Salem Youth Open Mic & Spoken Word Event

I still need a name for this. Oh well.


SALEM YOUTH FOR CHANGE IS HOSTING AN OPEN MIC & SPOKEN WORD AT CLOCKWORKS CAFE & CULTURAL CENTER ON MARCH 9TH, SO BE THERE OKAY?!


An open mic designed specifically for the younger population of Salem. About 5 months ago, I created a group called Salem Youth For Change- a group of teens/young adults that are passionate about progression in Salem (in many diverse ways: art and literacy, the importance of voting, fixing our education structure, etc.) So for this event, we want to let the young people of salem express themselves in a comfortable environment. 

It will work like any other open mic, a sign-up sheet in the beginning, a couple hosts, maybe some cheesy jokes thrown in every now and then ( that's how hosting works right? ;) ) 

Everything is acceptable (well, not quite everything... but most things): Poetry, music, raps, comedy, rants, etc. Anything that will get you up and performing to make the experience a great one for everyone. The more people performing, the better the whole show will be! 

We want you to go on forever, but unfortunately we will be cutting you off at 10 minutes. This does not mean you have to reach ten minutes, just don't exceed it please. 


The show will start at 7pm, but get there early to get on the sign-up sheet! 


Clockworks Cafe is located at 241 Commercial St. NE Salem, OR 97301


Can't wait to see you there!! 


(Oh, and like us on Facebook)

A Recap Of Meeting Number One

So you missed the first meeting? You're a horrible person. Luckily for you, from here on we will be having meetings every first and third Friday of the month! So, next meeting is December 2nd! You'd better be there.

We did a lot of talking today, some straying very off topic, but a lot of brainstorming for the group. We came up with a lot of potential ideas!

Things like, for those who go to school, them being the "representative" for SYFC at that school. Starting groups, handing out flyers, getting involved in the school newspapers and announcements, etc.

And then within the high schools, getting the word out about... the importance of voting for when you turn 18, and actually getting students informed. Same-sex couples not being allowed at high school dances. Various focus points where high schools lack information or progression.

I'd also like to mention again, that in this group there will be many different projects, and you are by no means married to every single one. We understand if you don't want to particularly have your name associated with a movement that you aren't sure about, or don't fully support. We want this group to be a personalized experience for YOU.

Then there are of course the actual local Salem things. We can talk to people at CCTV, Salem Weekly, bulletin boards for flyers, etc. Spreading the word I think was the main accumulated message from tonight's meeting. And getting youth informed.

Other events we talked about were letter writing sit-ins, bike events in protest of not having bike lanes available in this town (especially downtown) and just promoting healthy environmental choices, community art projects, adopting a road, community gardens, etc.

There are also other organizations we hope to maybe team up with. The Pheonix Project is an anti-bullying organization. Salem Keizer Youth, basically just reaching out to the youth for all sorts of things. If any of you know more organizations we could team up with, let us know!

So if you missed the meeting, and even if you were there, be thinking about projects you want to see. About events you want to happen. And if you can be an advocate for your school, work, Occupy encampment, please do! The more reaching out, the better!

Again, our next meeting is December 2nd, same time same place. 7 pm, Broadway Commons. Be sure to make it! We want to hear all of your voices, and see your pretty little faces too!

Our First Meeting!!

I know this idea has been floating around for quite some time now, but it is really finally happening. I've contacted Broadway Commons to rent a room, and have not yet heard back (I literally filled out the request form two minutes ago).

So for those of you who haven't really been keeping in touch so much, our group on Facebook has turned into somewhat of a conversation group. Youth in Salem talking about politics and voicing their opinions- it's totally awesome. I highly suggest you get on our group page (you can be directed there from our fan page as well), and come say hi or post an interesting article you've read lately. We welcome all opinions, the idea is simply to get youth to start thinking about these things that effect us too.

Friday, November 18th is going to be our day for the first meeting (if Broadway Commons allows it). It's going to be a very relaxed get-together. We hope to hear what everyone has to say, those who have been participating, and those who are interested in who we are. Even if you're a bit skeptical, I encourage you greatly to stop by.

