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NYRA Freedom
ISSN 1933-5229
Scott Davidson and Adam King
Volume 6, Issue 6
June 8, 2006
Contents:
Introduction
NYRA Election, Annual Meeting
NYRA Fights Myspace Restrictions
Student Representation, Act III
NYRAthon, Fundraising
NYRA-Vermont Holds “Know Your Rights Day”
Staff Requests
Upcoming Events
News from the Web
Conclusion
Introduction
By Scott Davidson
May was a mixed blessing. NYRA-Vermont organized a successful event,
and the national office attracted a lot of media attention. NYRA-DC had
some recent success with fundraising, but our annual fundraiser
generally did not go over as well as we had hoped it would. With grant
applications pending, we hope that donations from individuals will
increase enough that we will have more good news in time for the annual
meeting this August. We have many qualified candidates running for the
board, and I’m sure that no matter how the election turns out, NYRA will
have qualified leadership this August.
NYRA Election, Annual Meeting
By Scott Davidson
Every year NYRA holds an election, where the membership elects the nine
board members who are responsible for running NYRA’s national office.
This year the election will run from July 5 to August 5, and there are a
number of qualified candidates. The candidates so far are Chris
Batchelor, Ken Boring, Jess Caralize (incumbent), Scott Davidson
(incumbent), Zach Hobesh, Alex Hull-Richter, Rich Jahn, Adam King, Alex
Koroknay-Palicz (incumbent), Keith Mandell (incumbent), Katrina Moncure
(incumbent), Conor Nugent, Robert Reynolds (incumbent), Chip Sinton, and
Pamela Tatz (incumbent).
This election will be the most competitive and interesting in NYRA’s
history. Most of these candidates have a great deal of experience in
the organization, and all of them have interesting ideas that will
improve NYRA’s situation. Last year there were qualified candidates
who were not elected, and with such a great list that is likely to
happen this year as well. To vote in the election, you must be a
dues-paying member. Dues are 10 dollars, and membership must be renewed
every year. If you wish to vote or run in this election, and provide a
valuable donation that will keep NYRA going, please pay your dues
immediately.
The election will end on August 5 at the annual meeting in Berkeley,
California. This is the first time NYRA has held its annual meeting on
the west coast, and NYRA expects members from across the country to
attend this meeting. Members will hear the election results before
everyone else, and hear the Executive Director deliver the annual
report. Annual meetings are usually a lot of fun, and everyone is
invited to participate. If you are interested in attending the annual
meeting and you need housing, please contact the Berkeley chapter
(www.berkeley.youthrights.org).
NYRA Fights Myspace Restrictions
By Adam King
There is a new bill pending in Congress that would cut government
funding to any school or library that permits people under the age of 18
to access social networking websites such as Myspace. In addition, many
schools are starting to punish students for pictures on their Myspace
accounts.
On May 22, reporters from ABC’s World News Tonight interviewed Alex
Koroknay-Palicz, NYRA’s executive director. While the news did not air
Koroknay-Palicz’s segment, he was quoted in an online news article. You
can read the full article here:
http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?p=178172#post178172.
A longtime ally of NYRA, Mobilizing America’s Youth
(www.mobilize.org/sos) is working with other organizations in the youth
rights movement to oppose the House bill that would place prohibitions
on Myspace.
In a statement issued on May 18, Koroknay-Palicz said, “The National
Youth Rights Association strongly condemns schools that use online
information about a student as grounds for punishment… Unless a
student’s behavior directly and tangibly disrupts learning at school, it
is simply none of the school’s business. Schools are not a massive
unrestrained police force for all individuals under 18."
Student Representation, Act III
By Scott Davidson
Adam King, of Asheville, North Carolina, spoke to the Buncombe County
Board of Education about adding a student advisor for the third time on
Thursday, June 1, 2006.
Joel Burgess, of the Asheville Citizen-Times, was there covering this
story and other stories taking place that night. After King had to sit
through a two-hour meeting, he delivered his speech during the public
comment session.
When King finished, board members did not have any comment. According to
King, the chair simply asked if there were any other comments from the
public, and there was not any, so the board adjourned.
After the meeting, King talked with board members Dusty Pless and
Richard Greene, two informal supporters of the proposal. They asked him
about the organization he is involved with – NYRA, and they told King
they wanted to do more research to try to convince other members on the
board. They want to develop a consensus before making it an agenda item,
but they did say that they do not understand why the other board members
are against it.
Burgess wants King to write a 350- to 450-word guest column for Sunday’s
education section of the Citizen-Times sometime within the next week or so.
King will not be able to deliver any more presentations until August,
the month of the next normal board meeting.
