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-----"NYRA Freedom"------
Scott Davidson and Adam King
Volume 6, Issue 5
May 7, 2006
Introduction
NYRA Members Lobby in Sacramento
America Interviews Two Youth Rights Leaders
Congressional Candidate Supports a Lower Voting Age
New York Schools Become More Authoritarian
Feature: Rich Jahn, Member Services Director
Feature: Keep Fighting for Student
Representation
By Scott Davidson
While things could always be coming along
better, there has been a lot to be happy about over the past month.
Our members are making waves within the California Democratic Party,
and two of our leaders had a successful appearance on a radio
program. I have been working my contacts in the New York area to
advance the voting age issue, and it is beginning to pay off. While
there is not much about it in this issue, Adam King's campaign for
student representation on school boards is something we should be
excited about as well.
The one area where NYRA is clearly lacking is
fundraising. As I reported in the past two issues, NYRA's annual
fundraiser is underway, but the money is not coming in the way it
was last year. It is so crucial that NYRA members donate what they
can, so we can continue to pay our Executive Director and operate as
a viable organization.
-----NYRA Members Lobby in Sacramento-----
By Scott Davidson
A significant number of NYRA members, drawn
largely from the Orange Countyand Berkeley chapters, attended the
California Democratic Party's annual convention from April 28-30.
NYRA hoped that the California Democratic Party would embrace NYRA's
voting age position as part of its platform, as they recently passed
a resolution in support of a lower voting age, which also called for
youth participation in many of their internal affairs.
NYRA members were disappointed when they got to
the convention and found it was full of ageist bigotry and
opposition to a position that the party itself had seemed to embrace
less than a year ago. NYRA-OC President Natasha Hull-Richter, who
organized the campaign, stated that "appointments to the platform
committee were done through nepotism and not through support of
Democratic values...those appointed to the committee were strong
opponents of youth rights." One member of the committee, who
claimed to be a pediatrician, used the trite, offensive, and easily
refuted argument that young people have smaller brains and thus are
not capable of making important decisions. The chair of the
platform committee denied NYRA members the customary response time,
and many NYRA-OC members left the convention early, feeling that the
deck was stacked against them.
While the experience with that platform
committee was overwhelmingly negative, and many NYRA members left
the event disillusioned with the Democratic Party, more good
than bad came out of the campaign. While the platform committee
essentially shot NYRA down, the 2005 resolution remains the last
official word from the California Democratic Party on the voting age
issue.
NYRA members also secured the support of
several prominent Californiapoliticians who were in attendance. Rep.
Maxine Waters, Assemblyman Paul Koretz (who is among the most
respected politicians in California), State Controller and leading
gubernatorial candidate Steve Wesley, State Senator Jackie Speier
and State Senator Deborah Bowen all expressed their support
for a lower voting age. Coming just after an endorsement from the
Screen Actors Guild, this represents an overwhelming victory for the
cause of youth rights. California NYRA members are currently
waiting to hear if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is in favor of a lower
voting age.
NYRA sends it sincere thanks to all the members
who attended this convention, and especially to the politicians who
were courageous enough to stand up for youth rights. NYRA would
also like the Democratic Party to note that if it wishes to attract
the next generation of voters, it should do so by treating them with
respect and dignity, not making absurd comments about their
brains and denying them the right to present their arguments.
-----Voice America Interviews Two Youth Rights
Leaders-----
By Adam King
NYRA's Executive Director Alex Koroknay-Palicz
and Professor Mike Males appeared on the Internet radio show,
"Advocating America's Young Adult" for a live interview discussing
various aspects of youth rights and problems that face the movement.
On Thursday, April 27, 2006, radio show hosts
Chloe White and Charlie Fairchild, two supporters of youth rights,
interviewed Males and Koroknay-Palicz for an hour from 8 p.m. ET to
9 p.m. ET. The two leaders were asked questions about NYRA and what
all it has accomplished and various issues concerning youth rights.
A big highlight of the show was when the two were asked about the
recent driving study that Males and NYRA published last month.
Koroknay-Palicz made several mentions of NYRA's
website, but due to the normal lack of visitors nearing the weekend,
the website did not receive any more visitors than usual. At the
end of the show, two NYRA members, Adam King and Jessica Campbell
called in. King commented on the organization and all that it
has done for him, while Campbell focused on the issue of behavior
modification facilities, which had not been mentioned in the show
until then.
If you would like to listen to the online
recording, go to
http://www.voice.voiceamerica.com/.
-----New York Schools Become More
Authoritarian-----
By Scott Davidson
Students' rights are quickly becoming an issue
of significant import in New York City. It is in the papers and on
television, and NYRA members have overheard youth rights
issues being discussed in the office of a very influential New York
City Councilman. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has recently been
enforcing a ban on cell phones in public schools, to the disgust of
many students and parents. And in a move that is perhaps even more
disgusting than the ban on cell phones, New York City is performing
more and more random searches on students who have done nothing
wrong.
Students have organized successful protests,
which have in turn brought the issue a great deal of attention from
the media and from elected officials. NYRA hopes that this
frustration and outrage over a relatively narrow issue can be
channeled into a general outrage over compulsory education in the
United States, and the way young people are generally treated as
second- class citizens. A protest will tentatively take place at
New York City Hall on Thursday, May 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET.
-----News from the Web-----
Editorial: More student input on school issues
worth a try (http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showpost.php?p=165634&postcount=26)
Student to school board: You could use my
perspective (http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7311)
14-year-old protest organizer commits suicide
after threats from school faculty (http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7290)
Feature on NYRA Member Kate Touhey (http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/living/14515565.htm)
Conclusing:
By Adam King
Until February, I had only done a lot of work
behind the scenes, such as chapter formation and editing this
newsletter. When I started working on my project to add a student
representative to the local school board, something felt different.
I don't really know how to describe it, but it felt wonderful to
have the chance to actually do something 'out on the streets.' If
you are looking for a revamp opportunity, I encourage you to do
something similar in your own area. Whether you're currently
working behind the scenes or not, find a youth rights project that
is important to you and work on it. We need people of both kinds to
make this organization a continued success.
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