This meeting is also helping out a friend as a class project at Early College High School, and we will be speaking at an assembly there. If you can talk anywhere about this project, please let us know! If you have any ideas in spreading the word, your ideas are greatly encouraged.

Invite any friends you think may be interested, and we should have an event page up on Facebook very soon for RSVP capabilities.

Hope to see you there! If you have any questions and the internet is not your favorite form of communication, feel free to call me (Syd) for any questions or concerns. 503-990-9859.

Project Number One

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that I have conversed with part of the team and we have our first project idea! While we are still going to have our first meeting very soon, this project is super easy to start off and contribute virtually.

But first an update: Have you seen any of our signs downtown? We're hoping they're catching people's eyes, and we have gotten a few more fans on Facebook! We are super thankful to Rainbow Youth for helping hand out flyers at Capitol Pride last Saturday. Currently we are discussing where to hold the first meeting. Suggestions have been parks and coffee shops. We need your input on everything, don't be shy!

The project:

This will be an on-going project for, hopefully quite some time. Everyone is encouraged to participate in order to start getting involved in the spirit of the organization. What will happen is everyone is going to think, long and hard, about a topic that is very important to them, be it gay rights, racial discrimination,  domestic violence, campaigning for Obama 2012, etc., and we will each create a plan of action as to how we would go about getting the word out, and making a difference.

We will then create an ever-expanding book showing each project and each project's progress. We will pull out examples for our presentations (which will happen shortly after our first meeting), and we will all work individually and in unity.

Everyone can pitch in on anyone's project, dual projects are acceptable, and eventually the projects that have brilliant potential can become one of our group's main group projects.

What to do now: Start drafting, post all of your updates and ideas and brainstorms on our facebook page, send them to the email for feedback, or post them to this blog. It doesn't have to be well thought out yet, you can even post lists of possibilities. We just ask, please, participate and spread the word.

Thanks for all of the support thus far,
Sydney Agee

What You Can Do Now

So you're interested in what could potentially happen with this organization? Perfect. In this stage, while there are still MANY kinks being worked out, the most important thing that we need is opinions and ideas.

I've talked to many people already, and there have been suggestions of different lingering oppressions that we could work on getting rid of. One of the suggestions was about same-sex couples not being allowed to attend High School dances. We've always heard talk of this, and we always oppose it, but this suggestion is one of the many things we need to stand up against.

While SYFC is by no means limited to LGBT rights, there are always the options of grander things such as gay marriage in Oregon. We can absolutely start out small with this, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't care how cliche it sounds, this organization is to make a difference.

More options are undocumented citizen's right to college, ending racism in Salem, ending gender discrimination projects, etc. So what I need everyone to do now is pitch in your ideas; where would you like to see SYFC go?

Currently I am working on a presentation, and I need volunteers to help with all parts. Today on Facebook I asked whether or not one would come to a sort of... kick off meeting. If you have Facebook, reply! If you do not, reply here or email us at SalemYouthForChange@Gmail.com

Thanks,
Sydney Agee

The Idea

This idea had been floating around my head for quite some time. Salem Oregon, as I am sure you all know, tends to be a very conservative town. There are different organizations like Culture Shock and Rainbow Youth that have their adding benefits. Salem Youth For Change (SYFC), however, is going to be much different.

In March of this year, I did tech work for Pentacle Theatre's production of RENT. I remember the director telling me he wasn't sure how it was going to take off, because of the ignorance in this town. However, it turned out to be one of the most moving Pentacle Productions in a long time. It had a great following, and all of the participants and viewers were absolutely wonderful. That was the first physical piece of proof to me that there was potential in being radical in such a small town.

The Objective:

What I hope to see happen with SYFC is a Democracy, developed by the teens and young adults of Salem. Activism for topics like gender/race discrimination, gay rights, importance of education, possibly environmentalism, and anything YOU want to see happen.

I whole-heartedly want this to be a democracy. I want to hear your opinions. I want to get you riled up to do grand things.

Join our emailing list, SalemYouthForChange@gmail.com
And "Like" our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Salem-Youth-For-Change/194264657302063

Thanks for the support, spread the word!
-Sydney Agee