The morning began with a short history lesson from a 10-minute video created by RetroReport about the 1994 Midterms, an election that set the stage for the divisive politics we are experiencing in our country today. Click here to see the video (or maybe see it again if you were in attendance!). Reece Ellis, the expert facilitator of our session, followed the video with a Kahoot! game to see what and who the 15 students in attendance know about the upcoming 2022 Midterm Election. The answers were certainly varied, but by the end of Reece's excellent presentation, all in attendance were far more informed. Reece discussed the history of Midterms typically resulting in losses for the President's Party in House and Senate seats. He shared polling data on close national races and predictions for the Senate race in Missouri to replace retiring Senator Roy Blunt. We talked about traditional low turnout for young adults, and stressed the responsibility of being a lifetime, engaged voter. The morning ended with a brief sharing of issues important to those in attendance, including Climate Change, LGBTQ+ Rights, Roe v. Wade, and inequalities in different areas of the city. The enthusiasm of those attending resulted in our decision to carry on the conversation on Saturday, September 24 by letting students talk and share more about what they see happening in their schools, the state, the country, the world...and what concerns them most about those topics. Sign up for that discussion in the article below! More photos from the morning can be found by clicking here.

AND REMEMBER...WE ARE HAVING A ZOOM POST-ELECTION DISCUSSION ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 from 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link.
 

 
We are bringing back the popular, pre-COVID tradition of the ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION for students. On Saturday, September 24 from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm, again at the Oak Bend Library Branch, we will gather with good food and good company to talk about issues important to YOU! When you sign up, you'll choose topics that interest you most and have a chance to share additional ideas. We already learned last Saturday that LGBTQ+ Rights, Women's Rights, Climate Change, and Income Inequality are on your minds. We will prepare short videos and/or readings to help guide the informal discussion.
Click here to sign up for this fun and casual event.

Since we will be continuing the dialogue of awareness and concerns about community and country issues, we will sign for service hours again because Civitas believes that being an informed, active citizen is a service to the community. You may need to check with your school's requirements for service hours first.

The first important date to plan for is the Country Draft on Saturday, October 8 from 10:00 am until noon. All High School Model UN events will be in person and held at Browning Auditorium at Webster University. Any student can attend the Country Draft, although just one representative from a school is required to attend.

We have an exciting speaker lined up for the draft day, Moji Sidiqi, who manages the Afghan Support Program for the St. Louis International Institute. She will talk about what our greater community is providing for the Afghan refugees who have arrived to St. Louis in the past year. Moji will share her personal story as well. We will also play a few rounds of trivia (with prizes) before drafting for countries. Civitas will need to know which one of the three sessions available (two on November 19 and one on December 3) that you plan or your group plans on attending before the draft day.

     Sign up for the Country Draft by clicking here.

Become a Civitas Game Changer this Year

 

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Saturday, September 24, 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm
A Student-Led discussion--at Oak Bend Library (earn 2 service hours!)
Sign up here.
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Saturday, October 8
High School Model UN Country Draft at Webster University
Sign up here.
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Saturday, October 22, 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm
A Celebration of the UN at the International Institute (earn 3 service hours!)
Sign up here.
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Wednesday, November 9, 7:00 pm
Post-Midterm election discussion via Zoom with guest speakers (earn 2 service hours!)
Sign up here!
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Saturday, November 19, 9:00 am until noon
HSMUN Session A at Webster University
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Saturday, November 19, 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm
HSMUN Session B at Webster University
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Saturday, December 3, 9:00 am until noon
HSMUN Session C at Webster University
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A Ukrainian soldier takes a selfie as artillery is fired on the front line of the fight against Russia on Saturday, September 3 Ukrainian officials say the military has made sweeping gains in a counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region. -- Kostiantyn Liberov/AP

This past week at the United Nations