- Schwarzenegger v. Gamers
- Annual Meeting a Great Success
- A New Year and a New Look for NYRA’s Annual Report
- NYRA Announces The First Ever Recipients of The NYRA Awards
- NYRA-SEFL Federal Curfew Lawsuit Suffers Setback
- NYRA Excited About New Relationship with the Department Of Education
- Election Results
- NYRA Blog Updates
- News From the Web
==Introduction==
The new year has begun! Right now college students are traveling to their new cities, new dorm rooms and new homes for the next year. High school students are looking over their class schedules for the next year and figuring out who they will be sharing third period with. This is a time of transition for many, and NYRA is no different. Two weeks ago NYRA members from around the country traveled to Washington, DC for our annual meeting. We reflected on the year we just finished and planned ahead for the year to come. Students across the country were sharpening their pencils in preparation while NYRA members met to sharpen their skills in youth rights advocacy. The next year promises to be as exciting and important to the future of youth rights as the year we just finished. But, as NYRA President Jeffrey Nadel says in the annual report, you can only prepare for the future if you understand the past. So all youth rights supporters are strongly urged to read through this year’s annual report and understand 2009-2010. (more…)
NYRA President Jeffrey Nadel often says “The worst thing you can do is forget what it is like to be young.” Very true. After all, how can you effectively defend youth rights, or do much of anything involving youth for that matter, without any kind of memory or knowledge of the lives of the people involved? As such, our young supporters swear to never forget. Our adult supporters swear to have never forgotten. We can’t ever let go of those memories and experiences…
Yes, you will.
Sorry to break it to you, but yes, you will forget or have already forgotten. Don’t get me wrong. That doesn’t mean you won’t still passionately support youth rights. The common ageist assertion that you’ll “grow out” of caring about this cause has almost entirely proven to be a myth, as even if those who were heavily involved as teens are doing other things with their lives now, they still very much support the mission and make contributions.
But if we adult youth rights supporters are to more truly understand our role in this movement, this is a fact we’re going to have to face. If we are to truly be sure we aren’t perpetuating beliefs and mindsets that work against youth rights, this is a fact we’re going to have to face.
Being an adult youth rights supporter does not mean we don’t still have adult privilege. We do. And the number one symptom of privilege is being blind to it, and blindness to privilege perpetuates it. So what sets adult youth rights supporters apart from ageists is not in having a perfect 20/20 memory of our own youths, but in recognizing we do not have this perfect memory, we are not living the lives of young people anymore, and as such do not have the authority to say or act like we do. What sets us apart is that we are aware we are privileged, and just because we’re seeking to take down that privilege doesn’t mean we’re exempt from it. (more…)
Interning at the National Youth Rights Association this past summer was a memorable experience. Among the many NYRA memories, my favorite was representing NYRA with Alex Koroknay-Palicz at the Vans Warped tour. In addition to the excitement of being around so many talented bands, Alex and I spoke with hundreds of people who varied in age, education, and gender. Throughout the day, most of our interactions were positive and sparked enlightening discussions about age discrimination. The event became an unexpected opportunity to challenge and change misconceptions about youth rights.
Through the Warped Tour experience, I became more aware of the diversity within NYRA’s membership. Unlike other organizations, NYRA attracts members who don’t necessarily fit a certain mold, but who are brought together by a common passion and belief in their civil rights. The passion of NYRA’s members and staff inspired me because they strive to make life better for upcoming generations.
Reflecting upon my summer, I have a sincere respect for NYRA. It is a unique civil rights organization that champions equality and equal opportunity for all, young or younger!
