Hundreds of local students gave up most of their three-day holiday weekend to come to campus for the fourth annual “Just for Middle School Students” on Monday, the second day of a two-day conference sponsored by the college of education.
The Eugene and Springfield students each paid $20 to participate in the day-long event, which was designed to prepare them for life after middle school.
“This is our way of helping them develop skills and giving them support,” said Karen Logvin, one of the event coordinators.
The middle school students spent Monday morning watching theater performances and engaging in group activities in the EMU Ballroom. In the afternoon, they divided into groups and explored campus.
“The best part was the morning session,” said Russell Kamp, an eighth-grader at Monroe Middle School. “The plays were the most fun.”
The event was the second day of “Success in the Middle: A Conference for and about Middle School Boys and Girls,” sponsored by the University’s Youth Enrichment and Talented and Gifted program, a branch of the college of education.
The conference began Sunday at Churchill High School’s auditorium with a program called “The Next Great Generation.” It featured a performance from Eugene’s senior theater group Encore Theater, a speech by author William Strauss and a performance by the Eugene Opera.
Encore’s fast-paced theater act was well-received by the crowd with big laughs and loud applause. Audience members joked about memories of childhood and told the students in the audience to savor being young.
Strauss then delivered “The Millennial Generation,” a speech about the potential of those in the generation born in 1982 and after.
“Today’s generation has more in common with the people from Encore than they do with their parents,” Strauss told the crowd.
He said generations want to rebel against the generation that preceded them, and, because Generation X has been largely apathetic, the Millennial Generation will be motivated and successful.
“You truly are America’s greatest generation,” Strauss told the middle school students in the crowd.
Strauss, who is the co-founder and director of the political cabaret the Capitol Steps, was also promoting his new musical, “MaKiddo,” a parody of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta “Mikado.”
The Eugene Opera was on hand to perform songs from his musical. The songs had titles such as “Practically Perfect Kids” and “We are the New Millennium,” and each one echoed Strauss’ words about the power of this millennial generation.
As students dispersed around 3:30 p.m. Monday, the two-day conference came to a close.
“It was a great success,” Logvin said. “We had a full house this morning. It was a lot of fun.”