[NYRA] "NYRA Freedom" Volume 7, Issue 11

Thu Nov 1 16:20:15 CDT 2007

-----NYRA Freedom-----

ISSN 1933-5229

Volume 7, Issue 11

November 1, 2007

Editors: Harry Lambrianou and Victoria Minerva Rodríguez Roldán

--------Table of Contents-----------

- Introduction

--Organizational News--
- NYRA Vice President Wins Battle Against Long Island Curfew
- MADD Forms Pro-21 Coalition, Goes on Offensive
- Forming Chapter Speaks Out Against Drug Testing

--Features--
- Abusive Teen "Gulag Schools" Come Under Congressional Scrutiny
- Guards Who Beat Martin Lee Anderson To Death Found Not-Guilty

- News from the Web
- Conclusion

Whether in chains or in laurels, liberty knows nothing but victories.
--Douglas MacArthur

-----------Introduction-----------

The end of October is a time of honor. We honor those whose fights  
have taken a grim turn - Martin Lee Anderson, for whom there has been  
no justice yet.  We honor those whose fights begin to bear fruit - our  
own Stefan Muller, whose struggle against the Curfew continues; Choose  
Responsibility, who stand beside us in our campaign against the  
Drinking Age; and everyone who rallied against the Gulag Schools in  
recent days. We hope that the example we set in our struggles today  
may serve as an inspiration to those who come after, that none who  
struggle may ever feel alone in doing so, nor ever see their efforts  
as vain.

==Organizational News==

-----------NYRA Vice President Wins Battle Against Long Island Curfew---------

NYRA's Vice-President, Stefan Muller has been leading a campaign  
against a Long Island, New York village's curfew ordinance. With the  
help of other concerned students and his local chapter of the New York  
Civil Liberties Union, he has succeeded in getting a bill passed - by  
unanimous decision - to repeal the curfew, which would keep anyone  
under 19 off the street after 7pm on the nights of October 30 and 31.  
This bill is the latest success in a campaign Muller has waged since  
December of last year, beginning with a petition that gathered over  
200 signatures in a matter of days. Though this bill does not apply to  
this year, a committee has been convened to spend the next year  
considering alternative solutions. Mr. Muller sits on that committee  
and, though it is possible a new curfew could be passed, his efforts  
against that eventuality will continue.

---------MADD Forms Pro-21 Coalition, Goes on Offensive---------

In a surprising move, Mothers Against Drunk Driving formed a new  
coalition to support the existing 21-year-old drinking age.  The new  
coalition held a press conference on October 9 seeking to go on the  
offensive against advocates for lowering the drinking age to 18 (i.e.  
NYRA and Choose Responsibility).  The press conference earned NYRA  
additional media opportunities to make the case for 18.

On October 9th, our own Executive Director Alex Koroknay-Palicz was  
featured on CNN's Situation Room. MADD President Glynn Birch claimed  
MLDA 21 "saves lives and protects young minds." Another MADD  
representative appealed to emotion, saying that she "knows personally  
the effects of underage drinking." Alex pointed out that "18-year-olds  
are mature and responsible enough to handle every aspect of adulthood  
... It's absurd to have that double-standard," and advocated a change  
in the way America views and handles alcohol.

Statistics quoted by the National Traffic Safety Board indicate that  
only 28% of young drivers killed in automobile accidents had been  
drinking and that of those 28%, only 23% - just a little over 6% -  
were actually over the .08 legal limit. As John McCardell of Choose  
Responsibility said, "If science is allowed to speak for itself, we  
must not listen selectively." Also speaking out on the issue of the  
drinking age was NYRA member and American soldier Robert Bertoniere  
Jr., who at age 20 was charged with being a "minor in possession" of  
alcohol after returning from a 10 month tour of duty in Afghanistan.  
He said in an interview with Northwestern University that "you can go  
overseas, you can die overseas, but you can't drink a beer - it's just  
backwards."

Watch Koroknay-Palicz on CNN here:
http://www.youthrights.org/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=132

Watch Bertoniere Jr. here:
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=64545

---------Forming Chapter Speaks Out Against Drug Testing---------

On October 11, Zachary Feinburg of New Jersey's Morris Knolls High  
School was featured in the Star Ledger newspaper as one of several  
students who spoke out against random drug testing. He likened the  
program to police speed traps, saying: "Isn't it true also that once  
you pass that police car ... you just speed up again?" The program  
involves randomly drug testing students, regardless of whether or not  
they are actually suspected of drug abuse. Parents asked about the  
policy supported it, with one parent going so far as to say "I implore  
you, yes, please, invade our lives." The policy as written applies  
only to students.

