Mount Pleasant Youth Council

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA MOUNT PLEASANT YOUTH COUNCIL Thursday, January 16, 2020 Mount Pleasant Municipal Complex Council Chambers 100 Ann Edwards Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Minutes Ms. Lauren Sims called to order the first Youth Council Meeting at 6:01 p.m. Ms. Abby Sullivan, Ms. Isabelle Turner, Ms. Isabel Raykova, Ms. Cally DeMoura, Ms. Josie Massenet, Mr. Myles Chisolm, Ms. Amy Lorentzos-Lobo, Mr. Ethan Curb, Mr. Chad Weiss, Mr. Walker Carswell, Ms. Eliza Taylor and Mr. McClain Stoklosa were all present. 1. Welcome and Introductions Ms. Sims welcomed and congratulated the members of the Youth Council and introduced Councilmember Guang Ming Whitley. Ms. Whitley said she was elected in 2017, she has four children and she is very excited for this Youth Council. She said there are many Baby Boomers on Town Council but there are a lot of issues facing the youth that can be addressed but that are not being brought to the knowledge of the full Council. Town government is where that happens. She said Council just passed first reading of an ordinance for the humane tethering of dogs rule after someone tied their dog outside during Hurricane Dorian. Ms. Whitley said the dog was rescued and is fine, but those are the types of things that can be addressed at the Town level and Ms. Sims would be assisting the Youth Council in finding out what issues are important to them. Ms. Whitley passed out her business cards and said if there are things that the Youth Council wanted to bring before Council she would be very interested in what they had to say. Ms. Whitley said she was inspired for this program after speaking at an event called Girls State over the summer. There are programs called Girls State and Boys State that are  sponsored by the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary which is government simulation over a week, and two students are selected to go on to Girls Nation and Boys Nation where they simulate federal government. She said it is a very prestigious program and the young women of the program had some very insightful questions and they wanted to get involved. That is what inspired her to come back to the Town of Mount Pleasant and establish this Youth Council. Ms. Sims said she is the Community and Government Affairs Chief, she works for the Town Administrator and the Assistant Town Administrator and she will be the Youth Council facilitator. Ms. Sims had the Youth Council Members introduce themselves. Ms. Abby Sullivan said she is a Junior at Wando High School. Ms. Amy Lorentzos-Lobo said she is a Senior at Wando High School. Ms. Eliza Taylor said she is a Junior at Academic Magnet High School. Ms. Josie Massenet said she is a Junior at Academic Magnet High School. Ms. Cally DeMoura said she is a Sophomore at Wando High School. Mr. Chad Weis said he is a Freshman at Wando High School. Mr. Myles Chisolm said he is a Junior at Wando High School. Ms. Isabelle Turner said she is a Sophomore at Wando High School. Mr. Walker Carswell said he is a Junior at Porter Gaud. Mr. Ethan Curb said he is a Freshman at International Connections/LTP Scholars Tennis Academy which is a half tennis on-line and half regular school. Mr. McClain Stoklosa said he is a Sophomore at Academic Magnet High School. Ms. Isabel Raykova said she is a Junior at School of the Arts. 2. Public Comments There were no public comments. 3. Review of Robert’s Rules of Order Ms. Sims stated the Youth Council Members were provided information on Robert’s Rules of Order and asked that they please review it. She said the Youth Council would be electing the Chair and Vice Chair at the next meeting. Page 2 of 20 4. Overview of the Town of Mount Pleasant Page 3 of 20 Page 4 of 20 Page 5 of 20 Page 6 of 20 Page 7 of 20 Page 8 of 20 Page 9 of 20 Page 10 of 20 Page 11 of 20 Page 12 of 20 Page 13 of 20 Page 14 of 20 5. Discussion and selection of priority projects for the session Ms. Sims opened the discussion for ideas for priority projects. Ms. Raykova suggested a cultural festival to bring Mount Pleasant together. Mr. Carswell said there is a big e-cigarette problem facing teenagers and he would like to find ways to address that. Ms. Taylor said she would like to address mental health issues in high schools as there are not really any resources other than a generic school counselor to assist the students. Page 15 of 20 Ms. DeMoura said the human trafficking maximum fine is $200 and she does not think is enough and would like to help spread awareness of the problem. Mr. Chisolm said he would like to see some sort of non-competitive sports offered during the school day as a way for students to get outside and participate to decide if they want to get into a competitive sport, or to just enjoy nature. Ms. Massenet said something that is significant is the effect of socio- economic diversity in schools. She would like to see an outreach program created in the community to try and compensate for the lack of education children receive. Ms. Turner said one way to tie these ideas together is to do a charity benefit event to raise money and awareness of the charity. Ms. Taylor said the cultural festival that Ms. Raykova suggested could be a platform for a charity. Mr. Carswell suggested a social media page for kids in Mount Pleasant to inform them of issues. Ms. Turner asked if a social media page could be created for the Youth Council, and Ms. Sims responded in the affirmative. Mr. Weis said since the Town is a tourist destination, Shem Creek pollution is a concern of his. Ms. Sullivan said she would like to see a community initiative to clean up litter. Ms. Sims said this is an extensive list and asked if there were items that could be combined and addressed together. She said she would also take this list to the various Town departments and see if there are already initiatives in place to address any of them. Ms. Sims said there is an event called Our Community, Our Children which will take place on March 7 that will address many