NYRA-Twin Cities has been in operation for several years now. Amy O’Connell, President, has been leading the group for almost half a decade.
Amy’s passion for youth rights came from her own experience dealing with adults. She was largely bullied in middle school and found that adults made the problem worse. She became involved in student rights and found NYRA through a quick online search. Though Amy was passionate about youth rights, she felt secluded from NYRA from her hometown in Minnesota. She decided the best way to feel active in NYRA was to create a group of her own right in her own state. And so, NYRA-Twin Cities was born in August of 2011. With NYRA’s help, she was able to gather a group of other local NYRA members, as well as some friends.
NYRA-Twin Cities has been involved in a number of campaigns over the years. One of their biggest was their partnership with The Hitting Stops Here, which was a campaign to encourage their District Congressman to sign HR 3027 (a bill to end the use of corporal punishment in schools). Though NYRA-Twin Cities has been a part of many types of campaigns, their focus has largely been on lowering the voting age to 16. They’ve promoted the #16toVote campaign on Twitter, and have supported other NYRA chapters in their endeavors. They also take on other campaigns not necessarily affiliated with NYRA. Recently they have been in contact with their local and state government representatives. Other efforts include recruitment, so as to better raise awareness in their community.
Want to get involved? Email Amy at aoconnell@youthrights.org and also check out their Facebook page!
