On April 10th, 2024, Mr. Brockett, the mayor of Boulder spoke at the Conference on World Affairs to students and the community on the importance of youth empowerment in voting. Mr. Brockett opened with an enticing conversation about why college students should be more involved in politics within their local communities. He pointed out that local politics do not only open the door for young voters to be more involved in larger national voting but also allows students to engage and understand their communities outside of university. The Leading EDGE Chairman, Student Brian Muriithi, led the audience in questions to Mr. Brockett. Great questions were asked by the audience such as how to deal with problems around “the youth thinking their votes don’t matter”. Mr. Brockett emphasized the importance of ensuring that the youth understand the voting process and that there is no truth in a vote being “thrown away”. The nation’s youth will ultimately take the torch from older generations, and it starts now. Brockett pointed out that in order to allow for a smoother transition of generations it is important that voters and youth entering offices need to talk to each other and learn to intermingle and understand their differentiating opinions. This youth and older generation that Brockett talked about was reflected in the room where there was a mix of Boulder residents and university students. During the hour, older and younger audience members in the crowd asked captivating questions that allowed everyone to learn from each other.
A huge thank you is due to Charlotte Anderson and Anastasia Gallegos-Roque, from the Leading EDGE Council, for their hard work in organizing this event. The Leading EDGE Council is a student organization within the Center for Leadership that brings together student representatives from various leadership programs on campus to promote leadership development among its members. Their aim is to inspire leadership growth and facilitate connectivity for the Boulder campus and the wider community.