A great exercise in civics, but far from the maddening crowd

With the most contentious campaign winding down with election day a little more than a week away, civic engagement and an interest in the civic process appears to be at an all-time high.

                Early indications are that the voter turnout for the 2016 election will be the highest in 56 years when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon ran for president.

                It seems ironic, if not timely, that the Village of Buffalo Grove held its annual Civics Forum Monday night.  This event, long coordinated by Village Clerk Jan Sirabian, gives students from Buffalo Grove and Stevenson high schools the opportunity to work cooperatively in practicing the civics process.

Students act as the Village Board during the Civics Forum

                This year’s forum had a different flavor with students taking on the roles of the various village staff members and Village Board members.  Yes, there’s comedy in that, but the reality is that the students stepped up and addressed various issues in a masterful way.

                “The students did an outstanding job of reviewing the proposals they were given, and made an informed decision as to how to spend the finite amount of money they had to spend.” Sirabian said part of the new format is that the Village allotted the students $2,000 to spend.

                “Five departments presented proposals for things they needed for their respective departments. Each student department head made a presentation to the student board, after which the student board discussed the proposal and ultimately voted on the proposal they felt was the best use of their funds.

                “It was an excellent exercise in learning the types of decisions that have to be made in government”. 

                And that it was.

                The goal, Sirabian says “is to teach them how municipal government works, to teach them how easy and important it is to become involved in your community, and finally how important it is to vote in municipal elections.”

                Great idea, great goal. 

                However, the unfortunate reality seems to be that to many residents,

Students listen to a presentation during the Civics Forum

local civic engagement is limited to showing up at Village Board meetings to whine about an issue that impacts their own self-interest or to showcase themselves as an expert or otherwise concerned citizen.

                Some, to their credit, do their homework and present a logical argument.  Others, however, bypass the opportunity to attend village meetings, opting instead to incessantly post venomous and unfounded comments on social media.

                Whether you agree or disagree with them, those people who serve on village boards, commissions and committees do one thing most people don’t – get involved.

                The same can be said for the small group of residents who attend Village Board meetings.  They’re there, you would hope, because they are interested in what is happening in the town of big bison.  While some may come across as being in the fourth dimension (thank you Rod Sterling), a least they are trying to get information first hand.

                So you would think that when more than a dozen high school students take to the dais and run an unscripted, well-researched “village board meeting” without any self-interests, you would think residents, parents and village staff would be interested observers.

                You would think.

                Once again, as was the case last year, the village staff not only worked with students preparing for the forum, but showed support by attending.

                Residents?  There was a scant showing of folks, mostly a few regulars.

                Parents? Few and far between.  Seriously.

                As I said last year, it is a pretty sad commentary on things when soccer games, football games, concerts and performances appears to have more interest than watching students get involved in the basic root of the tree of our democracy. 

                And while it is disappointing in any year, you would think the cantankerous nature of the 2016 campaign would provide a spark of interest.

                Guess not.

                No doubt there are more important things to do.  Besides, it’s just a boring meeting.

                Darn those founding fathers who wrote the First Amendment.  Couldn’t they have come up with something more exciting?