"We
all benefit by having young people exposed to the 'way things are done'
in a democratic society. Isn't it time ....to tap the
power of youth?" -Hans Bernard
It's great to recognize the College
Dems and MYDFL. In Minnesota, all our DFL political organizations used
the fresh legs and mouths of young activists last fall to get out the
nation's top voter turnout --77 percent.
"The people who were out there constantly pounding the pavement were
the young people," said Chris Montana, state chair for College
Democrats, which gathered 10,000 volunteers to scour Minnesota's
universities. "Those were the people who were putting in the 15-,
17-hour days, knocking on every door they could see."
Here are some ways for young
Democrats to get involved:
MYDFL, an group devoted to empowering young Minnesotans to
lead in Democratic politics.
COLLEGE DEMS - A resource aiding those wanting to support the
Democratic Party. University of Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor
organization (U-DFL)
eCaptains Program You can help elect
Democrats by spreading the message on the issues that we all fight for. eCaptains are the
leaders in the grassroots ground war that will ensure Democratic
victories in 2002 and beyond. When you become an eCaptain, you'll
create a personal ePrecinct of friends, family, neighbors, and
coworkers -- anyone with whom you want to share the Democratic message.
(Sponsored by the Democratic National Committee.)
College
Students in the 2004 Election The Center for Information &
Research on Civic Learning
& Engagement, Report on College Students in 2004 Elections
WHY SHOULD YOU ROCK THE
VOTE? Political Power for Young People! Jobs and Finances:
Unemployment for young adults is typically 40-50%
higher
than the national average, and the current economy is no
exception--about 10% of adults under age 25 are jobless and looking.
While young adults struggle to get on a career path, they are relegated
to part-time and temporary jobs that lack benefits, good pay and basic
rights. Many are borrowing heavily: for 18-24 year olds, credit card
debt increased by 104% in the last decade. Read more
War & The Draft:
There are 140,000 American troops
in
Iraq, and 80% of them are under the age of 35. With allied countries
supplying only 20,000 troops, the burden of fighting this war is
clearly falling on the shoulders of our young volunteers. Meanwhile,
with our military unable to muster enough troops to meet its needs
across the globe, intellectuals and policymakers are starting to talk
about re-instating a service draft. Read
more
Opting OUT at School:
The law gives Military
Recruiters
access to your personal information such as name, address and telephone
number, unless you OPT-OUT! What is Opt Out? It's your legal right
through written notification to your school that you DO NOT want the
military to receive your personal information. It's your choice. If you
decide to Opt Out,print this form out. Fill it out, make a copy to
keep, and give the other to your conselor at school
Opting out must be done every school
year. The best time is within the first few weeks of the school year before the information can be
shared. Remember, this is your choice and right.Read more
The National
Youth and Student Peace
Coalition (NYSPC) was formed to organize and mobilize the youth and
student response to Bush's open-ended, so-called "war on terror." This
broad-based youth and student led coalition was formed shortly after
the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and has worked to build
strategic, long-term opposition of youth and students to the war, both
at home and abroad. We believe that young people have an important role
to play in taking back our democracy-on our campuses, out in the
streets, and at the ballot box. NYSPC believes that the struggle for
social and economic justice is key to the struggle for peace and we are
committed to engaging and including youth of color, lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgendered youth, working class and other marginalized
youth.
CCCO is
looking for a few good men and women to work for peace — both in
our Oakland and Philadelphia offices and in communities across the
country.Volunteer to answer the GI Rights Hotline in our
Oakland office! Or support the Hotline by helping out with mailings and
other support work.
Confront the military recruiting trucks when they
come to your community. Contact us to be put on our alert list.Don’t
let the recruiters have access to your local school unchallenged. Take
CCCO materials to your local guidance counselors office and ask that
they be placed next to the recruiting brochures, table at a career day
fair, or place ads in the high school newspaper telling young people
they can get out of the Delayed Enlistment Program. Read more
Our
Freeman Bristol Internship is open to young people every summer.
