Gatekeepers: What Stands Between Gen Z and Political Participation

Gen Z is now old enough to vote, to organize, and to hold office even as it is largely absent from the institutions that make political decisions. The median age in Congress is over 60 and on the federal bench it is 68. This panel takes up the practical questions behind those figures: what makes a political organization feel open or closed to someone in their early twenties, what stands between a first-time Gen Z candidate and a place on the ballot, and how the structure of American institutions shapes both answers. 

Join us on September 30th at Columbia University for a conversation with Samuel Moyn, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University and author of Gerontocracy in America, and Daniel HoSang, Professor of American Studies and Political Science at Yale and author of "Inside the Rise of the Multiracial Right." They will examine the age division in American politics, barriers to youth representation, and opportunities to widen participation. Suzanne Goldberg, Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, will moderate. 

This public panel is hosted by Columbia World Projects. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A. This event is free and open to the public with registration required.