As reported in my last blog entry, I have been actively working to create a position on my local school board for students. I was expecting to speak at the March board meeting, but I was informed a few days before the meeting that it had been postponed until the meeting on Monday, April 3,…
NYRA just released a fascinating new study that Mike Males put together that makes a very convincing case that a large part of the reason for high traffic deaths among teens is not simply due to their age, but because of their poverty level. This is an angle of the issue that to my knowledge…
I’m probably grossly taking this guy’s comment the wrong way, but either way, I’m tired, so it got me going. On a message board I frequent, this guy talked about stuff that annoys him at the movie theatre. Light hearted enough, as his posts usually are. Among his complaints, however, was a remark about how…
The National Youth Rights Association (NYRA), in cooperation with Dr. Mike Males at UC Santa Cruz, has released a new study concerning teenaged drivers that disputes the notion that teens are reckless killers behind the wheel. The study shows that the largest risk factor for driving is poverty, not age. They hope that the study…
During this semester, I am taking the honors-level version of a state-mandated civics and economics class at my school. The class is quite interesting, and it involves a lot of open dicussion and thought. On Tuesday, the teacher assigned a fun project in which we were to write a mock state referendum concerning a state…
I came across this news story over on Yahoo just a little bit ago. I have posted it in the Current Events forum as well. Are these people who study teens a broken record or what? Teens don’t get enough sleep. Teens aren’t taking good enough care of themselves. It goes on and on. And…
From the NYRA Forums: I just wanted to thank all of you. This forum and NYRA has really affected me. I was/am really depressed, but when i go on here i feel like i am surrounded by friends. :love: Thank you all. I just wanted you to know that your 1/3 of the reason i…
A new project of New York City Indymedia, IndyKids, has been censored by two area library systems. After agreeing to distribute IndyKids to their local branches, both the New York Public Library and the Queens Public Library changed their minds and now refuse to distribute the paper. They say the reason for their decision is…
Thanks Jackie: Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing. In the book it said: “Boa constrictors…
Today (well yesterday really) is a good day for youth rights and the push for lowering the voting age. The issue is starting to crack the blogosphere. I just was alerted to the fact that Matthew Yglesias has picked up on the issue and voiced his support for it over at the TPM Cafe, his…
