For some San Luis Obispo High School Students, the Youth and Government program was a way to indulge in the world of politics and escape the pressure of high school. Where has this club gone?

The Youth and Government( Y&G) club; a model legislature program spanning three conferences, was an opportunity offered to SLOHS Students for years. Students came and went, some running as club officers and then passing on the torch to the younger generations.

However, at the beginning of this year, the Y&G club faced a sudden and unexpected disbanding as advisers left and the club was terminated.

  “I was very sad to learn that Youth and government for SLOHS was being shut down this year. The club was very important to me and they just kinda ended it,” said junior Logan Hernandez, who was set to serve as this year’s vice president. 

  To understand why the club faced such a sudden end, a bit of context is needed. The Y&G club was unique in that it was backed by the San Luis Obispo YMCA, as a part of the greater California Youth and Government program. The YMCA setup transportation and funding for the program, and supplied a member of the staff who would serve as the YMCA advisor for SLOHS Y&G. 

  “We had a staff member at the Y[MCA] that went on the trips with us. She was always really nice to us,” said junior Sasha Sheridan. 

  However, when the time came around to start the club up for the year, an email from a high-ranking staff member at the YMCA was blasted out to all the Y&G families saying that Youth and Government would not be continued because of its “low impact” on the community.

  The club had essentially already been set up for this year. Last year, an end-of-the-year club banquet was held at the YMCA where officers were elected and no information of any kind was given that the club might be shutting down.

  “The YMCA backed out with no good reasoning. They just left, and there was nothing we could do,” said junior and would-be sergeant-at-arms Delaney Jones. 

   The YMCA CEO met with a few students. Club officers attempted to contact the closest delegation, a group in Santa Barbara, but it was too late to make an arrangement this year. 

  The late warning and inexplicable nature of the end of the club left the members of Youth and Government in a difficult place to move on from. There has been talk of again trying to join a Santa Barbara delegation next year, but an increased interest in the club would be necessary to make such a connection happen.

Unfortunately, the path to saving Y&G is not through the SLO YMCA anymore, but the club leaders that are hard at work to make sure that the people of Y&G get to live out their political dreams once again.