World BEYOND War hosts Young Voters Congress

The Illinois chapter of World BEYOND War (IWBW) hosted a Young Voters Congress event Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Institute of Cultural Affairs. The event, located in the Uptown neighborhood, had a small turnout. IWBW is a statewide chapter of the global movement and organization which brings awareness to militarism and war. 

The event intended to draw a small crowd of young people to talk about relevant government issues like war, government funding, environmental concerns and upcoming elections. It was organized and hosted by IWBW intern Annie James, along with Board President of World BEYOND War Kathy Kelly. 

James said she decided to organize the event as a way to try to grab young voters’ attention before the midterms. She said her goal was to create a third space for students, young people and political organizations to come together and connect.

“I think that gaining young voters is so important because for so many years, voting seemed like this daunting thing,” James said. “Especially since COVID, young people are gathering their ranks as we approach each election, and we’ve seen how consequential a lack of voter turnout is.” 

Gen Z voter turnout has fallen in recent years due to a common sense of disillusionment with the country’s political system, an AP-NORC poll found. This disaffection stems from a lack of belief in the ability of democracy to improve young people’s lives, the Associated Press reported. 

Despite efforts from digital advertising platforms like CODEPINK, various protest websites, Action Network, Chicago Area Peace Action and World BEYOND War, there were only four people under the age of 25 at the event. 

Olivia Green, a 23-year-old student at Oakton College in Skokie, Ill., said she was raised with strong social justice values. She grew up around activism, with her parents forming a friendship with Kelly through the Catholic Worker Movement, a religious network that protests injustice, war, racism and violence.  

“I haven’t been as involved in activism as I would like to be, so this is an opportunity to become more involved — and I think it’s very educational,” Green said. 

Third-year political science major at Lewis University Catcher Sawyer said he’s a member of his school’s chapter of Model UN and thought this would be a great opportunity to get involved and see how different political conferences work. He heard about the event from a political science professor at Lewis. 

Al Mytty, the IWBW chapter coordinator, said he believes the Boomer generation is passing down the U.S. government’s huge debt of $40 trillion and that the inherited debt is due to irresponsible actions from militarism such as wars for oil, waste and fossil fuel. Mytty said he thinks people should vote to preserve what’s left of democracy. 

“Young people have been turned off by the process, and from what I understand, they feel frustrated and powerless, and we want them to feel like they have a voice and that politicians need to listen to them,” Mytty said. “We hope the young people who not only participate in person but also online and then see the materials that are produced from it. We hope that they will feel empowered to become involved and take action.” 

Speakers at the event included keynote speaker Kayla Pilgrim from the Sunrise Movement and three-time Emmy-nominated spoken poet Trey Baker. 

Pilgrim said she joined the Sunrise Movement when the group solely advocated against climate change. Now, Pilgrim said they also work to advocate against fascism in the United States.

“We are now living through an era of ecological breakdown, and also driving it are the exact same forces who truly believe that the winners of capitalism deserve their ever-increasing wealth, while the rest of us struggle to get by,” Pilgrim said in her speech. “The ecological disaster that we’re experiencing only accelerates the authoritarianism that the Sunrise Movement is dedicated to fighting.”

Local organizations across Chicago were also present, tabling to young voters about their missions. Among these were Asian Americans Advancing Justice, CODEPINK and Nuclear Energy Information Service. 

Ellen Zhou, a community organizer for Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said the organization aims to build collective power, achieve racial equity and be a political home for Asian Americans. Zhou said she joined because she wanted to be a progressive Asian American voice and a political home for young Asian Americans. 

She said young voters should keep timely issues like surveillance AI technology, which law enforcement bodies may use to reduce identification time, in mind when voting. Zhou referenced the Abolition Working Group, an internal committee of the Democratic Socialists of America, and their attempts to keep an AI surveillance tool called BriefCam out of Cook County Jail. 

She said the environmental, financial and societal impact of the technology is not worth the outcome.

“We know that surveillance AI does not keep us safe and does not make jail safer either,” Zhou said. “So why are we spending money on technology that actively harms our communities in terms of environmental impact and also collecting unnecessary data on us?” 

CODEPINK is a national women-led pacifist and anti-war organization. National Co-Director Danaka Katovich moderated the panel discussion. At the table was Loyola pre-med student Ellie Alden and organization member Becca Zolton.

They attended the event to do outreach and connect with other anti-war organizations, Zolton said. Their table highlighted the Pentagon’s budget and peace work, focusing specifically on money going toward the wrong place and funding wars. CODEPINK’s message was evident with neon pink stickers reading “Make Out Not War.” 

“Right now, we have a ton of money funneled into the Pentagon. This next year’s Pentagon budget is proposed to be $1.5 trillion, and there’s some really meaningful momentum against it,” Zolton said. “We’re trying to spread the word, asking people what they would like that money to go to instead.”  

Representing the Nuclear Energy Information Service table was director Dave Kraft and DePaul University graduate student Lily Singer. At the event, the organization educated voters on anti-nuclear issues, explaining why it’s a topic of importance for upcoming elections. 

As an Indigenous person, Singer said she’s passionate about how nuclear test sites are affecting Indigenous people and their health. She said she thinks young voters often overlook the impacts of nuclear energy on the environment, even for those who care deeply about climate issues.

“If you are someone that is actively worried about the military industrial complex, actively worried about data centers and the uprising of AI, then you are worried about nuclear, whether you know it or not,” Singer said. 

Although he couldn’t be in attendance, Mytty said he hopes elected officials and politicians read the document IWBW is creating to explain how young people think when it comes to militarism, war and activism. Coming up, World BEYOND War has protests, runs, a Bike For Peace event and online courses individuals can partake in. 

At the IWBW event, fourth-year history and political science major at Lewis University Shane Callahan said he’s always been passionate about global issues and believes it’s important for people to recognize everyone shares the same world and community.

“I think that this is so important, especially for the younger generation students, organizers and activists, just to have a space where they can talk about issues, develop methods for organizing plans of action and to continue further education for the community and public,” Callahan said. “We’re all in this together, and we’re all fighting together.”