Wednesday the New York Times printed an op-ed written by Anya Kamenetz entitled, “You’re 16, You’re Beautiful and You’re a Voter”. Kamenetz makes the case that the voting age, drinking age, credit card ownership and other age restrictions should be lowered to 16. She also describes competency testing as a more flexible standard than “increasingly…
The last two months have seen an unprecedented surge in NYRA fundraising. Because of your generosity you have put NYRA on pace for a record fundraising year in 2008. NYRA participated in the Causes Giving Challenge on Facebook that began on December 14 and lasted till February 1. NYRA focused on two days, December 19…
From now till February 1 the Facebook Cause that receives donations from the highest number of people will get a $50,000 grant! Even 13th place gets $10,000. All you need to give is $10. More is, of course, welcome. Sign up for the cause here. In addition to the overall prize, the cause that has…
On October 10, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported on the findings of its investigating into so called “wilderness programs.” Said Greg Kutz, managing director of forensic audits and special investigations, “If you walked in part way through my presentation, you might have assumed that I was talking about human rights violations in a third…
In a surprising move, Mothers Against Drunk Driving formed a new coalition to support the existing 21-year-old drinking age. The new coalition held a press conference on October 9 seeking to go on the offensive against advocates for lowering the drinking age to 18 (i.e. NYRA and Choose Responsibility). The press conference earned NYRA additional…
NYRA’s Vice-President, Stefan Muller has been leading a campaign against a Long Island, New York village’s curfew ordinance. With the help of other concerned students and his local chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, he has succeeded in getting a bill passed – by unanimous decision – to repeal the curfew, which would…
In August, Harwich High School teacher John Dickson and his Advanced Placement government class began an ambitious project: lowering the voting age in Massachusetts from 18 to 16. Student Matt van Gelder explains, “If you start voting early while you are at home and involved, you’re more likely to vote in the future.” Now that…
Since June 15 of this year, Kansas City information technology expert Michael Mikkelsen has been waging a campaign in Missouri to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. This began at the Ron Paul Presidential rally, and has since drawn national attention. His group, Missouri 18 to Drink, believes the measure would end the…
The fight against corporal punishment continues in the United States. California-based organization Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education has taken up the cause, giving parents useful advice on what to do for their children when faced with violence from school officials. Executive Director Jordan Riak offers sound advice to the students themselves on how…
September 13 marked the premiere of the new Downloads section of the NYRA homepage. As of the unveiling, 116 files were available. Users are invited to add their own documents to this resource, sharing valuable information with peers in the Youth Rights movement. Current sections include Papers & Research, Flyers & Handouts, Activist Toolkit, Audio,…
