I was pleased to come across this article in the Washington Post today about the struggle against ageism. The article profiled Ashton Applewhite, an author and advocate, who runs a site called This Chair Rocks. Applewhite focuses primarily on discrimination against the old, but she doesn’t do so myopically. Her website, and the Post article,…
On April 7, NYRA-Hudson County chapter president, Mahsiah Imes and NYRA President Alex Koroknay-Palicz appeared on Al Jazeera America with host Erika Pinzi to discuss lowering the voting age. Both were joined by other high school students on both sides of the issue. The segment appeared on the final 7 pm news hour for Al…
Arizona’s Cronkite News Service reports that a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution “would let 16-year-olds vote in state elections, a move supporters hope would boost interest in elections and lead to greater turnout of young voters.” The state legislature is considering placing a ballot question on the November ballot asking voters if they support…
In his book, Teen 2.0, psychologist Robert Epstein gives an account of the medical profession’s complicity in the movement to marginalize young people: “In short, my own colleagues have long played and continue to play a leading role in the maintenance of the artificial extension of childhood. They have pathologized socially induced behavior and…
Bob Chipman had a very interesting take over at ScreenRant on the rumored R-rated directors cut version of Superman V Batman to be included on the DVD. Put simply, as he does, he sees it as an awful idea and a perversion. His reasons are rather interesting for youth rights activists. This isn’t the first…
This letter was sent to the Vote16SF Campaign this week: The National Youth Rights Association strongly endorses the Vote16SF campaign to lower the voting age in San Francisco. We believe lowering the voting age will be good for young people, good for San Francisco and good for democracy as a whole. NYRA urges passage of…
Nebraska state Sen. Tyson Larson’s effort to reduce the age to serve as governor, in the state legislature, or in other state offices to 18 died this week due to a filibuster by state Sen. Ernie Chambers. Even after Larson offered to remove offices other than the legislature from his bill, Chambers would not give in,…
This month marks the sixth anniversary of #16tovote on the 16th! We missed a few months in the middle there, but the tradition is back and going strong! This last month saw bills introduced in both Jersey City, NJ and in Canada. NYRA’s own Hudson County chapter was behind the introduction of the Jersey City…
Sixteen-year-olds can go to work, be taxed, drop out of school, be tried as adults, and operate motor vehicles. It makes sense to give them the vote. Here are some common arguments against it that simply do not hold up: “Young people do not know enough to vote intelligently.” The results of the National Assessment…
National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) Summer & Fall 2016 Fellowship Program 3 openings Application deadline: February 29th, 2016 Download Fellowship Information in Word Founded in 1998, NYRA is a national non-profit dedicated to fighting for the civil rights and liberties of young people. Based in the Washington, DC area, the organization challenges age discrimination against…
