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Apply by June 9 to be a NVT Officer

It’s time to pass the leadership torch to new officers for New Voices Texas while many of our current officers are graduating now.

We have set June 9 as the deadline for students to apply to become an officer with our student-led advocacy organization.

So far, we only have three applicants for officer positions that we will need to fill for the coming school year. That’s not enough to fill all of our positions. We are in particular need of Regional Officers from West, East, North and Central/South Texas.

And we are open to additional students serving as “Specialists” for things like regional organizing, social media, and all-around promotion.

The current legislative session is over, but there will be another legislative session starting in January 2025 so we hope to use this next year to build our movement and work at the local levels to educate lawmakers and influencers about the importance of New Voices legislation.

New Voices Texas Officers Application

Please apply to become a New Voices Texas officer for the 2023-2024 school year.

New Voices Officer positions include:

  • Legislative Officer
  • Communications Officer
  • Regional Organizer (four positions to represent West, East, North and South/Central Texas)
  • Educational Officer
  • Club Development Officer

If you know you are interested in becoming an officer, please use this form to apply today!

Click here to apply to be a NVT officer

Volunteer Interest Form

If you are unsure about your ability to serve as an officer but are interested in getting involved with advocating for New Voices Texas, please fill out our Interest Form linked below:

Click here to be a nvt volunteer

June 9 is deadline to apply for SPLC Summer New Voices Student Leaders Institute

There’s just over one week left to apply for the 2023 New Voices Student Leaders Institute. If you know a high school student interested in leading the fight to restore and protect student press freedom in your state, encourage them to apply today!

Applicants are accepted from all states for this free program, which runs Tuesday-Thursday afternoons July 18-27. Click here for more information on the New Voices Student Leaders Institute.

Applications close at midnight ET June 9. We’re looking forward to meeting our next cohort of New Voices Student Leaders!

Participants in the all-online program will be joined by Student Press Law Center staff, New Voices leaders, and special guests to learn their unique capacity as organizers, deepen their understanding of civics, lobbying and press freedom, and expand their ability to act as advocates. By the end of the Institute, Student Leaders will identify the pressing needs in their state and local communities and the unique ways in which students can respond, as well as possess the tools necessary to combat these challenges. 

The Institute will run from July 18-27, and participants should expect to participate from Tuesday – Thursday from 1 pm – 4 pm Eastern/10 am – 1 pm Pacific time, with optional sessions until 5 pm Eastern/2 pm Pacific.

Participation in the Institute is free, but students will commit to serving as student leaders in the New Voices movement during the 2023-2024 advocacy year. For more information about the summer institute, visit the SPLC website.

Application Due by June 9

Click here to Apply for splc new voices summer institute
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New Voices Texas LOBBY DAY 2023

Join us at the Capitol in Austin on Monday to fight for a New Voices bill in Texas!

House Bill 5266 was filed by Rep. Erin Zwiener last week and now it’s time for us to demand that lawmakers pass it. 

We have scheduled appointments to allow supporters to speak directly with lawmakers and their staffers, especially those on the Texas Public Education Committee. And now we’d like to share the details of when to be there, where to park and what to expect when you get to the Capitol. 

We HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting into downtown Austin by 8:30 a.m. at the latest because traffic and parking are expected to be bad because of the SXSW Conference taking place at the same time. And we highly suggest that you park at the Capitol’s official Visitors Parking garage between San Jacinto Blvd. and Trinity St. It’s much cheaper than other garages and lots nearby. However, if that garage is full, here’s a website that you can use to look up other lots and garages nearby. 

We ask that participants find us by 9 a.m. at our meetup spot in front of the African American Monument near the southern edge of the Capitol complex. See this map to find the meet-up spot. We plan to train attendees and go over directions and procedures right at 9 a.m. so please don’t be late!

After meetings with various lawmakers, we plan to finish our meetings by 2 p.m. and end the day with a debriefing by 3 p.m. If you still would like to join us, please fill out this Google Form as soon as possible so we know how many to expect so we can purchase donuts and lunch for our participants.

We will have some expenses to pay for our lobby efforts so please consider making a financial contribution to help us pay our bills. 

Thank you all for your continued support of New Voices Texas. See you at the Capitol!

