was therapeutic for me was knowing that i can make a difference. by no stretch of the imagination -- i do not think that the the third largest state in the country, the two delegates came from parkland, and 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 impact in touch the lives of 104 people who will one day right policies. i think it is very special. as to specific and things i have been proposing to the high andol board and governor every elected official i speak to at and every elected official i speak to at the local and state level, i think that there is an understanding that there is not one right solution versus another. some will argue that we need to fortify our schools, but does that mean that arming teachers is the right answer? some say that we need gun control, but is banning ar-15s the solution? no, neither one gets the entire job right. what needs to be done is a

combination of different solutions that are not republican or democratic because both agendas are wrong. what needs to happen is we need to invest in mental health services and we need to harden our schools with common-sense gun regulations. 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 at all levels of government, he should have been able to walk into that school. there is no reason why we were able to detect the shooter early on, and we should have been able to stop it before it happened. it is 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 different sides and put it together for a comprehensive commonsense solution.

[applause] 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? let's go right here. >> hello. i think that an issue that does not get a lot of attention is mass incarceration. we have people federally incarcerated and african-american males have a one in three chance of going to prison before the age of 18.

when we look at the judicial branch, we see issues of three 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 engage in issue -- and issues, we see action and we need to look at these communities where you have the one in three chance of going to prison. that is where the attention is desired. [applause] host: who wants to express something?

>> my name is elizabeth and i 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 create a revolutionized health care system where the government takes responsibility because our system includes elements of privatization and the government spends and absurd amount and i think the country would be better with increasing government funding towards

citizens. host: massachusetts has led the way. what grade would you give them? >> i think the citizens are taking care of well and some groups are underserved and i think that we need to focus on increasing health care access and making sure this access is equal, but i am grateful to live in massachusetts and hope to see the rest of the nation follow the lead. host: who feels 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. host: 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 to recognize is that keeping 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 poverty and people who live paycheck to paycheck. the cost of living adjustment and raising the retirement age have to at least get talked about and have a chance of increasing the solvency of these programs. host: who else has an issue?

stand up. you can look at the camera. >> i am virginia and something i 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 always 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 issue we need to address. host: 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 compared to men and most of currently and things like the pink tax puts feminine hygiene products at a higher tax and regulations against health care . becausee resulting 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 to experience rape or sexual assault and it is a problem we need to address and going to the college and a large portion have

workplace and worrying about how much you are going to get paid and if you are going to be assaulted and have to stay quiet. these are questions no human being should answer. i think that is something we need to address. [applause] host: 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. >> i am passionate about daca because it is unfair that our 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. >> i am from maryland and my issue is climate change because this notion that we are the only country in the world not in the paris climate accords is a travesty. everybody has taken steps to address this and we have not 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 severe and what happened with the wildfires and the common response is to fix the symptom of the problem and these will keep occurring until we stop that and the fact that we cannot

leave a better world for the children is sad. >> i am from connecticut and i 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 is public health and we need to reinvest in public health in this country and we --

i come from ohio and it is a state that was hit by the opioid crisis. we need to put more money to help fix the opioid crisis. >> why do you 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. all of these issues do not come to fruition if both sides do not respect each other and we need every right to be equal and we cannot have leaders who exploit the division of our country.

>> did you say maine? >> i am from charlottesville and want to talk about homeless veterans. my grandfather was in the marine corps and my great-grandfather was coast guard. interesting. i have seen so many homeless veterans and appreciate their service and think that we should create more policies to protect them and their families because they sacrificed 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, thank you. that we could have the rights to [applause]

>> i am from charlotte and i am passionate about segregation on a high school level and 80% of minorities attend majority poverty schools. there is a reason why 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 concerned about expanding civic engagement. a statement from neil gorsuch that stuck with me was when ben 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 in january and what is your name and your high school? >> i am from kentucky. but what happened there? >> a student opened fire in the common area of my high school. >> how many were killed?

>> two. >> did the school change anything? >> they change the entry points and there is a general increase in the police presence on the campus. >> what else was done to deal with this fear? >> we have trauma and grief 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 involved in the program and who might have led you this way?

>> i'm from nashville and i want to let you know that the moment i decided i wanted to post politics was 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. you know, i was researching scholarships for college and it got more interesting to me and i

can tell you that's this has been an unreal experience to be around and the brightest political minds this country has to offer, we are all in an environment where we can really immerse ourselves and cultivate ourselves into becoming future political leaders. host: thank you. your name. >> i come from belgium overseas. >> added you get involved? >> i have a mentor and i want to show notes my social studies teacher and he got me involved in a lot of extracurriculars and

one of the things that germany to this was the political process in the united states and i want to be able to make a difference. this week has been about rediscovering my american identity and seeing the passion of all of these delegates. i never could have expected all these well spoken people and this has rekindled a passion in my own country and it has been humbling. >> thank you. we will keep moving. ok. sounds good. >> i'm from louisiana and i was really inspired to do this program by my freshman english

teacher and she had forwarded me this email and she really guided me. i was thankful for that and my parents had been a catalyst for this. when i came to doing public service, my mother was assaulted when i came to doing public 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 opportunity and 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 into getting into politics and that helps me find this program. but just kind of the main thing is like idaho has this amazing program for kids to learn about the government and it's a two-year program through your seventh and eighth grade year called know your government. and i think it just kind of empowered me to get involved and to search out programs that helped me learn more about our government because it's so relevant to us. it's literally affecting my future as we speak. so just, you know, getting involved and looking for scholarships because we all have to pay the bills, right? host: what's the number one thing you learned this week? >> i think the number one thing i've learned this week is how to just be a little bit more open minded because i think, like i 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 mean you have to completely let go of your previous beliefs. it means you have to look at the other side 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 copious notes in your journals. 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] host: why are they clapping for you? >> i don't know! can i give you a hug? host: yeah. >> i want to say it's an honor to be here.

