Five Tucson-area high school students stepped up to a podium designed to evoke the White House press briefing room Friday, delivering speeches on leadership, civic engagement and the nation’s future as part of the second annual “Path to the Presidency” competition at the University of Arizona.
The event, co-sponsored by the Museum of Democracy and the university’s Center for the Philosophy of Freedom (commonly referred to as the Freedom Center), brings together teenagers from across the region to craft and present presidential-style addresses. Organizers say the goal is to give students a platform to express their views at a time when political tensions are shaping young people in unprecedented ways.
“We live in a really divided political climate,” said Mari Clark, an outreach specialist with the Museum of Democracy who helps run the event. “And it’s affecting our kids and our youth way more than I think it ever affected me growing up. And so part of what I wanted to do was help students to get their ideas on paper — to really think, what are we going to change?”…