(YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost applauded ten Youngstown middle-school students this afternoon for their award-winning essays about ways to build safer communities to counter the violence they have experienced or witnessed.
“It is clear you’re making waves – keep pushing forward and speaking out for change,” Yost said in a video addressing the students, this year’s finalists in the Youngstown City School District’s Do the Write Thing program. “Writing about violence isn’t easy, … but your essays were powerful, thoughtful, eye-opening.”
The National Campaign to Stop Youth Violence created Do the Write Thing in 1994 to encourage young people to be a part of the solution to violence. The program asks seventh- and eighth-graders to reflect, heal, and lead through their writing.
Yost’s office began partnering with the nonprofit agency in 2021 to introduce Do the Write Thing to Ohio middle-schoolers. Springfield City Schools was the first district to participate, with the Canton, Cleveland, Lima, Youngstown and Zanesville districts joining in various years thereafter.
This year marks the third for Youngstown, which received more than 200 submissions from students at Chaney, East, and Rayen Early College middle schools.
The ten finalists were recognized today during an award ceremony at B&O Station Banquet Hall, with the students’ parents and teachers and some community leaders also in attendance.
Business leaders and community members judged the essays, selecting the ten to be published in a special booklet that will be distributed statewide.
One of the finalists, Jaliyah Cundiff, will represent Youngstown at the Do the Write Thing National Recognition Week in July in Washington, D.C., alongside four peers from the other participating districts.
Although Attorney General Yost could not attend today’s ceremony in person, his video message encouraged students to continue being voices for change.
Youngstown City School District Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor applauded the program’s impact.
“I’m proud of our YCSD scholars for using their voices through the Do the Write Thing contest,” he said. “Their courage and honesty remind us that our young people are not just the future – they are leaders today.”