And now we’ve completed the 7th run of #16tovote on the 16th! Our monthly 24-hour Twitter campaign to raise awareness of lowering the voting age! This one was a little low-key, where despite having a decent total tweets and retweets of about 208, number of participants was only 30. Nonetheless, the event still went on and still spread the word about lowering the voting age to a lot of people, even several people who’d never heard of the cause before and were delighted! The next one will, of course, be Thursday, September 16. But for now, here’s the recap!
youthrights Let’s get another #16tovote on the 16th started! Here’s Top 10 Reasons to Lower the Voting Age! http://bit.ly/cavxOT
youthrights Schwarzenegger wants to ban violent video games from youth. http://bit.ly/baOTE3 That is, from people who can’t vote against him. #16tovote
youthrights But funnily enough, Schwarzenegger’s home country of Austria lowered the voting age to 16 three years ago. #16tovote
youthrights Wondering what’s going on? #16tovote on the 16th is our monthly event to tweet a lot about why the voting age needs to be lowered. #16tovote
youthrights If you support lowering the voting age, and of course you do, speak up! And use the hashtag. #16tovote (more…)
The following speech was delivered by top of the class student Erica Goldson during the graduation ceremony at Coxsackie-Athens High School on June 25, 2010
Here I stand
There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, “Ten years.” The student then said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast – How long then?” Replied the Master, “Well, twenty years.” “But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?” asked the student. “Thirty years,” replied the Master. “But, I do not understand,” said the disappointed student. “At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?” Replied the Master, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”
This is the dilemma I’ve faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.
Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn’t you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.
I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contend that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared. (more…)
Arnold is trying to take away your games. Don’t let him.
California passed a law that would ban the sale of all “violent” video games to individuals under 18. The case of whether or not this law is Constitutional is going before the US Supreme Court. Their ruling could have far reaching implications for how games are produced, who gets to play them and how they look. Even if you aren’t under 18 this court case could be just the first step to larger and stricter standards that will affect everyone. Jeff Green lays out why you should care. The Entertainment Consumers Association calls this case the “single most important moment for gamers, and the pivotal issue for gaming, in the sector’s history.”
Schwarzenegger: keeping violent video games out of the hands of our children since 1992.
No one on the Supreme Court has ever played a video game. None of the lawyers for either side have ever played a video game. These people are going to be setting down law that will affect tens of millions of gamers and young people across the country, but their only knowledge of video games comes from the testimonies of people like Andrew Schlafly, who paint video games as little more than realistic murder simulators.
NYRA isn’t going to let them get away with this. NYRA defends the rights of youth when they are challenged across the country. As gamers, we need to make it clear that video games are more than random violence and that no one should be denied access to them. NYRA is working on an Amicus Brief to submit to the Supreme Court, but we need your help.
Since we are one of the few organizations working on this actually made up of gamers, we need to work with the gaming community to strengthen our argument. The Supreme Court doesn’t realize the importance of video games. We need your testimonies about their social, artistic, and political value to help the justices understand just what they would be taking away if they let this law stand.
Political speech is treated differently than non-political speech. The more examples we can provide of games, especially violent ones, having some kind of political content the better. If we collect enough testimony to convince the court that video games have political value, their distribution will be protected under the First Amendment. This very well could be the silver bullet that saves video games in this case. If we convince the Court that games are political, not mindless, then we win. Simple as that.
You can be a part of saving video games. Leave a comment on this post describing your thoughts on the social, artistic and, especially, political value of video games. Together, we can strike this law down.
Today is the last day for me as an intern at NYRA’s office. But the battle for youth rights should never stop. Before involved with NYRA, I didn’t even notice that there are so many discriminations against the youth in the society. Everyone has been young. But as we grow up, we forgot how it was like to be young.
Among all NYRA concerned issues, I am particularly interested in lowering the drinking age. Before I came to the U.S., I have heard a lot about teen drinking issues especially the news story of former President Bush’s twin daughters got caught drinking alcohol. I think that story occupied the front page of the “International” section for a week. Maybe it is difficult for me to understand American teens’ desire to lower the drinking age because I grew up in a totally different culture. I have learned that alcohol is not just wine or beer that get people drunk or unconscious. Instead, certain type of alcohol can be used as a treatment for diseases. I cannot remember when was my first time to drink but I didn’t become an alcoholic because I drank at an early age. In fact, from what I have learned, young children normally don’t like the taste of alcohol. They prefer coke or juice. At NYRA, I was exposed to different kinds of youth issues in the U.S. If I was not interning here, I might still have the old thoughts toward American teens based on movies and TV series.
