“I’ve seen firsthand what happens when youth voices are left out of decisions that shape our lives. We know what’s happening in our communities—we live it every day.”
City Hall. (Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office.)
When adults talk about the future, they rarely include the people who are going to live in it.
As a student at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice in Brooklyn, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when youth voices are left out of decisions that shape our lives. We know what’s happening in our communities—we live it every day. We know which teachers stay after school even when they’re not paid to. We know which streets to avoid because of the mounting garbage, which classrooms need more books, and which students need more support.
But no one asks us.
My school is small. It’s rooted in our neighborhood, led by justice, and filled with young people who want to thrive. Some of us want to be lawyers. Others want to be artists or athletes. But we all want the chance to grow into who we are meant to be. That’s hard to do when schools like mine are underfunded, under-appreciated, and overlooked.
It’s not just about education. Our neighborhoods are hit with pollution, housing injustice, and a lack of public investment. Why is it normal to walk past piles of trash or see green space treated like a luxury? Why are immigrant families treated like a threat instead of part of the city’s fabric? These are the issues we talk about—not in press conferences, but in our hallways, lunchrooms, bike rides and walks home from school.
There are solutions. You could literally walk into a school like mine and ask: What do you need? What would make this community stronger? Sometimes, the answer is a new basketball. Sometimes, it’s safer housing for undocumented students. Either way, those answers matter.
That’s why I’m excited about the upcoming “Youth Take the Mic” mayoral forum, where students will ask real questions to the people who say they want to lead this city. It’s a chance to flip the script—where young people aren’t just the ones being talked about, but the ones doing the talking.
So here’s my question for the next mayor: Are you running to help the people who need you most, or just the ones who look good in campaign ads? Will you fund schools equitably? Will you listen to Black and brown students when we say we need more?
Latino students graduate at some of the lowest rates in this country. That’s not because we don’t care. It’s because the system was never built for us in the first place. But we’re still here. We still show up. And we’re ready to lead—if you’re ready to listen.
Noemi Santiago is a 10th grade student at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice. Fernando Sánchez Carriel is the communications manager at El Puente.
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