Adultism, a term known to us in the youth rights movement, has been getting a bit of attention lately. Used, like ageism, to describe discrimination against youth (or an addiction to the attitudes, ideas, beliefs, and actions of adults), the term was included in a list of inclusive terminology by the University of Missouri. With…
NYRA’s newest chapter has just been formed in Hudson County, New Jersey! Founded by chapter president Mahsiah Imes this July, the chapter has been building up its membership and things are kicking into high gear now. Mahsiah and other chapter leaders circulated a survey to students at Chaplain Charles J. Watters School in Jersey City….
Yesterday Glenn Reynolds wrote that in light of the events happening at Yale and Mizzou that we should raise the voting age to 25. This is as dumb a suggestion as when Ann Coulter suggested raising the voting age to 30. To demonstrate how dumb an argument the otherwise reasonable Glenn Reynolds has made, let…
Can’t attend the upcoming rally in Washington, DC against corporal punishment in our schools? You can still share your views. During the second day of the event, NYRA Executive Director Bill Bystricky will join other activists in reading comments submitted from across America. If you have a personal experience with corporal punishment in school, send…
The most basic right people of any age have is the right to physical safety, the right not to be harmed or touched against your will. Yet there are public schools in America where students are routinely hit by the very authority figures entrusted to keep them safe. Even in 2012, corporal punishment is still…
Matt Smith, principal at Garrett High School in Indiana, recently expelled a student for Tweeting a swear word on his own time. In response, NYRA’s new Executive Director sent Smith the following message: Dear Mr. Smith, I was disappointed to hear reports that your school chose to expel a student for a Tweet he wrote…
This is part of the Youth Rights 101 series. Please check out Youth Rights 101: Introduction for the rest of the series and more information. How are young people’s free speech rights violated? Look no further than the meme of “washing” a child’s mouth out with soap if she utters a swear word. Many probably…
JOINT STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO BOOK CENSORSHIP IN THE TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT January 30, 2012 The undersigned organizations are committed to protecting free speech and intellectual freedom. We write to express our deep concern about the removal of books used in the Mexican-American Studies Program in the Tucson Unified School District. This occurred in…
The Hazelwood School District near St. Louis, Missouri is known to youth rights activists as the district that stomped on a school paper’s First Amendment rights and led to the Supreme Court’s notorious Hazelwood ruling. But more recently, this district was the site of a youth rights victory. NYRA-St. Louis, headquartered in Hazelwood West Middle…
When I noticed my parents reading a packet on child development distributed by a school that I otherwise respect, I immediately confiscated it, knowing the likely contents. After reading through it, I wrote this rebuttal. The letter explains the rest. Hello, As part of their back to school process, the school I attend distributed your…