Contact us for details at (888) 236-2226 or info@objector.org.
Debt for college students is
climbing.
For the nearly two thirds of college students who graduate with student
loan debt, the average burden nearing $19,000. That's nearly as high as
the national average family debt burden. Meanwhile, 22% of high school
graduates are unable to attend a four-year college due to cost. Many
young adults leave school with debt, but without a diploma. Just over
one-third of those who left school without completing a degree had
borrowed between $10,000 and $20,000. Read more
Health care:
An astounding 50% of 18-24 year
olds were
uninsured at some point in 2002-2003. Right now, nearly 13 million
18-29 year olds have no health insurance. They are one third of the
uninsured population. Turning 19 is the greatest risk to their
health--that is when many get kicked off of family plans and government
programs. Read
more
Voting rights:
Its time to get rid of mandatory
advanced voter registration. In states that have Election Day voter
registration, the participation rate is 14% higher for young
adults--proof that voter registration prevents voting. The voting
rights of college students are also under attack--many election
officials prevent students from voting in local elections, which is a
violation of students' constitutional rights. Read more
To
engage young people in local, national, and global explorations about
the meaning of “peace”, and visioning of how a society for which peace
was an organizing principle would look.
Theme
Imagine a Culture of Peace: Impressions of
Youth
invites young people around the world to express a concrete vision of
“peace” and “a culture of peace.” Each contributor is asked to select a
specific incident or situation of violence or conflict in his or her
family, school, community, state, nation, or the world; and then
describe or display: (a) the root causes of that incident or situation,
and (b) a positive vision of how it might be resolved, or have been
avoided to begin with, in a culture of peace with principles of
nonviolence and cooperation.
Contributions
Each contributor may choose the form and genre of
his or her contribution, for example:
Letter to a parent, friend, government
official, or newspaper; or to his or her future self
Essay, poem, drama script, song, or short story
Painting, collage, photo journal, comic strip,
sculpture, or Flash animation.
Imagination
and creativity are encouraged in both form and content. Collaborative
projects are also encouraged, although individual works are welcome.
For example, young people may team up in the same classroom or
community center or with others anywhere else in the world via the
Internet (possibly using wiki technology).
Digital photographs
may be submitted of works, such as paintings and sculptures, that
cannot be digitized for transmission over the Internet.
Display and Acceptance Requirements
Entries that meet the following requirements will
be displayed on the web site of The Peace Alliance Foundation:
Contributors (including all members of a
collaboration group) must be age 5 to 25.
Only one contribution from each contributor (as
an individual or as a member of a collaboration group) will be
accepted.
In
addition, contributions accepted for display on the web site will:
(1)address the theme stated above; (2) be the original work of the
contributor; and (3) be reasonably downloadable and viewable on the web
through a dial-up modem (which rules out large video productions, for
example).
Dialogue
Our intention
is for these impressions of youth to catalyze community, national, and
global dialogues on the meaning of peace and a culture of peace.
Therefore, we will offer forum space on the website for people to share
their reactions, insights, and thoughts on the postings. We also
encourage related face-to-face conversations in living rooms,
classrooms, churches, community centers everywhere – and reports to the
web-based forum on conversation outcomes.
Invitational and Promotional Outreach and
Submission Instructions
We
are seeking individuals and organizations to help screen contributions
and outreach to the public about the project and the ensuing dialogue
opportunities. If you would like to participate, please contact Mike
Abkin at
mike@thepeacealliance.org
.
The following materials are available on this
website for viewing and downloading:
A Flyer about Imagine a Culture of Peace,
which can be posted, handed out, and/or emailed
Instructionsfor preparing and submitting
contributions
An Entry/Release Form (for information only now; to
be filled out on-line when the database is ready)
Children's
Corner
Welcome to the
children's corner. Here you'll find links to other government kids
websites.
