Last Meeting - End of Year Newsletter

Hello all,

This year certainly wrapped up earlier than we expected!

We had wanted to continue our letter-writing project, launch our voter registration drive, participate in more lessons and policy discussions, but unfortunately we were unable to complete most of those goals. But our club will be back next year, and this newsletter will go over some of the highlights from this year and updates for next year.

Highlights From This Year (Notable Events)

Guest Speaker Events

Some of our most notable events from this year were our guest speaker events, which included people from Presidential to local campaigns.

We had Saratoga council member and CA-18 Congressional candidate Rishi Kumar, San Jose City Council D6 candidate Jake Tonkel, San Jose City Council D8 candidate Jim Zito, and the organizing directors from both the Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer Presidential campaigns, Joseph Ferrer and Luis Sanchez.

Lessons and Policy Discussions

We also held lessons and policy discussions on topics such as the healthcare system, fake news and misinformation, and foreign policy. We watched Patriot Act videos on topics like access to mental health care, student loan debt, and the Canadian election.

Community Service Events

Finally, we were able to host our letter-writing event, where we wrote letters to unregistered voters in Florida. This is one of the main initiatives that we will be continuing next year.

Fill out the survey!

More importantly, we want to hear from you about what you thought of this year’s events and how we can improve. Please fill out our anonymous survey, which can be found here.

The COVID-19 Bay Area Youth Policy Innovation Challenge

Our Policy Innovation Challenge is still ongoing! Remember, all you have to do is write a policy recommendation relating to an issue affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (such as labor rights or healthcare affordability), and you can win up to $300 in prizes, including Amazon gift cards! One of our judges is Kansen Chu, the California State Assemblymember for the 25th District. There’s no reason not to sign up, and it is open to everyone, even those with no policy experience.

Sign up now at http://baypic.org by July 1.

Thank you to our BAYPIC sponsors, including Bugsee, Challenge Rocket, Art of Problem Solving, LeanGap, and CloudSploit.

Our Plans for Next Year

Since next year is a major election year, the first semester of our club will almost entirely be dedicated to the election. We will have lessons, discussions, and guest speaker events so you can be well informed about the 2020 election. For example, we will have meetings about:

• Who should you vote for? How do you register to vote? (Also part of our Voter Registration Drive, where we will register students to vote!)

• How can you volunteer during this time? (Letter-writing, Phone and textbanking, Canvassing)

• And finally, our major event, a planned debate between Rep. Anna Eshoo and Councilmember Rishi Kumar for the 18th Congressional District of California. This debate will most likely have local news attending and also be streamed online.

After the election, the 2nd semester will be dedicated towards government policy and understanding how the government works, with meetings such as:

• How do you construct a policy recommendation?

• More in-depth policy discussions

• Lessons on key governmental concepts

• Patriot Act videos

• Community service events based upon our discussions

Club Officers for 2020-2021!

VP of Operations: Reena Kim

VP of Outreach: Tevin Wang

Connect With Us!

Make sure to follow us on social media:

• Facebook: @vcpolitics

• Instagram & Twitter: @vcsceps

Thank you all for being a part of this club this year. Thank you to our advisor, Mr. Larson, and all of the guest speakers for coming to speak and answer questions at our club. And finally, thank you to our parting officers, Vivian and Ethan.

Thanks,

Winston

16th Meeting - Policy Discussion on the Senate Filibuster

15th Meeting - 2020 Presidential Forum

Since this was a live Q&A event, there are no meeting notes present. Participants present: Joseph Ferrer, from Pete for America, and Luis Sanchez, from Tom Steyer 2020.

14th Meeting - Vote Forward Letter Writing Community Service

Total Letters Written Today: 26 to potential voters in Florida, a key swing state in the Presidential election.

13.5th Remote Meeting - Feb. 9 - Voter Registration Drive Volunteer Training

This was an optional, remote meeting to help get students and officers up to speed on how to volunteer during the voter registration drive. The recording is available below to Valley Christian students:

13th Meeting - Feb. 3 - Patriot Act: Affirmative Action

Please note the following video has language which some may find disturbing. An edited video was played during the club time, however, due to copyright reasons, it cannot be posted here.

12th Meeting - Jan. 27 - Q&A with San Jose City Council D8 (R) Candidate - Jim Zito

Since this was a live Q&A event, there are no meeting notes present.

11th Meeting - Jan. 13 - United States Foreign Policy

10th Meeting - Dec. 9 - Last Meeting of the Semester

9th Meeting - Dec. 2 - Q&A with SJ City Council D6 Candidate Jake Tonkel (G)

Since this was a live Q&A event, there are no post meeting notes present.

8th Meeting - Nov. 25 - Patriot Act: Mental Health

Please note: The following video may have language that some viewers may find disturbing. An edited video was played during class.

7th Meeting - Nov. 18 - Q&A with Congressional Candidate (CA-18) Rishi Kumar

No post-meeting notes present as it was a Q&A style event.

6th Meeting - Nov. 11 - Voting and the Voter Registration Drive

5th Meeting - Nov. 4 - Healthcare in America Policy Discussion

4th Meeting - Oct. 29 - Intro to the U.S. Government

1st Meeting - Sept. 30 - Introduction to the Club