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How high school student activists push for change, from present to past

Oluwaseyi Oluborode is part of a youth-led campaign that advocates for SB 12243, a bill that would provide fare-free bus public transportation services for high school students and veterans. Her high school had a pilot program for it, but it may be going away due to potential budget cuts to the Hartford Public School system.
Tyler Russell
/
Connecticut Public
Oluwaseyi Oluborode is part of a youth-led campaign that advocates for SB 12243, a bill that would provide fare-free bus public transportation services for high school students and veterans. Her high school had a pilot program for it, but it may be going away due to potential budget cuts to the Hartford Public School system.

We hear a lot about politically engaged college students, but we don’t always hear about politically engaged high school students.

This hour, we learn how high school students past and present have fought for change in their communities. We talk to two current students at University High School of Science and Engineering in Hartford about testifying before lawmakers to increase their access to transportation. We'll also hear about high school activism of the 1960s and 1970s, including how the FBI monitored students.

GUESTS:

  • Nariyah Lindsay: High School Senior and President of the Social Justice League at University High School of Science and Engineering in Hartford
  • Oluwaseyi Oluborode: High School Junior and Vice President of the Social Justice League at University High School of Science and Engineering in Hartford
  • Aaron G. Fountain Jr.: Historian who researches high school protests. His book High School Students Unite!: Teen Activism, Education Reform, & FBI Surveillance in Postwar America comes out in December.

Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Kevin Chang Barnum is a producer for Connecticut Public Radio’s weekly show Disrupted. Kevin grew up in Connecticut and started his radio work at his graduate university’s radio station, KUCI. He has also worked for HRN, a network of food and beverage podcasts.
Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean is an award-winning scholar at Wesleyan University, author, and host of 'Disrupted' on Connecticut Public.
Robyn Doyon-Aitken is the Deputy Director of Audio Storytelling and Talk Shows
Meg Fitzgerald is the senior manager of projects and radio programming.

Funding provided by:
The Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media

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