Pierce first Colfax-Mingo student to attend Iowa Youth Congress

Most 14-year-olds might consider government policy a dry, mundane affair, but Miles Pierce, a student at Colfax-Mingo High School, relishes learning about the political process. Pierce, who spends free time at school in the library, and his friends research policy and host friendly debates to learn more about current events.

The ninth-grader, with hair dyed a galactic purple-blue and rings perched on almost every finger, is a member of the LGBTQ community and identifies as male. Pierce has spent hours on the phone with various administrative departments in the state in an attempt to change the gender on his birth certificate before receiving a driver’s license.

“I finally got an answer, which wasn’t what I was hoping for, which was you had to have some sort of surgery or some sort of note from a doctor saying you are this gender (with which you identify) and not the one you were assigned with.”

This past spring, participation in Jeanne Patterson’s eighth-grade current events class inspired Pierce to apply to the Iowa Youth Congress.

“We watched a Katie Couric documentary on transgender issues, and we did some stuff on bullying,” Patterson said. “Miles would ask how he could get involved or get a movement started. I think I saw the Youth Congress thing and mentioned if you want to get involved, find an organization already involved in the process.”

Since 2006, the Iowa Department of Human Rights has sponsored the Iowa Youth Congress, a year-long program for 100 minority and otherwise-underrepresented high school students throughout the state. Participants meet throughout the year to advocate for issues affecting Iowa youth. At the end of the program, students participate in a Day on the Hill event where they travel to the capitol to see issues for which they advocated turned into bills and put to vote by Iowa’s legislature. This year, the Iowa Youth Congress’ agenda includes diversity education, tobacco packaging, increasing the legal purchasing age of tobacco, mental health evaluations and training, sexual violence awareness, STEM incentives and gun safety drills.

Pierce is the first Colfax-Mingo student to participate in the program. On Oct. 22, he visited congressional chambers under the gold-domed capitol for the program’s mock congress event. Mock Congress Day began with a networking session at 8:30 a.m. as the sun peeped above the hill. Then, students sat through a formal briefing session about the Iowa Youth Congress agenda before they entered the chamber to begin debate.

“I really liked the Congress session. We got to hear different people’s opinions,” Pierce said.

Pierce noted the mock congress supported the agenda items on which he and his group worked: gun safety drills and mental health evaluations and training. Both issues, according to Pierce, currently don’t receive the attention they deserve.

“The mock congress was very for the mental health curriculum because of the mental health stigmas that go along with people who have mental health issues,” Pierce said. “We think it would be better to teach kids of all ages that it’s good to talk about it.”

As a student, Pierce’s interest in gun safety drills is personal.

"I've been here in this school system since kindergarten and cannot once remember us doing a gun safety drill. One teacher had talked to us about it, and that was Mrs. Patterson," Pierce said. "When we had a threat (in Florida) last (school) year they were talking about, that's what got us to have a drill this (school) year."

Pierce and the other members of the Iowa Youth Congress will continue to refine their bills until they take them to Day on the Hill when the Iowa State Legislature will put them to a vote.

“My main goal is hopefully for the legislators to pass our bills into effect,” Pierce said, “That’d be a top priority.”

Whether the bills become law or not, Pierce has gained valuable hands-on-experience from participating in the Iowa Youth Congress.

“Definitely sign up,” Pierce said. “It’s a really fun and interesting thing to be a part of. It’s definitely something you should look forward to.”

Contact Phoebe Marie Brannock at 641-792-3121 ext. 6547 or pmbrannock@newtondailynews.com