Mauston FACT 2023-2024 Recap

The Mauston High School FACT group had a very productive 2023-24 school year. There are three major events and FACTivisms the group is involved with every year to highlight: Trunk or Treat,12 days of FACTmas, and the 2024 Youth Summit. The group consists of about 30members who regularly attend the monthly meetings. The group is made up of 9^ththrough 12^th graders at Mauston.

Mauston High School puts on a Trunk or Treat where every student organization has its own “trunk” to hand out candy from. The FACT group put stickers on every piece of candy they handed out with the branding “candy flavored nicotine is a trick, not a treat” on it to spread awareness about vaping prevention to the trick or treaters. This incorporates the “Tobacco Tricks Not Treats” into a community facing FACTivism.

The 12 days of FACTmas is another popular FACTivism the MHS group does annually. Candy and small prizes are hidden throughout the school with facts about nicotine and tobacco on them for 12 days for all students to find. During the December FACT meeting, the group goes “caroling” around the school singing and reading the facts and statistics about how tobacco and vaping impacts teenagers’ health.

Finally, the MHS FACT group has played a crucial role in local Youth in Action: Youth Summit for both years of this event. In 2024, 2 FACT members were able to facilitate a breakout session where they talked about how they have built leadership skills through FACT. They spoke about their experiences having Representative Kurtz come to one of their meetings and how they were able to give spoken testimony at Joint Finance Committee hearings in 2023. Other FACT members introduced the speakers in all of their breakout sessions, and repped their branded hoodies.

The group is gearing up to recruit new members this fall, do all of these incredible annual events, and incorporate new FACTivisms and leadership into the upcoming school year. Stay tuned to see what they do next!

‍