Youth Talk: Systems and Solidarity—Reimagining Civic Infrastructure for Our Generation

Dec 9, 2025

Guest

Ashley Kelly

Guest

Sahana Yohannes

Guest

Mindy Romero

Dr. Mindy Romero, a political sociologist focused on youth engagement, discusses how institutions often overlook youth-led initiatives. High school senior Sahana Yohannes shares her experiences in creating supportive political spaces in schools. Ashley Kelly emphasizes the importance of local gatherings for civic participation. The panelists highlight alternative forms of engagement like mutual aid and community coalitions, stressing the need for young voices in shaping their democracy despite systemic challenges.

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INSIGHT

Youth Engagement Is Undervalued

Civic infrastructure ignores many youth-led, everyday forms of engagement and labels them illegitimate.
That measurement bias prevents funding and support from reaching the activities young people actually use to influence their communities.

ANECDOTE

Activism Starts In School Spaces

Sahana described creating political homes like Youth vs. the Apocalypse and school clubs as her start in activism.
She highlights in-person education as vital because algorithms don't reliably deliver civic information to youth.

INSIGHT

Lower Turnout Is A Rational Choice

Low youth turnout is not apathy but a rational response to outreach gaps and institutional barriers.
Campaigns under-target young people and messaging often ignores issues youth prioritize, making voting feel irrelevant.

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Civic engagement is being redefined by members of a generation that is both deeply critical of the systems around them and deeply committed to shaping something better. Rather than relying solely on traditional channels such as electoral politics or government-backed programs, students and young leaders are turning to alternative forms of participation—mutual aid networks, campus resource-sharing, community coalitions, and peer-led initiatives—that center care, solidarity and local action.

How can civic life can be sustained and strengthened even when public institutions appear stagnant or unresponsive? What does it mean to be civically engaged when government channels feel inaccessible? How can young people build community and foster accountability when the structures designed to support them fall short? And how can higher education remain a space for meaningful participation amid growing tensions around inclusion, access and speech?

Through a conversation rooted in practice and reflection, this event highlights how civic engagement today is as much about relationships and shared responsibility as it is about politics or policy. It invites us to think expansively about how community, on campus and beyond, can serve as a foundation for democratic life, particularly when formal institutions struggle to meet the moment.

At a time when many are asking where their voice fits into the broader civic landscape, this event offers space to consider new answers and new paths forward.

This event is part of the Creating Citizens Speaker Series at UC Berkeley, an ongoing student-led series that provides opportunities for Berkeley students, faculty, and staff, and the surrounding community to interact with leading minds in politics, media and education as they learn how to become better, more involved citizens. We welcome community members and students from around the Bay Area to participate in this riveting conversation and to join us for future programs in the series.

This program is part of The Commonwealth Club’s civics education initiative, Creating Citizens.

Produced in partnership with the UC Berkeley Vote Coalition and co-sponsored by the Mario Savio Social Justice Program at the UC Berkeley Public Service Center.

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