The Daily Bulletin

The Center for English Teaching at Buffalo State College and the Western New York Network of English Teachers present the annual Youth Voices Conference, a celebration of the remarkable stories and talents of K–12 students from across our region, on Friday, May 6, from 4:00 to 8:30 p.m. on campus. Adam Zyglis, Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial cartoonist for the Buffalo News, will deliver the keynote address. The event is free and open to the public. Please register online for the conference. Dinner will be served following the student presentations.

The series, now in its sixth year, seeks to reclaim space for the voices of youth and their teachers and to reposition classrooms as learning spaces of meaning, purpose, and power in the Buffalo Niagara and Rochester regions. 

There will be over 150 presentations from K–12 students across the region, including students from EDGE Academy, Elmwood Village Charter School, Lafayette International, Maryvale Union Free School District, McKinley High School, Olmsted High School, Sweet Home Middle School, Tapestry Charter School, West Irondequoit Central Schools, West Seneca East Middle School, Williamsville North High School, and Wilson High School.

Student presentations at the Youth Voices Conference have included research presentations, short documentary style films, spoken word poetry, and TED talks based on classroom projects.

Past presentations have featured student work exploring childhood and families, popular music, Islamophobia, the impact of genocide, identity and immigration, race and gender, the environment, and religious beliefs, among others.

The conference gives young people the opportunity to showcase their academic work along with their thoughts, beliefs, and ideas about issues that are important to them and the larger community. Youth Voices is the only student-centered conference that brings young people together from across our region to share the work they are doing in their classrooms.

Schedule of Events
4:00–4:30 p.m.: Registration (Campbell Student Union Social Hall)

4:30 p.m.: Keynote Speaker: Adam Zyglis, Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial cartoonist for the Buffalo News. Musical Performance: Curtis Lovell 

5:00–7:15 p.m.: Student Presentations (Caudell Hall)

7:30–8:30 p.m.: Dinner and Dessert (Campbell Student Union Social Hall)