The Dane County Youth Board
Straight talk and dealing
Straight talk and dealing
night at 6:30 p.m. at Neighborhood House to talk about issues that matter to them and to plan activities they will participate in or sponsor. Right now, about 20
youth are involved according to Harris.
We participate in different activities like the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day,” Harris said. “We host a Teen Summit. Or we’ll participate in different
activities that go on throughout the city and the county. We’ll attend the Adults and Youth in Civic Leadership Conference. We try to build on top of what the
young people already have to help them become leaders and help them express themselves in a way that is going to have a positive effect on adults who have
the power to say ‘No, we aren’t going to allow this’ or ‘Yes, we are going to allow young people to have a voice in decisions that are going to affect them.’”
In the past, members of the Youth Board have addressed the Madison school board, the Dane County Board of Supervisors and other decision-making bodies to
weigh in on legislation that impacts the quality of life for teens in Dane County. “My job as facilitator is to help them funnel their energy into speaking up and
standing up straight and to look the adults with the power straight in the eye and speaking to them as if they know what they are talking about,” Harris
emphasized. “We’re not going to send the young people out there without a clue on what they are trying to decide. So my job is to focus and channel their
energy so they can affect the decisions that affect them in the present and the future.”
Harris deplores the negative view that many adults have toward today’s youth, reacting to their appearance or their music. Deep down in these youth is a
heart of gold. “We want the adults to see and recognize positive images of youth,” Harris said. “There are some young people out there making positive decisions.
And there are young people who want to affect our community in a positive way. That’s why we participate in volunteering. We volunteer because we care about
our community. We want to be the helping hand to reach people. Whatever we can do, however we can reach out, that is what we want to do. We don’t just sit
around waiting for people to ask for help. We reach out to see who needs help. We’re not just sitting around being lazy and playing video games and going to
different parties that we might not belong at. We are actually doing something about our community and our future. That is the image we want to portray.”
Harris is still looking for more youth to participate, especially youth from rural Dane County schools. Students from any parochial or public high school or home
school of high school age youth can participate. Free transportation is provided to the members. And Harris emphasizes that each and every youth is invited to
participate on the board. They don’t have to be considered to be a leader by others. They just need the desire to join and participate. “Everyone can play a part
in what we are doing and the positive influence we want to exert on our peers in school,” Harris said. And the free flow of ideas among the youth says it all. All
are welcome.
For more information about or to join the Dane County Youth Board, call Otis Harris at 242-6426 or 446-2578 or e-mail him at harris.otis@co.dane.wi.us.
youth are involved according to Harris.
We participate in different activities like the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day,” Harris said. “We host a Teen Summit. Or we’ll participate in different
activities that go on throughout the city and the county. We’ll attend the Adults and Youth in Civic Leadership Conference. We try to build on top of what the
young people already have to help them become leaders and help them express themselves in a way that is going to have a positive effect on adults who have
the power to say ‘No, we aren’t going to allow this’ or ‘Yes, we are going to allow young people to have a voice in decisions that are going to affect them.’”
In the past, members of the Youth Board have addressed the Madison school board, the Dane County Board of Supervisors and other decision-making bodies to
weigh in on legislation that impacts the quality of life for teens in Dane County. “My job as facilitator is to help them funnel their energy into speaking up and
standing up straight and to look the adults with the power straight in the eye and speaking to them as if they know what they are talking about,” Harris
emphasized. “We’re not going to send the young people out there without a clue on what they are trying to decide. So my job is to focus and channel their
energy so they can affect the decisions that affect them in the present and the future.”
Harris deplores the negative view that many adults have toward today’s youth, reacting to their appearance or their music. Deep down in these youth is a
heart of gold. “We want the adults to see and recognize positive images of youth,” Harris said. “There are some young people out there making positive decisions.
And there are young people who want to affect our community in a positive way. That’s why we participate in volunteering. We volunteer because we care about
our community. We want to be the helping hand to reach people. Whatever we can do, however we can reach out, that is what we want to do. We don’t just sit
around waiting for people to ask for help. We reach out to see who needs help. We’re not just sitting around being lazy and playing video games and going to
different parties that we might not belong at. We are actually doing something about our community and our future. That is the image we want to portray.”
Harris is still looking for more youth to participate, especially youth from rural Dane County schools. Students from any parochial or public high school or home
school of high school age youth can participate. Free transportation is provided to the members. And Harris emphasizes that each and every youth is invited to
participate on the board. They don’t have to be considered to be a leader by others. They just need the desire to join and participate. “Everyone can play a part
in what we are doing and the positive influence we want to exert on our peers in school,” Harris said. And the free flow of ideas among the youth says it all. All
are welcome.
For more information about or to join the Dane County Youth Board, call Otis Harris at 242-6426 or 446-2578 or e-mail him at harris.otis@co.dane.wi.us.
By Jonathan Gramling
Tucked away in the basement of Neighborhood House, a group of teens talk away, led by a
“division administrator,” who keeps the conversation flowing in this gumbo of diversity called the
Dane County Youth Board. At the moment, the subject is about how guys treat women. One of the
young women reminisces about her recent trip to her native Nicaragua and how the guys entreat
women with flowers and are so romantic and then compares it to the disrespectful ways that she is
talked to in Madison. Otis Harris, the facilitator for the Youth Board quietly sits nearby like a
Buddha, alertly listening to the flow of conversation while purposefully staying out of the
exchange.
While his physical presence is imposing, Harris is actually soft spoken. When he asks the youth
to do something, he is gentle with his request and the youth follow suit. Harris, who is working to
get admitted to the UW-Madison through the Odyssey Program, loves working with youth.
“Growing, building, and educating young people is something I can wrap my mind around and
get straight to it,” Harris said during an interview with The Capital City Hues.
The Dane County Youth Board is a youth leadership development program that brings high
school aged youth from all walks of life and from all over Dane County together every Thursday
Tucked away in the basement of Neighborhood House, a group of teens talk away, led by a
“division administrator,” who keeps the conversation flowing in this gumbo of diversity called the
Dane County Youth Board. At the moment, the subject is about how guys treat women. One of the
young women reminisces about her recent trip to her native Nicaragua and how the guys entreat
women with flowers and are so romantic and then compares it to the disrespectful ways that she is
talked to in Madison. Otis Harris, the facilitator for the Youth Board quietly sits nearby like a
Buddha, alertly listening to the flow of conversation while purposefully staying out of the
exchange.
While his physical presence is imposing, Harris is actually soft spoken. When he asks the youth
to do something, he is gentle with his request and the youth follow suit. Harris, who is working to
get admitted to the UW-Madison through the Odyssey Program, loves working with youth.
“Growing, building, and educating young people is something I can wrap my mind around and
get straight to it,” Harris said during an interview with The Capital City Hues.
The Dane County Youth Board is a youth leadership development program that brings high
school aged youth from all walks of life and from all over Dane County together every Thursday
Otis Harris (seated center in white) and members of the
Dane County Youth Board
Dane County Youth Board