Agenda

  • 9 – 9:30 a.m.: Meet at the Texas African American History Memorial for donuts and a small briefing.
  • 9:30 a.m. — Walk inside the Capitol and go through security checks. After security checks, we will find a meet up inside the Capitol Cafe for the rest of the day.
  • 10 a.m. – noon — Conduct meetings with legislators and/or their staff (each advocate will have a personalized schedule of meeting times).
  • Noon: Head back to the Texas African American History Memorial for a picnic pizza lunch.
  • 12:45 p.m.: Walk back inside the Capitol and go through security checks.
  • 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.: Conduct meetings with legislators and/or their staff (each advocate will have a personalized schedule of meeting times).
  • 2 p.m.: Meet at the cafe and then head back to the Texas African American History Memorial for a final quick debrief.
  • 2:30 p.m.: Lobby Day is over! Thank you for attending.

What to Bring: 

  • Throughout the day, we will work in groups to meet with various lawmakers and speak to them about the importance of New Voices legislation. Each lobby day attendee will receive a folder, complete with a set of printed materials to reference. While attending these meetings, it would be helpful to have the following:
    • Notebook and pen, for note-taking 
    • Water and snacks

What to Wear: 

  • Please try to dress professionally when meeting with legislators. Select comfortable shoes, as we will be walking across the Capitol grounds for each meeting. 
  • If you have a New Voices Texas t-shirt, that would be great to wear, as well.

How can I prepare? 

  • As student journalists, advisers, or people involved in scholastic media, we are very familiar with telling stories. A lobby day effort is all about personalizing the issue at hand. What specific experiences can you share about how you engage with your school, and greater community? 

GroupMe:

  • All advocates that have signed up to attend, have been added to a GroupMe chat, “New Voices Lobby Day 2023,” for all communication during the day.
  • If you do not have the app, try to download it so that communication is easier (if you are unable to download the app, you will receive SMS messages from it).
  • If you are unable to use our GroupMe for any reason during the day, text our Legislative Officer, Amoli Agarwal, at 512-363-7916.
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Student Press Freedom Day 2022

This Thursday, February 24th, students are preparing to participate in Student Press Freedom Day 2022, an important day of action aiming to amplify the efforts of student journalists nationwide and increase visibility for the key roles they play in their respective campuses and greater community.

As we reflect on the multitude of challenges that continue to threaten student First Amendment rights, New Voices Texas needs your help.

In conjunction with the Student Press Law Center, we encourage you to join us in celebrating scholastic media this week by taking action below.

How will you unmute yourself?

________

JOIN THE Conversation
Register for a Zoom discussion on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. Learn more about the New Voices movement in Texas and our efforts to advocate for a state law to protect the rights of student journalists.
Pre-register HERE.
Facilitate a classroom discussion
Click to view a comprehensive resource document to aid in facilitating classroom discussion of student press rights in Texas.
SHARE YOUR STORY
We want to hear from you! Share a video response on our FlipGrid board with your perspective on student journalism.
What does student journalism mean to you? What can students do to raise awareness of the issues surrounding student press rights in Texas?
Get involved with New Voices Texas
Led by seven student officers and an advisor officer, New Voices Texas is committed to empowering student journalists across the state to build community and bolster our outreach efforts to continue advocating for free speech rights. Learn more on our website.
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Ask administrators, school board members and student publications to show their support of New Voices legislation

The 2021-2022 school year was a ridiculously difficult time to try to pass a bill through the Texas legislative process, which is tough in a non-pandemic year. With only 140 days, starting in January and ending in May, very few bills make it through the process. This year State Rep. Mary González, filed HB 422 as a New Voices bill. Rep. Harold Dutton, Chairman of the House Public Education Committee, never scheduled a hearing for the bill so it ultimately died when the session ended on May 31.

We are now planning for the future by collecting the names of school board members, school administrators and student publications that support New Voices legislation in Texas. To do this, New Voices Texas has started a pledge program in which we are asking student publications leaders, administrators and school board members to pledge their support for passage of a New Voices law in Texas. We will use these pledges to create and publish lists of student publications, administrators and school board members who support New Voices in Texas. 

We are excited to have these new officers carry the fight to pass a New Voices law in Texas forward. We all recognize that this will be a multi-year effort in which we will make progress incrementally over time and we intend to raise awareness and build a coalition that will eventually pass a state law that will cure Hazelwood and provide important protections for student press rights in Texas.

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Central and South Texas Regional Organizer, Amoli Agarwal

As the Regional Organizer for Central and South Texas (ESC Regions 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, and 20) of New Voices Texas, I work to consolidate the ideas of student press freedoms with more extensive goals written in our Constitution throughout a wide range of groups in Central and South Texas. With outreach to student publication advisors and the use of platforms like Action Network, I seek to ensure that every student journalist in this region understands the various possibilities New Voices legislation can bring to newsrooms across Texas.

