NewsCloud.com Youth News

She’ll Know Him as “The President”

I AM VERY HAPPY that my children will grow up to see Barack Obama as our President. I do think certain lines of thinking, where people imagine the arc of justice completed now that a black man is our President, go too far and too soon. But I know that from this day forward, children in the USA will grow up with a different idea of African Americans and our country, both.

Young Organizers Speak: It’s A New Era

League of Young Voters' director Biko Baker witnessed working-class youth and youth of color truly believe in change by participating in the election.

It's A New Day

Throughout the north side of Pittsburgh, one of the city's three major Black districts, they lined up before dawn, hundreds deep in the 47-degree weather as if they were waiting for history to be made. Even after the polling places opened into an instant crawl, they kept coming. And they kept coming all day. One of them was a 19-year old named Loric Frye. Frye was a Pennsylvanian, and because of that, he was a key voter in the presidential election. Senator John McCain had staked his strategy on winning the state, hoping to steal it from Senator Barack Obama in his comeback bid. But Frye was far from the kind of clean-scrubbed, neatly partisan first-time voter Republicans would ever think to appeal to or CNN would ever bother to interview.

California Youth Defeat ‘Lock ‘em Up’ Politics

Eclipsed by the enormity of a nation voting in a black President, and a statewide cultural war over gay marriage, is that fact that California registered one the most dramatic and significant shifts in attitude over incarceration policies in state history this past election. The quintessential "tough on crime" initiative, Proposition 6, was overwhelmingly rejected by voters across the state, a count of 70 percent to 30 percent, and did not win a majority in a single county. With little news coverage, and no commercials on either side leading up to the election, the trouncing of Prop. 6 was a near unadulterated reflection of California's new mind-set on criminal justice policies.

Youth Activists Defend Generation

Today's youth are not apathetic, they aren't dazzled by celebrity politicians and they do care about substantive issues. At least those thoughts were the consensus Tuesday among a panel of youth vote coordinators speaking in Washington. They had some fighting words to say to folks who dismiss the idea that the increase in young voters in recent primary elections will carry over to influence the general election come November.

Daddy's Girl -- How my father's incarceration affected my life

Some 63 percent of federal prisoners have children under the age of 18. When this young woman's father was sentenced to 25 years in prison, it sent her life spinning out of control, but it is her continued relationship with him that has helped her get it all back together. Ever since I can remember, my dad was always there for me. He raised me on his own because my mom wasn't the best role-model and was more interested in finishing high school than raising me. I mean, my dad wasn't a saint, but he did what he did to give me everything he never had.

Where's the Love?

On Monday, Newsweek released a poll showing Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in a dead heat. But not among my generation. With young voters, it's not even close. The largest gap in support by age group is among 18-39 year olds, with an astounding 27 percent lead for Obama. Compare that to the next largest age-based advantage -- 10 percent for McCain among 40 - 59 year olds. In additional to this latest poll, numbers indicate that 6.5 million people under 30 voted in this year's primaries and caucuses, and the overall youth vote has risen from 9 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2008. These figures prove that young people will be a deciding factor in this election, and in particular, for progressive change. So where is the love?

The Top Ten 'Greenest' Schools

Here are the top 10 colleges and universities that are doing the most to protect the environment.

B.C. pizza chef tweaks recipe, surprises school cafeterias

A British Columbia pizza firm that changed its recipe because of new provincial guidelines found it also had to shake up the way cafeteria workers thought about kids' meals. The Panago Pizza chain has spent the past year tweaking its recipe in an effort to gain the top rating under new provincial guidelines on healthy school lunches that came into effect this month. Panago's executive chef, Jason Symington, traded white dough for whole wheat, added tomato sauce, tinkered with serving size and even did the unthinkable: added vegetables without making any effort to mask them.

GOP VP candidate Palin's 17 year old daughter is pregnant

The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Juvenile Asylum

Confronting racial profiling in schools. Metal detectors and security officers have become fixtures in public schools across the nation. At many of these schools, where students are predominately Black and Brown, "security" has become a code word for "racial profiling." One group of New York City high school students decided to take their schools security policies to task.

Massachusetts House Unanimously Passes Global Warming Solutions Act!

After more than a year of letter writing, petition signing, legislative call-in days, public hearings, lobby days and a huge conference, all involving thousands of people around the state, today the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (for the hardcore legislative fans out there, the text of the bill can be found here) by a vote of 154 to 0. This bill requires reductions of carbon emissions of 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 and between 10% and 25% by 2020.

Sex Without a Condom the New Engagement Ring?

The comment thread on NPR is blowin' up! Listeners are ranting (and raving) about the new "What's the New What" segment on NPR in which Pendarvis Harshaw, an Oakland teen at Youth Radio, discusses how for his generation, sex without a condom is a sign of being in a committed relationship. Harshaw and his group of friends advocate getting tested for STD's and using birth control pills as a responsible way to have sex in a monogamous relationship. Listeners' comments are all over the place. Some are disgusted that NPR would even post this, while others are praising Harshaw and his friends for showing maturity and responsibility when it comes to sex.

Black in America Misses the ‘Why’

The cable television program "Black in America" focused on several different socio-economic issues that affect African-Americans in today's society. Aired on CNN, host Soledad O'Brien takes the viewer on a journey through various neighborhoods; effectively shedding light on dark issues that have plagued Black America for some time. Issues such as education, marriage, pregnancy, and violence in different communities throughout the country were highlighted, giving the viewer insight into a plight that only the Black community often feels. While O'Brien did a fantastic job telling the stories of various individuals she interviewed, little emphasis was placed on the story behind the story. Not much focus was given to the "why" in these particular scenarios.

Cut children's fluoride exposure, report to Health Canada urges

An expert panel Health Canada commissioned to study the risks of fluoride exposure says the government should cut the recommended amount in drinking water, encourage the use of low-fluoride toothpaste by children and have makers of infant formula reduce levels in their products. The panel recommended reduced fluoride exposure because it was worried children might be getting too much of the chemical from diet, water and toothpaste, placing them at increased risk of fluorosis, said Steven Levy, a panel member and a research professor at the University of Iowa's College of Dentistry.