The Ohio Young People’s Platforms’s first-ever event hosts over 105 students at conference

By Clare McKinley, Staff Writer 

Last weekend, three Xavier students traveled to Columbus, Ohio to participate in the inaugural Ohio Student Power Summit (OSPS).

The summit was hosted by Ohio Young People’s Platform (OYPP), a group dedicated to engaging Ohio’s youth so they can have the skills to advance social and political change on their respective campuses.

The goals of the summit were to give students the opportunity to build a network of connections with other students across Ohio campuses, strengthen their political organization skills and launch the OYPP.

There were about 105 students in attendance, representing 15 campuses across Ohio. OYPP paid for every students’ hotel stay, provided all meals and offered a limited number of gas cards for students who drove.

One of the Xavier students in attendance, sophomore political science major Teagan Fowler, shared her experience at the summit.

“I met people who care about the same issues that I care about, and now we’re connected and not only can we be friends, we can work together for change… I met people from Bowling Green State University. I’ve never gone to Bowling Green. It’s so far, but we got to meet and this never would have happened without the OSPS,” Fowler said.

The weekend’s itinerary was packed full of talks and presentations for students to learn more about how they can get involved with social justice topics they are interested in. Students separated into groups for specialized discussions related to OYPP’s identified pillars. These included upholding rights for bodily autonomy, promoting equitable higher education, protecting the freedom to vote, combating climate change, advancing racial justice and safeguarding LGBTQ+ rights.

“Not only did it give me an opportunity to get to know someone as an organizer and an activist professionally, I got to know them personally as well. People would be hanging out in hotel rooms, going to the pool together or going and eating food together. So in this short time, we’re not only getting to know each other’s policies and beliefs, but we’re building personal relationships, too, and that is the groundwork — the core of so much organizing and change,” Fowler said.

Moreover, Fowler is looking forward to collaborating with students from Bowling Green State University and the University of Cincinnati to discuss issues she cares about, particularly sustainability on campus.

A study conducted through OYPP’s Ohio Student Listening Survey in 2024 found that when students were asked to affirm or deny the statement, “I believe young people can lead social and political change in our country,” 91% either agreed or strongly agreed.

Fowler shared that with the help of OYPP and the OSPS, she thinks that number can be even higher.

“I feel like there’s a lot of people, even if they don’t feel like they’re politically motivated or politically involved on campus, who share ideas and want things to be better,” Fowler said. “But oftentimes they don’t have an action step. It’s like they have the will, but feel paralyzed and don’t know what direction to go. The OSPS provides a direction and provides a framework and connection, and so much can come from that. You really can fix the things that you want to fix and change the things you want to change.”