==Features==

---------Abusive Teen "Gulag Schools" Come Under Congressional  
Scrutiny---------

On October 10, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported on  
the findings of its investigating into so called "wilderness  
programs." Said Greg Kutz, managing director of forensic audits and  
special investigations, "If you walked in part way through my  
presentation, you might have assumed that I was talking about human  
rights violations in a third world country." There are currently no  
federal laws regulating these facilities, and many states - including  
most of the 33 states from which these charges come - do not require  
any form of licensing for them.

The list of grievances found by the Office included examples of youths  
being forced to eat their own vomit, being beaten or thrown around, or  
forced to stand for hours in the sun - often while carrying or wearing  
weights or backpacks - by untrained or improperly trained personnel.  
At least ten deaths have already been brought to light so far,  
including those of 15-year-old Erica Harvey and of Aaron Bacon, both  
of whom died due to abuse or negligence by program staff, and of  
14-year-old Ryan Lewis, who hung himself while under the "care" of  
such a facility in West Virginia. These are the barest fraction of the  
1,619 incidents of abuse revealed to the Office during this hearing.

The report was delivered to a Congressional investigative hearing  
called by Education and Labor Committee Chairman Representative George  
Miller (D-CA).  An additional report is expected to be presented in  
February that probes deeper into the hundreds of reports of abuse at  
these facilities.  The Committee is considering a bill introduced by  
Rep. Miller that would provide Federal oversight and regulation for  
these facilities.

More info on NYRA's blog:
http://blog.youthrights.org/2007/10/11/you-know-youre-in-trouble/

---------Guards Who Beat Martin Lee Anderson To Death Found  
Not-Guilty---------

A jury in Florida deliberated for only 90 minutes before delivering  
their verdict. The seven boot camp guards who were video taped beating  
Martin Lee Anderson were found not guilty on the charge of  
manslaughter. 14-year-old Anderson died one day after being beaten  
with fists and knees and forced to breath ammonia by guards in a  
"get-tough" facility. The tragedy led to the discontinuation of such  
programs in the state of Florida. The bill that replaced them with the  
less-violent STAR program was renamed the Martin Lee Anderson Act by  
Florida legislature.  The US Attorney's Office continues to  
investigate the matter.  Video and further news can be found here:  
http://www.nospank.net/anderson.htm

---------News From the Web---------

----NYRA-Related News----

Schreiber Students Challenge Halloween Curfew
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13025

Two groups set out via Web to lower drinking age to 18
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13017

Seminole spares under-21 bargoers
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12969

Should Drinking Age Be Lowered?
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12926

Groups spar over lowering the drinking age
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12925

Youth Rights Association Campaigns To Lower Drinking Age
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12923

A Night for Ghosts and Ghouls, but Not 18-Year-Olds
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12827

----American News----

Democrats seek support from Iowa 17-year-olds
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12878

Cape student group seeks lower voting age
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12795

Adults favor mall curfews for kids
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13071

Video: Dramatic arrest caught on camera in Fort Pierce
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12851

Fight over teens' dress, dancing splits Argyle
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13133

Middle school birth control plan suggests crimes, group says
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13139

Paramount, MTV take 'Bong Hits'
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13070

Experimental School Gets Rid of Classes, Teachers
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13028

Fundraising T-Shirts Banned At School
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13023

For students, some rights are checked at the door
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12928

----International News----

SNP wants to cut voting age to 16
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13115

Keeping an eye on the teenagers
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13099

Jacket includes GPS tracker
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13105

Microchip gives staff the lowdown on pupils
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13061

Uganda: Drop-Outs Ordered Back to School
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13057

Keep driving age 15 and improve training - Farmers
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=13027

Afghans arrange marriages for toddler brides
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12974

Controversy in Germany over using children to probe illegal sales
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12963

Vietnam may have films banned for children under 16
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12945

Let pubs serve 16-year-olds
http://www.youthrights.org/article.php?threadid=12944

---------Conclusion---------

This month, for the first time, gulag schools are under federal  
scrutiny, and facing problems. The fact that for the first time we see  
true troubles with the behavior modification industry is a great  
accomplishment in and of itself. However, we cannot sit back and wait.  
It's a long way to go and actions need to come along with the  
celebrations for the good news. Ageism is still strong and prevalent  
in America. We have to keep up the fight. Join us, join NYRA in that  
fight to end ageism in America.