In the meantime, however, King will contact the student councils of the
other high schools in the county school district, and gather support
from teachers and students from those high schools. If time allows, he
may also propose a similar position for the Buncombe County Board of
Commissioners this summer. One commissioner, David Gantt, has expressed
his desire for a student advisor on the board.
“The school board has an unelected legal advisor who provides his
perspective of the law,” King says. “It is time for the board to include
a student advisor to provide a perspective of the nearly 26,000 students
who are affected every day by the decisions the school board makes. It
is time to give this proposal a try.”
NYRAthon, Fundraising
By Scott Davidson and Adam King
There is good news and bad news on the fundraising front. NYRA’s annual
fundraising competition, NYRAthon, did not meet expectations, and did
not even approach the amount of money raised last year. Despite strong
showings from a few core members, individual donations were down. While
the fundraiser is pretty much over, you should still donate money to NYRA.
This money keeps NYRA’s website up, pays for the cost of printing, and
keeps out Executive Director employed full time. Please visit
www.youthrights.org/donatel if you feel you can make a donation.
The good news is that NYRA-DC raised well over 300 dollars in one day,
simply by standing at an intersection and asking for donations. If this
strategy holds up over a long period, we might have another steady
source of revenue. NYRA also has two large grant applications pending.
While NYRA members should not get their hopes up, it is promising that
the foundations looked at NYRA’s letters of intent and invited us to
submit full applications.
As of Wednesday, June 7, the following is the results from NYRA’s annual
fundraiser:
Individual Competition –
Adam King $380
Keith Mandell $370
Frederick Mutooni $300
Alex Koroknay-Palicz $275
Katrina Moncure $272
Bill B. $250
Stefan Muller $200
Conor Nugent $135
Robert Reynolds $50
Scott Davidson $50
Chapter Competition –
NYRA-DC $310
NYRA-Paterson $300
NYRA-Orange County $30
The first place winner of the individual competition will receive $100,
second place will receive $50, and third place will receive $25.
The first place winner of the chapter competition will receive $100
worth of NYRA merchandise: buttons, T-shirts, flyers, etc.
NYRA-Vermont Holds "Know Your Rights Day"
By Scott Davidson
NYRA Vermont, one of NYRA’s most active chapters, held an event called
“Know Your Rights Day” on May 16 at the Vermont Commons School in
Burlington. The event attracted dozens of students, as well as members
of the local press. “Know Your Rights Day” consisted of a series of
workshops pertaining to youth and student rights, as well as speeches by
several experts on these issues.
Among the speakers were Hardy Machia, the Secretary of NYRA Vermont and
the Chairman of the Vermont Libertarian Party; Allen Gilbert, the
Executive Director of the Vermont chapter of the ACLU; Frank Bryan, a
professor at the University of Vermont; and Matt Brown, a UVM sophomore.
Jay Leff, the president of NYRA-Vermont and a member of the NYRA Board
of Directors, was on hand at the event and the local press quoted him
extensively. Leff pointed out the importance of understanding your civil
rights, and how the schools have failed to teach these rights in any
thing but a historical context. The organizers of the event said that
they hoped for more faculty involvement and a higher student turnout,
but they were generally satisfied with the workshop.
Staff Requests
By Adam King
NYRA is seeking to hire regional captains for chapter formation in the
Midwest and Central regions. If you are interested, fill out an
application here: http://www.youthrights.org/chapterformation.php or
contact Adam King.
Upcoming Events
Youth Rights Chat, June 20, 2006, at 8 p.m. ET, in NYRA’s AIM chatroom
Board Meeting, June 25, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. ET, in NYRA’s AIM chatroom
Chapter Informational Update Meeting, TBA
News From the Web
Detention for a High School Blog Entry?
http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?p=178172#post178172
Freshman fights for representation
http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?p=177861#post177861
The Fine Art of Letting Go
http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7717
District takes aim at teens’ Web posts
http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7711
Three dozen students gather for workshops such as Bill of Rights 101
http://www.youthrights.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7699
Conclusion
By Adam King
While the NYRAthon is basically over, it is never too late to donate
money to your favorite organization fighting for youth rights. If you
are short on cash, you can always volunteer a couple of hours a week.
We are always needing people to assist with chapter formation or
gathering legal information, for instance. With some schools’ latest
attacks on students’ Myspace accounts, we need people to spread the word
about NYRA and the unfairness of schools punishing students for what
they post on their Myspace. To remain successful, we need people like
you. We need people who are interested in youth rights and are able to
volunteer just a couple of hours a week. Two hours is not a lot, so
come on people, help out some.
------NYRA------
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