Amoli Agarwal

By working with school boards and administrators, I intend to increase the trust and transparency between student journalism efforts and school authorities in order to strengthen the overall purpose of our legislation. Through advocacy in high schools, I aim to extend our cause beyond student press rights by demonstrating its importance towards upholding American laws and ideals in order to gather the support of students and teachers not directly connected to student journalism.

My primary objective is to create and maintain connections with student journalists, high schools, officials, and teachers all over my region in order to raise awareness and support for this pivotal movement in student journalism. I aspire to advance an enduring impact on student journalists, allowing them freedom from censorship and unjust consequences.

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Endings and beginnings for New Voices Texas in the 2021-2022 school year

Before the 2021 school year even started we at New Voices Texas knew it was going to be a crazy year. 

Besides learning how to do school during a pandemic, our student leaders had to adapt to a revised leadership structure, which was expanded from two student officers to six. With the additional student officers, we knew we had to give everyone specific roles so they each had focus areas to accomplish goals for this student-led organization. 

Mylo Bissell, NVT’s legislative officer, had his work cut out for him in preparing for Texas’ 87th Legislative Session, which began in January. Regional Organizer Mia Nguyen and Statewide Organizer Katlynn Fox worked to recruit supporters by using digital advocacy tools. Education Officer Keana Saberi and Club Development Officer Cade Spencer developed a New Voices Club Starter Kit to help attract more students to get involved at campuses across the state. Communications Officer Christine Vo stayed busy updating the website, creating graphics and posting on our social media channels. 

We were also pleased to offer New Voices Texas t-shirts for sale on Bonfire, giving us a way to ship our merchandise across the state. The 2020-2021 school year also marked the first year in which we operated with a political action committee, enabling us to legally collect and spend money to promote the passage of a New Voices law in Texas. We were fortunate to recruit Sara Flores to serve as the treasurer. This means she does the work of reporting the donations we collect and the money that we spend to the Texas Ethics Commission. It’s tedious paperwork, but spending money is necessary to pay for things like our website and other promotional efforts. 

It was a ridiculously difficult year to try to pass a bill through the Texas legislative process, which is tough in a non-pandemic year. With only 140 days, starting in January and ending in May, very few bills make it through the process. This year State Rep. Mary González, filed HB 422 as a New Voices bill. Rep. Harold Dutton, Chairman of the House Public Education Committee, never scheduled a hearing for the bill so it ultimately died when the session ended on May 31.

Although the bill didn’t pass, we found ways to make progress in other ways. Rep. González’s staff helped coordinate a meeting between New Voices Texas and public affairs staff at the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators. During the 2019 legislative session, these organizations have opposed New Voices legislation. This was our first opportunity to explain to them why we believe that a New Voices law will benefit school administrators and school districts by clarifying the roles of everyone involved in the student publication process.

We also started our pledge program in which we asked student publications leaders, administrators and school board members to pledge their support for passage of a New Voices law in Texas. We will use these pledges to create and publish lists of student publications, administrators and school board members who support New Voices in Texas. 

Before the school year ended, we recruited a new batch of officers to replace those who graduated. We had another outstanding batch of applicants and we have added six new student leaders and restructured to allow for four regional officers to provide better coverage of the state. We would like to quickly introduce you to these new officers now.

Keana Saberi will continue serving as the Education Officer. She attends Westwood High School in the Round Rock school district. She serves as the editor-in-chief of the Westwood Horizon student newspaper.

Catharine Li is our new Communications Officer. She attends Westwood High School in the Round Rock school district and works as the Arts and Entertainment Editor at the Westwood Horizon student newspaper.

Carey Beth Wooley is our new Legislative Officer. She attends James Bowie High School in the Austin school district and works as a staff writer for the The Dispatch student newspaper.

MaKalie Farmer is our new Club Development Officer and is a Regional Officer coveraging ESC Regions 14, 15, 16, 17,18 and 19 in West Texas. She attends Abilene High School in the Abilene school district. She serves as the editor-in-chief of the The Battery student newspaper.

Kate Knauff is a Regional Organizer covering ESC Regions 9, 10 and 11 in North Texas. She attends Hebron High School in the Lewisville school district. She works for The Hawk Eye student newspaper.

Jessica Gil is a Regional Organizer covering ESC Regions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in East Texas. She will also help us produce podcasts for New Voices Texas this year. She attends Bellaire High School in the Houston school district. She serves as a staff writer for the Three Penny Press student newspaper.