my i'm from orange, new jersey, my i'm from orange, new jersey, i came here may 20, 2009, with it takes the wisdom of the old and the energy of the youth to make the change in america. i live in a community where our school has been underfunded by the state government for over a decade. as a result of this, we cut tennis, cross country, after school program, s.a.t. program and because of this, we will face the -- we're being victims of the school to prison pipeline. literally, sometime in december, a student -- a previous student was shot in front of the playground at my gym that occupies for a gym and because of this, we suffer from the prison pipeline and i'm here to make that difference. i'm here not because i'm living this for me but living this dream for those that in the future that wants to help for the people in africa to the mother land, to nigeria that i haven't forgotten about you.

people that have came here and i'm learning so i can come back to my community, not just in orange but everywhere and it affects it globally and i'm here to meet people, to meet people here from the black delegation to the asian delegation to the hispanic delegation and every single person that is here and i orange but everywhere and it have asked some tough questions appreciate this opportunity that to neil gorsuch and been a phenomenal opportunity and this is just for the people back home. people that live in what we'll call the hood. they have somebody here that's lived in this urban area. that have lived in this jungle and has exceeded expectations and here fighting for you. and i want you guys to know that i'm here and i just mean everybody in this program is here for you. and we will be the leaders of tomorrow because, again, it 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. so that was pretty cool. host: why was he talking about batman? >> i'm not really sure to be honest. my name is josman from heights town, new jersey and i attend 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 pretty liberal leaning democrat so i think i'm really here to argue and learn. so it's been really interesting to learn from my friends who are conservatives. my friends who are liberals. really, the justice said something that stuck with me and

said just because you disagree doesn't mean you have to be disagreeable. and i think that really meant a lot to me because i got to know all of the people here as friends and personalities and jokesters before we got to know each other's political views. being able to have the chance to learn more about people before learning about stances is really important. and so really with why i'm here is to learn from everybody else here and the diversity of views that 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 and then over the summer, i interned for my congresswoman. and i worked on a bill that my a.p. government class wrote. it was actually introduced in congress later that year. i found out about this program to see where my interests would take me. my brother was interested in it as a high schooler and learned a lot from him. he went to work in technology.

for me, it was a learning process that i didn't have anybody to share it with. i had to learn on my own. host: we have four minutes left. i'll let you say what you want 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 are we going to compromise, how are we going to reconcile compromise with the need for people in my generation to be bold. the bold is a saying for the reason. for me, the fortune is social progress. it's compromise that's comprehensive. it's a hopeful vision of the future. and i think for lots of issues that previous delegates have mentioned, we all share a common prereq to be bold in what we believe in. to be assertive in what we believe in.

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

billionaires to bet on the lives that are already poor and disenfranchised. a 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 rich litigators in big cities who are going to save poor people. it's going to be people who have lived that, going to be people who care about the future. so that's my one dream. after that, i'd like to be a senator like many of us here. i mainly advocate for environmentalism because the fact is, it's not at the top of any viable political agenda. saying climate change is real doesn't warrant a four minute standing ovation but the blue party thinks it does. i have corporate reform at the top. host: thank you very much. for the audience at home has been watching this, this is the united states senate youth program. there are 104 delegates from 50 states. and some from the military bases i have corporate reform at the around the world.

17 mentors from the military that have been with this group. it's underwritten by the hearst foundation and they are working in conjunction with the united states senate. and rainy gilford is the director of this. what do you think of rainy? [applause] >> we are out of time. you did a good job. thank you and good luck to you. [applause] ♪ >> for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this program. at q & a.org. programs are also available as c-span podcasts.

a, professor of physics at the city university of new york, we talk about his the future of humanity, immortality and our destiny beyond earth. that is next sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. communicators, ncta president michael powell, is interviewed by kyle daly of "politico." own belief of what is happening to facebook today is degree.ble to some i think that essentially you have a brilliant platform-based model that semly propaganda recision and that precision propaganda an be used for good or for

evil. i think that you had this in the opening decade of the internet that information always wants to be ree and available, that openness is always good and i don't think there is a full thating through of the way one could inject into that stream evil and negative behavior. forces have rious matured and learned how the products work, they're learning advantage of them for their own purposes. >> watch the communicators tonight at 8:00 eastern on espn2. timeis a look at our prime schedule on the c-span networks. beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern c-span, wells fargo c.e.o. tim sloan looks at company 2017 ts following the scandal over customer accounts. on c-span 2 at 8:30 eastern, book tv programming with books and authors who have

written about future issues and equality omic and climate change. nd at 8:00 p.m. on c-span 3, it's american history tv with book ape historian on his the white house easter egg roll, a history for all ages on how families and first have hosted the annual white house tradition since 1878. landmark cases, estelle v connecticut, grizz world of planned parenthood challenged a law.cticut the supreme court ultimately ruled the statute to be in the tutional and process established a right to rivacy that is still evolving today. our guest to discuss this case professor at aw george mason university's scalia's law school and associate dean for