Youth Political Activism - A Burden or Privilege

As youth enter into leadership roles, they are handed the burden of fixing the world, a world that is plagued by war, social injustice, and climate change. Our student-leader panelists will discuss the pressure this expectation places on our youth, how this affects their political participation, and the relationship it creates with their current political leaders. Our goal is to answer the question: what effect will youth political leadership have on our world and is this a burden or a privilege? And are they receiving the education needed to be effective leaders?

Adding piece about leaders: The actions of global political leaders have impacts not only one our world now, but will leave lasting effects on what we as future leaders will have to face.

How can students impact leaders, how do leaders impact students?

Panelist Summaries:

• Shye Robinson: Shye Robinson is a Degree+ senior in the College of Liberal Arts and College of Health and Human Sciences. She is a first-generation college student from Fort Wayne, IN, and is excited to be part of greater conversations surrounding political activism and participation, especially as it pertains to getting younger people involved in this process. Her initial inspiration to do so came from being the former Vice President of the Political Discourse Club, an organization dedicated to bringing students together to discuss political themes in a moderated forum. Currently, she serves as the President of Purdue Student Government, a student organization where she can advocate for the needs of students on campus and support the outstanding leaders within the organization.
• Mitushi Mukherjee: Mitushi Mukherjee is a third-year graduate student in the Purdue Department of Political Science and a Graduate Fellow at the Law and Conflict Research Lab. She also works as a Lab Affiliate at the WE-search Lab at New York University. ​Her research broadly explores topics in International Relations and Political Psychology, with a methodological focus on experimental methods. She is interested in the intersection of human rights and emotions and seeks to uncover the psychological motivations that drive individuals to care about human rights violations.
• Christina Walker: 1. Christina is a Political Science Ph.D. student studying Comparative Politics and Political Research Methodology. Her research uses a combination of causal and computational methods to investigate elite mass communications and public opinion in Africa and the US. Her most recent work is featured in PS: Political Science & Politics and Digital War. She is serving simultaneously as Assistant Editor and Social Media Editor of the International Journal of Human Rights, and is Founding Member and Editor in Chief of the Overseas Dispatch.