issues such as opioid addiction, human trafficking and bullying. Mr. Chisolm said vaping, mental health and non-competitive sports have a correlation. Vaping is sometimes used as a coping mechanism Page 16 of 20 for mental health issues or social pressure. He said with the introduction of sports involvement, that may take their mind off of things and eliminate some of the down time. Ms. Taylor said regarding the social media page, perhaps there could be a main page, and then another one geared toward healthier being for teens. Ms. Massenet said she agreed with that. Ms. DeMoura said students vape and do not feel the long-term impacts and it may be beneficial to go to the middle and elementary schools to inform them of the impact so they do not get trapped later. Ms. Taylor said she agrees with that. There were groups that would go to the elementary schools and have the students pledge to be drug and tobacco free and that resonated with her. She said vaping was not around when they were younger so they were not exposed to it as something that was bad. Mr. Chisolm said the anti-drug campaign in the schools focuses on the harder drugs and some of the seemingly harmless drugs are not addressed as frequently and he feels those are the ones that they should focus on combatting, specifically when reaching out to the younger people in Mount Pleasant. He said social media should be pushed heavily to get important information out. Mr. Weis said direct messaging would be a great way for people to ask about their concerns. Instagram could be used to post what will be discussed at the Youth Council meetings, and people could comment on issues that they would like to see addressed. Ms. Turner said she would like the Youth Council to be a presence in the community to be accessible and to educate young people, especially, our peers, about government and to find out about their concerns. Ms. Taylor said a live component on social media would be beneficial to answer questions, listen to concerns and get the word out that the Youth Council cares about the community and wants to help. Page 17 of 20 Ms. Raykova said social media could be used to show the effects of vaping on our peers. Mr. Curb said just about everything on this list could be connected with social media pages to raise awareness. Ms. Taylor said the big issue with social media is getting the word out that it is there. Ms. Massenet said everything sounds different coming from people our age, so a Youth Council social media page would be much more effective. Ms. Sims asked if everyone agreed on Instagram as a platform and the Youth Council members concurred. Ms. DeMoura said at Wando, flyers placed around the school are a very effective way of getting the word out so perhaps that would be a way to inform students about the social media page. Mr. Carswell said it was the Youth Council’s responsibility to take the initiative to spread the word. Ms. Sims said she would meet with the Communications team and work on the social media page. She stated the Shem Creek clean-up and community-wide litter education campaign should be able to be accomplished by combining those with their quarterly service project requirements. Mr. Carswell asked if the Youth Council had a budget and Ms. Sims responded that since this Council is starting in the middle of the fiscal year, there is not a dedicated budget, but Ms. Sims would work to identify any funds needed. Ms. Sims said for the next Youth Council she has requested have a budget in place. Ms. Sims said with respect to the health and public safety initiatives, she would inquire about the Our Community, Our Children event and how the Youth Council can be involved. The cultural festival will take a little more time to vet, so there may need to be some more discussion about that. Ms. Sims said many of the outreach items can be accomplished through the social media page, and if a fundraising Page 18 of 20  event is held, then charities can be chosen. Perhaps the cultural festival can be a way to raise money for the chosen charities. Ms. Sims said a motion would be needed to adopt the list of approved projects. Mr. Weis asked if the motion passed all of these projects would be approved or would the Council be voting on one specific project on which to work. Ms. Sims said that because many of these are tied together and are educational campaigns at their core, the Council will likely be able to accomplish many of them. Some of the larger items, such as the cultural festival and non-competitive sports offering, the Council may need to build into, so perhaps the foundation can be placed during this session. Ms. Sims said before the next meeting she would send out a plan to accomplish some of these projects, which can be discussed at the February meeting. Ms. DeMoura asked if they could meet with the Recreation Committee to discuss the cultural festival and Ms. Sims responded in the affirmative, once a plan and outline of what the Council is asking of the Committee is made. Mr. Chisolm asked if other ideas could be added to the list and Ms. Sims responded in the affirmative, pending approval of the Youth Council. Ms. Taylor moved to approve the projects as listed, seconded by Ms. Massenet. All present voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. DeMoura asked if it would be possible to bring in speakers that are educated in areas on which the Council would like to focus and Ms. Sims responded in the affirmative. 6. Call for nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair positions Ms. Sims asked the Youth Council members if they would like to be considered for either the Chair or Vice-Chair position. Ms. Turner, Ms. DeMoura, Ms. Massenet, Ms. Taylor and Mr. Curb all stated they would like to be considered to Chair the Youth Council. Page 19 of 20  Ms. Sullivan, Mr. Carswell, Mr. Chisolm and Mr. Stoklosa all stated they would like to be considered for the Vice-Chair position. 7. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christine Barrett Clerk of Council January 16, 2020 Page 20 of 20