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Carol: The
Student Voices campaign
was created by the California
Alliance for Arts Education
to speak to the need for
arts for all students in
every classroom every day.
And it was way, a means of
giving students a voice
to say, 'This is why
we need the arts.'
Carol: Now, what will be the
focus of the cameras
during the ceramics class?
Michael: Carol Hovey
is the drama director
at Livermore High School.
She's checking in today with
a group students who are
working on a two-minute
video for the
Student Voices Campaign.
Vincent: Our video for the
Student Voices Campaign
is about how there's so
many different art types,
and so many different ways
people can express
their art through
sculpting, photography,
filming, that all of
them should be included
for everybody to feel like
they have a voice in this.
James: Most of the
time we've been working on,
um, storyboarding it or just
brainstorming just on
big sheets of paper.
And just jotting down ideas
and figuring out a story and
what would be best for it.
Harleigh: If all of the
quotes together are more
than two minutes, then you
guys may have to look back
to find shorter quotes.
Michael: The video is
a true collaboration,
with drama students writing
the script and recording
the voiceovers...
and film students
like Harleigh turning
it into a reality.
Harleigh: They'll show us a
little picture of what they
want us to do and
we're like okay,
we know exactly how
to make this happen.
We'll get, like,
some close up shots.
We're filming what their
vision is and then
we go back and edit.
Um, we show
them our footage.
They're basically
our bosses. (laughs)
Carol: They learn
how to collaborate,
they learn how
to communicate,
they learn how to
express creativity,
they learn critical
thinking skills,
they learn problem solving.
So it's an invaluable
process.
Nat full: What if I said you
could change the world
by making a video?
And that video is
about your voice.
Michael: The Student Voices
Campaign launched in 2014
as a creative way to give
students a voice
in school budget
discussions.
Students from schools across
California submit about 200
videos a year....
all of which are judged
by professionals, with
the winners announced
in the spring.
Every video that's
created by students
is also submitted to
their school board.
Caitlin: We've had some
wonderful issues
raised by students at the
Student Voices Campaign.
Um, one of our
outstanding videos was,
um, a video submitted by San
Jose Unified School District
students about trans and
non-binary students
at the school.
Nat full up from trans
video: Gender neutral
restrooms should be readily
available in our schools.
Let's help out our trans
and non-binary friends.
Caitlin: And the outcome
of that video was that the
school board put in two
new restrooms for trans and
non-binary students to use
during their school day.
Michael: Livermore
High School students
have participated in the
video campaign
since the beginning...
advocating to their
school board to keep arts
classes at their school.
Harleigh: Art is pretty much
the first classes they cut
from any budget of schools.
So, if they see how
important it is to students
and how it really gets
our creative minds going,
I think it's
very important for, like,
the community and the
school to understand that.
Vincent: I believe that our
voices should be heard
as students
because they are, uh,
oftentimes not heard as
well as adults or teachers
because they think
that we are too young,
or, um, naïve to understand
what we should be.
Michael: Carol Hovey says
she's mindful to act only as
a guide and observer during
the filmmaking process...
ensuring that the
video really does reflect
the student viewpoint.
Carol: I really
try not to butt in.
I really try just to let
them to find their voice.
Because, as I remind
myself, it's not my voice.
I talk enough.
They need to
find their voice.
Nat full: I feel like their
little sibling and they
always have my back.
Plus we share so many
common interests it's never
boring to go to rehearsal.
Caitlin: The Student Voices
Campaign also introduces
students to advocacy, some
of which have never heard
of this in their daily life,
or understand that that
actually can
make a difference.
Nat full: Arts have
some power.
Do we want to go out
and ask other people
what they think?
Michael: Although the
Livermore High student
video didn't win top
honors, it was a finalist.
Perhaps more importantly, it
conveyed a powerful message
to the Livermore school
board, and community
about how important
art classes are
to these young people.
Vincent: Art is not
just for the art people.
It can also be for
sports people to
come in and express
themselves that way.
It gives everybody an
outlet to express
themselves freely.
James: Arts
matter to people,
and arts have a
lot of power.
They can empower people.
They can changes lives.
Arts can do a lot of
things for people.