State Sen. John Liu visited two schools in northeast Queens last week in celebration of New York City’s Civics Week, which encourages students across the city to become proactive contributors in their local communities.
Liu visited P.S. 159Q in Bayside to speak to students in grades 3 to 5 about civic engagement and the democratic process before visiting Flushing’s I.S. 25Q Adrien Block to speak with the school’s student council about politics and the election process.
Liu also spoke to students about local, state and federal government, immigration and ICE, education and youth engagement.
Elected officials visited K-12 schools across the city as part of Civics Week, participating in classroom activities and events aimed at empowering students to get involved in their local community.
Liu, who is chairperson of the NYC Education Committee in the State Senate, spoke with students at both schools about the importance of being engaged in their communities.
“Talking to our young people here in northeast Queens about government, politics, and civic engagement is always a humbling and exciting experience,” Liu said in a statement.
Liu said students “pulled no punches” during the two visits, asking “tough questions” on a range of subjects, from federal immigration raids to methods to improve schools across the city.
“The youth of today are more engaged and curious about the world around them, and how they can make a difference than ever before,” Liu continued.
“They understand that our democracy works best when more voices are heard, especially those of our young people, so it’s important that they learn to think critically about their politics and be empathetic with their opinions in order to engage in healthy civic debate.”