Amoli Agarwal is a Regional Organizer for ESC Regions 1, 2, 3, 12, 13 and 20 in Central and South Texas. She attends Westwood High School in the Round Rock school district. She works as news editor for the Westwood Horizon student newspaper.

We are excited to have these new officers carry the fight to pass a New Voices law in Texas forward. We all recognize that this will be a multi-year effort in which we will make progress incrementally over time and we intend to raise awareness and build a coalition that will eventually pass a state law that will cure Hazelwood and provide important protections for student press rights in Texas.

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Introducing the NVT Regional Organizers

The regional organizing team works to build a more pronounced and diverse coalition of student journalists across the entire state. Four officers have been assigned to serve as Regional Organizers for the North, East, West and South/Central Texas regions. We have divided the the state using Texas’ regional Education Service Centers and grouped them together for each of our regional organizers to better focus their efforts.

We encourage students looking to get involved with New Voices Texas to contact the organizer focused on building the movement in your part of the state. Please review our map and the Texas Education Agency’s Education Service Center map to help you find your NVT regional organizer.

MaKalie Farmer — mkbeals@icloud.com

MaKalie is our new Club Development Officer and is a Regional Officer coveraging ESC Regions 14, 15, 16, 17,18 and 19 in West Texas. She attends Abilene High School in the Abilene school district. She serves as the editor-in-chief of the The Battery student newspaper.

Kate Knauff — kateknauff@gmail.com

Kate is a Regional Organizer covering ESC Regions 9, 10 and 11 in North Texas. She attends Hebron High School in the Lewisville school district. She works for The Hawk Eye student newspaper.

Jessica Gil — jessica.6il1578@gmail.com

Jessica is a Regional Organizer covering ESC Regions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in East Texas. She will also help us produce podcasts for New Voices Texas this year. She attends Bellaire High School in the Houston school district. She serves as a staff writer for the Three Penny Press student newspaper.

Amoli Agarwal — amoli1agarwal@gmail.com

Amoli is a Regional Organizer for ESC Regions 1, 2, 3, 12, 13 and 20 in Central and South Texas. She attends Westwood High School in the Round Rock school district. She works as news editor for the Westwood Horizon student newspaper.

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West Texas Regional Organizer and Club Development Officer, MaKalie Farmer

As the West Texas (ESC Regions 14-19) Regional Organizing Officer and the Club Development Officer of New Voices Texas, I work to spread the story of student journalists across the state and reach out to other student publications to let them know they have a voice and a right to be heard. 

MaKalie Farmer

I am responsible for contacting student publications across regions 14 through 19 as a Regional Officer, reaching out to student publications and starting new clubs across the state, and getting the word out that New Voices is a cause worth fighting for.

I measure success as an officer by how much I influence people. I believe the more publications I can get to be interested in New Voices, the more likely we are to reach our goal. 

By the end of the school year, I hope I have made a substantial impact among student journalists and inspired them to fight for their rights. I also hope to inspire other students to find a cause they’re passionate about and advocate for change. 

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Legislative Officer, Carey Beth Wooley

As the Legislative Officer for New Voices Texas, I hold the responsibility of communicating with legislative officials in both the House and the Senate. I work to be a bridge between these legislative bodies and the supporters of New Voices legislation.

Carey Beth Wooley

I will attend meetings with both school board officials and people involved directly in the legislative process. In order to achieve this, I will further educate myself about the inner workings of the Texas legislative system as well as spread this information to our supporters and student journalist across the state.  

By the end of the year I hope to have begun talks with a senator who could possibly work with us. I also hope to have had meetings with school board officials and officials on the other side of this fight to further understand their thought process and to educate them about ours. 

To achieve these goals and get closer to our overarching aim to pass this bill, I will work closely with the other New Voices Texas officers to set up events and spread awareness about this important issue. This New Voices bill is crucial to not only student journalists, but Texans everywhere. Throughout this next year I hope to have helped this fight and gotten us just a little closer to being able to call Texas a New Voices state.

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North Texas Regional Organizer, Kate Knauff

As the North Texas (ESC Regions 9-11) Regional Organizer of New Voices, I work to educate other high school journalism programs in my surrounding regions about New Voices legislation and how they can show support in the upcoming legislative session.

Kate Knauff

I will do this by encouraging and aiding student journalists and programs in my region to implement New Voices clubs to further the scope of support for this piece of legislation.

I will work alongside the other officers to create resources and guide other programs in how they can bolster this organization. I hope that at the end of the year, I have created a strong enough foundation in my region to continue fighting to pass this legislation even after I graduate.