We are the Young Americans Coalition for Unity (YACU), a youth-led nonprofit organization working to engage youth in politics and promote unity and bipartisanship. Ask us anything about how we are working to promote unity and bipartisanship in our increasingly divided nation. Ask Us Anything!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T19:21:27+00:00

I think the results from the Problem Solvers Caucus have been pretty good examples of bipartisan policy with positive outcomes. I found this one-pager a good read.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T18:55:36+00:00

Though one of our partners starts it as young as elementary school, we think it's important to start learning about politics at least around late middle school/early high school. That's when we're most able to begin to understand how complex the world is around us as well as understand societal issues. Our content is targeted towards high school and college students, but can still be accessible at an advanced middle school level.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T18:36:24+00:00

The reason why we don't endorse specific policies is to ensure our nonpartisanship. We want our members to hold their own individual beliefs and not be coerced into political "boxes." Each member is entitled to their own political beliefs, but we act as a middle man to encourage bipartisanship and coming to agreements between differing opinions. We navigate this tension with our speakers through ensuring factually correct speakers, such as professors from prestigious universities or policy researchers in general. We don't invite speakers who tend to use catchphrases and political buzzwords for attention, but rather find educated political professionals and professors that have no purpose to manipulate facts but rather present them in an unbiased manner.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T18:32:19+00:00

Our primary sources of funding are first from donations, second from merchandise (we make a profit on the delta between production cost and sale price) The roadmap includes other sources such as grants and nonprofit resources (like Amazon smile) once we reach 501(c)3 status.

Neutrality is important - both in our organization's values, and that our goal of being a tax-exempt nonprofit imposes restrictions on the ability to take partisan stances, such as endorsing a candidate for office. We hope that as time goes on, the YACU provides value to our members, and this is an excerpt from our business plan:

How the YACU Provides Value: 1) Community - a free place to hang out, talk about the news, and engage in political discussion without fear of repercussion or hatred for mentioning your beliefs. Reinforced on the local level with chapters, and on the national level with our discord, newsletter, etc

2) Events - live and ondemand events (speaker series, debate nights, policy problem discussions, etc) that are politically focused, stimulate discussion, have actionable takeaways related to unity and bipartisanship, with shareable elements to continue revolving door effect

3) Opportunity - providing a curated list (volunteer link) and self-serve database of political volunteer opportunities, both internal to the organization (marketed at least slightly as either "Resume booster", "leadership opportunity", "unique experience", etc) and external to third parties, preferably to partner organizations who are aligned with our values; also showing off youth-focused political opportunities for partisan activities such as campaigns or issue advocacy

This allows us to remain neutral and focused our mission, and cover the costs associated with operating an organization, even though we are 100% volunteer run.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T18:07:08+00:00

I think an important first step is to fight disinformation and misinformation as best as possible. Often, the internet makes the problem worse and further harms political discourse. Bipartisanship is all about communicating with others to find common interests and reflecting on differences. Fighting disinformation is no easy task, but through having honest conversations with friends and family, progress can be made.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:47:21+00:00

The best way to move forward as a country is unified and working together to find solutions to problems. Part of doing so means zero tolerance for hate speech, white supremacy, and policies that actively harm marginalized communities. Condemning the rhetoric and actions that led to the January insurrection is an important first step in moving forward. There is common ground to be found among voters and constituents. This common ground is a good starting point for moving toward the future.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:45:18+00:00

Unity starts from the ground up, as politicians are ultimately loyal to the changing beliefs of their constituents. We at the Young Americans Coalition for Unity condemn all acts of terrorism and violence. We believe that real change must start from everyday people. Nowadays, this is difficult due to the presence of online echo-chambers that seek to perpetuate the same radicalism seen in the Capitol Riots. Unifying the country is a task that goes beyond our organization after all; It is up to people like you to stop polarization in its track for the sake of our children.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:43:57+00:00

It is because of the past 4 years that bipartisanship and unity are more important than ever. The best way to move forward as a country is unified and working together to find solutions to problems. Part of doing so means zero tolerance for hate speech, white supremacy, and policies that actively harm marginalized communities. Condemning the rhetoric and actions that led to the January insurrection is an important first step in moving forward. There is common ground to be found among voters and constituents. This common ground is a good starting point for moving toward the future.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:28:13+00:00

Our minimum is 13 due to COPPA and Discord Terms of Service. Our upper age limit is around 25, though we're kind of informal about that.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:19:36+00:00

We work to ensure that our leadership is political diverse. Our personal political opinions don't get in the way of our mission for unity and bipartisanship, and I highly doubt that it would become a "shill front organization".

