YANI Collective brings students to ‘civic engagement'
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Three buses of eager students pulled up outside the Peoria County Election Commission as they learned about the voting process and civic engagement.
The YANI Collective's 'Mind Over Matter 3: Every Single Student' was held at 10 a.m. on March 18 at the election commission and according to the collective, the event is a way to uplift and empower Peoria's youth.
One senior who attended the event from Knoxville Center for Student Success, Tonnaya McAfee, said she is most excited to just see what the voting process is like.
'I want to know what [voting] is like, because everybody they should vote,' she said. 'I just want to get the experience, you know?'
Deasyia Barney, a Knoxville junior, said they have learned a lot about the importance of voting in school.
'We really learn the importance of voting and how can it affect us. Some people they don't really care about voting because they think, 'Oh, it doesn't really affect me,' or 'Oh, I don't really care,' but in reality, it kind of does in a way,' she said.
The event was their third Mind Over Matter event, which was aimed to help juniors and seniors learn the logistics of voting and empower them to 'exercise their civic rights.'
In 2022, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation which allowed students to miss two hours of school in order to vote on any Illinois election whether it is on election day or if they were to vote early.
In all, 150 students showed up to learn about the voting process.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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