Working in the office of NYRA, I have learned a lot about not just youth rights issues but also how a non-profit organization operates. We have a saying in China, “Sparrow, although small, five organs all complete” (麻雀雖小，五臟齊全). To me, NYRA’s office seems to be a sparrow: it is small but functioning efficiently as those giant animals do, such as elephants or whales. Since it is a small office, you can always listen to the strategic discussion between the executive director and the director of development and operation. And, they encouraged interns to jump in and contribute their own thoughts. Moreover, I was encouraged to participate in several outreach director interviews which gave me to the chance to re-think interviews and candidates from the perspective of employers.
To me, it is a great experience working here. Today is the last day at the office. I remember a quote from my teacher a few years ago. And, I think it is suitable as the end of my story:
This is not the end.
This is not the beginning of the end.
Maybe this is the end of the beginning.
Dozens of NYRA members from all over the country came to DC this weekend for the biggest and most exciting NYRA Annual Meeting yet! We have about 100 pictures of the event up on the NYRA Facebook page. Here is just a sample. Click them to see the whole album. Be sure to “like” the NYRA Facebook page too!
Great to see more progress over in Europe on lowering the voting age!
The Finnish Justice Minister, Tuija Brax (Greens) recently proposed lowering the minimum voting age in Finland to 16 for future municipal elections. Brax believes that municipal elections are the perfect learning grounds for younger voters.
The aim of lowering the voting age is simply to improve voter turnout. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), the voter turnout among young people aged 18-29 in Western Europe is systematically lower than the average turnout – and Finland is no exception. Turnout among young people is the lowest of any age group in Finland, and the government wishes to reverse this trend.
Any changes to the voting age must be ratified by two consecutive parliaments, according to the constitution, meaning that any change is not possible before the 2012 municipal elections. The financial cost of any change has been estimated to be between 80,000 and 750,000 euros, depending on the costs of campaigns aimed at improving young voter turnout. No decision will be made on the national or local level until studies currently underway have been concluded sometime in the spring of 2011. However, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has already lowered the voting age in this year’s parish elections to 16.
Ugh, yet another mall banning teens. Where do they expect teens to go? This is ageist segregation, nothing more.
It was once a rite of passage for many teens, hanging out at the mall, but that may soon become a thing of the past.Tri-County Mall is the latest to restrict teens’ access during certain hours.
Starting Aug. 6, teens younger than 18 will have to be escorted by someone over the age of 21 after 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.The idea wasn’t sitting well with teenagers and some parents who are just learning of the new rules.”That’s not gonna be fair,” said 17-year-old Elise Hargis. “I’m not gonna have time to go to the mall. My mom can’t always go and that’s the only time I have to go. Saturdays I work during the day. Sunday I work.
“”That’s not right,” said shopper Barbara Phillips. “How can you stop somebody from going to stores spending money regardless of what age they are?”But mall officials said they believe congregating teens can make some shoppers uncomfortable.”You’re not as comfortable with youth right there at the main entrance, standing side by side, hanging out, not doing anything serious, just being loud and being youth,” said Mike Lyons, general manager of Tri-County Mall.And some shoppers agree.
“I mean, I teach high school, so I know there are really good teenagers out there,” said Richele Nold. “I know there are other kids who get in a group and just misbehave.”"I guess it’s just a management choice, and if they decided to do that they”ll have to deal with the consequences of it,” Nold added.Tri-County said it has hired 18 additional part-time security officers who will be stationed at 10 different mall entrances to check identification.
If you’re not 18 and without an adult, you’ll have to leave the mall on Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. until closing.Newport on the Levee and Dayton Mall have similar youth escort policies.
Children organizing for political rights will probably be treated initially with ridicule and derision, and then with misunderstanding and perhaps eventually violence if the experience of the struggle for women's suffrage is any precedent. - Bob Franklin
Why don't you 
Here’s Top 10 Reasons to Lower the Voting Age! 
#16tovote
Schwarzenegger: keeping violent video games out of the hands of our children since 1992.