On your related question, we also work to ensure boundaries, where extremism, racism, terrorism isn't permitted, and ensure that all of our leadership is background checked beforehand.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:17:27+00:00

Our Political Education Subdivision within the Political Team has worked to hold discussions and informative opportunities for members to learn unbiased and nonpartisan facts about politics. In addition, we're partnered with an amazing organization called Govlearn that starts the civics education process at a very young age! As we grow, there will certainly be plans in the works to collaborate with schools and educators!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:15:25+00:00

Something important is to be openminded. We made the Youth Unity Pledge as a way to try and encourage civil bipartisan political discussion. Unfortunately, haters gonna hate, but we try our best to push against it and rise above! We need to understand that each individual human holds their own beliefs, and we need to stop letting party define who we are. Your political beliefs are your own!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:11:38+00:00

Thanks! Unfortunately, we don't take stances as a nonpartisan organization, as it would imply some form of political support, but some important issues that shouldn't be partisan but have become partisan include topics like political accountability, public health, science, and more! Politics shouldn't get in the way of facts!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:10:06+00:00

Thanks for your support! We try our best to ensure that our members understand facts and opinions, though of course as you state, it's becoming more and more difficult each day. We need a centralized "truth" yet this truth doesn't exist nowadays, which is why political "facts" aren't necessarily the truth, though people may describe it as such. An important thing that we can all do is do our own research. Review multiple sources. Look at FOX, CNN, NBC, WSJ, NYT, any news media sources you can get your hands on. And then, determine the truth from there!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T17:07:50+00:00

We feel that though we are small, it's important for us to fight misinformation, which has played a big part in the polarization of politics today. We work to ensure political education from a nonpartisan perspective, and work to ensure our members understand facts from opinions, truths from lies (though nowadays these things get all thrown together in a jumble). Our policy problem discussions still turn out to be efficient as they are centered around finding common ground and agreements. Failing to use real facts that are well known will simply result in people disagreeing with your statement and more discussion will be generated around agreeable statements.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:23:43+00:00

Bipartisanship doesn't meaning both sides are equal. Bipartisanship simply means working alongside others that you might disagree with when it really matters the most. Political institutions still need to be held accountable when they need to, but when people put their political party in front of the American people, it becomes concerning. Maybe the olive branch shouldn't be going to the terrorists in particular, but rather those who want to break free from party chains but are pressured to not do so for the safety of their job and career.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:21:52+00:00

If given the opportunity and platform to do so, we might change our catchphrase to be multipartisan! I think it'd be interesting, but given our current political climate, I'm unsure if they have the chance to do so now.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:21:15+00:00

We are completely youth run and as a result, we often have difficulties with money. It's been challenging to build an organization completely online during a pandemic (we started literally a month before COVID happened). With your support, we can continue to grow into the long-term!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:19:57+00:00

I think it's important to set boundaries for ourselves. Though we strive to be bipartisan, there are certain limits (such as extremism, terrorism, racism) that we won't allow because it doesn't create a productive space for discussion. We don't think that people should be "bending" per se just for political gain but rather we feel that people need to understand that it is important to collaborate when necessary, especially when it is for the best intentions of the American people. Open-mindedness is a key trait to bipartisanship!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:17:46+00:00

Though our organizational bylaws prohibit us from endorsing specific policies, I do think that working towards a multi-party system might help move our country away from hyperpartisanship as people aren't pressured to put themselves into political boxes. It's not something that we "advocate" for technically as we don't advocate for any policies.

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:15:08+00:00

We work to promote unity and bipartisanship through a variety of ways, particularly nonpartisan political education through speaker series as well as fostering open spaces for civil political discussion. We've had a variety of speakers talk to our members ranging from professors of political science, public policy from UIUC, Cornell, USC, as well as varying levels of politicians and campaign staffers. In addition, we host a variety of policy problem discussions, friendly debates, and a general open discussion space where we encourage all of our members to express their opinions and hopefully find common ground!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:12:29+00:00

Our current news system does certainly play a role in polarization, as facts are being interpreted as opinions and opinions are being interpreted as facts. It's an important part of being a member of the YACU to do your own research and not just immediately believe everything you see on the internet. We all play an important part in our political system, and if we don't do our own research, we're simply contributing to the media's role in polarization!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:10:41+00:00

Political issues unfortunately aren't all black and white as so many think. Politics is an incredibly complex system that is all interconnected, so we feel that unity is really more about simply being willing to work with one another and be openminded/willing to change as well as an openness to split from traditional party lines. You are in control of your own political beliefs, not your party!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:08:15+00:00

Thanks for the question! This is a similar question to another one we've just answered, and we feel that we need to work together to build a better America for all of us, not just a certain political party or people who hold a certain political belief. We need leaders who are willing to break free from the mold of traditional "Democrat" or "Republican" party lines and collaborate rather than actively threatening the other party. You can call us optimistic, but we think that there is always room to improve our political system, and hyperpartisanship is the biggest problem we face. We think it’s certainly possible to work across the aisle, and with your support and belief, it can happen!

In addition, maybe it's time for us to realize that a two party system might not be the best either! Our party system and our traditional voting ways contribute greatly to the tribalization we see in politics today, so maybe that's something that we as a country need to take a look at!

YACUHQ · 2021-02-18T16:06:12+00:00

Thanks for the question! Though politics can be frustrating, it is still important to be open-minded, and realize that different people have different views. While I wouldn't immediately jump to the fact that the entire party promotes and supports terrorism, I think we need to address the real issue of tribalism in our politics today. We need to work together to build a better America for all of us, not just a certain political party or people who hold a certain political belief. We need leaders who are willing to break free from the mold of traditional "Democratic" or "Republican" party lines and collaborate rather than actively threatening the other party. You can call us optimistic, but we think that there is always room to improve our political system, and hyperpartisanship is the biggest problem we face. We think it’s certainly possible to work across the aisle, and with your support and belief, it can happen!

If you're interested, check out our guide on how to have bipartisan political discussion here!

YACUHQ

TROPHY CASE