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Digital Natives in Your Face
We've arrived! The Digital Natives blog is in your face bringing you the latest stories, video, and audio interviews. Everything from PTSD in urban youth to the reactions to Prop 8. We'll talk about scraper bikes and music videos, and of course, our own unique response to the news. Let us know what you think by commenting on our stories.
Youth Reaction to Prop 8 Mixed
Just thirty minutes after the verdict to uphold Proposition 8 was made in San Francisco, most of the crowd had left. One man held a sign reading "Gay=Pervert". Another younger man held another sign reading “Marriage Still=1 Man+1 Woman”, but the vast majority of people left in front of the courthouse were not people planning on getting married anytime soon: young gay rights activists.
"I'm overwhelmed and emotional", said Joseph Christopher Rocha after the verdict. Rocha is a young activist who spent 28 months in the Middle East serving the US Navy and Marines.
"I was certain I wouldn't make it back here, but thought I was fighting in order to ensure freedom. Then I make it back here and find that we limit freedom, we limit rights. I'm disappointed in my government."
The government Rocha refers to in this case was the California State Supreme Court. It ruled 6-1 on May 6 to uphold Prop 8's amendment to the state constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The 18,000 same-sex couples married before November 4th, however, will remain legal. Chief Justice Ronald George defended the ruling as constitutional. The "sole, albeit significant, exception," George said, is that "the designation of 'marriage' is … now reserved for opposite-sex couples."
That difference in terminology might seem trivial to some, but to many people, it means everything.
"I just want to be able to have what other people can have. It’s almost like a stupid two-year-old feeling", says Sarah Freeman, a 21-year-old California native who identifies as lesbian. "My parents have been married a long time, so I think I view marriage as more of an important tradition than some people." Although Freeman wants to marry someday, she also feels that there are other important issues the gay community should be focusing on right now.
"There are a lot of other issues, like non-discrimination laws against transgender people and universal health care," Freeman said. "We should be focusing on getting universal healthcare or visitation rights for anyone you want. These benefits shouldn't only be tied to marriage."
This mindset reflects a trend on the most radical wings of the gay rights movement, known as Beyond Marriage. Beyond Marriage activists believe that all types of relationships should have the opportunity to receive benefits from the government. According to their mission statement, this could include “senior citizens living together” and people in “non-conjugal relationships”.
Regardless of whether the Beyond Marriage movement will ever gain popularity, the momentum for gay marriage in states other than California has been considerable.
This year, same-sex marriage has been legalized by the Supreme Courts of Iowa and Connecticut and the legislatures of Vermont and Maine. Massachusetts’s high court issued the first such ruling in 2003. Meanwhile, Prop. 8, is heading for federal court. Many gay-rights groups are nervous about this since they have tried to avoid bringing the issue before the conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court.
Despite the ruling in California and the battles that lie ahead, many proponents of gay marriage are optimistic.
“I’m not too stressed about gay marriage right now,” Freeman said. “I think it will happen; it’s just going to take a bit of time.”
Rocha is also hopeful, but places the responsibility for success on his generation. “Harvey Milk challenged his generation. I challenge mine to come out. We need to dispel this idea that homosexuals are perverts and junkies. We are a beautiful community of students, parents, and community organizers.”
Rapping on Twitter
Most musicians are use to passing out their demo CD, but now there is a more environmentaly friendly, cheap, and effective way– Twitter. The free social media site allows users to follow friends and celebrities through their status updates, better know as tweets. It may sound funny, but musicians are starting to upload their music on Twitter and are able to read people's suggestions in a matter of seconds. There is no need to spend money on CDs, the CD cover, or flyers; it's all about uploading onto Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace and letting the comments and downloads pile up. If you haven't hopped on this new trend, then you're missing out.
Embedded video from CNN Video
Tech-Savvy College Helps Graduates Land Jobs
For many young people, graduation is right around the corner and so is the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. However, for others, getting into the workforce is the most devastating part of all. During a time when the economy is at its worst, young people are finding it hard to get a job and sometimes get discouraged.
The career center at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota is not merely handing out a pamphlet on how students should promote themselves in order to obtain a job. Instead, they are being proactive with their students and have created a program called Engagement Wanted to help them find jobs.
Brent Nystrom, associate director and manager of mentor relationships, says it is important to introduce seniors to the world of work. “Engagement Wanted came out of here, the career center; we wanted to do a lot for our seniors,” Nystrom says. “We send an e-mail weekly of five random students to our alumni and people who have signed up for these alerts.”
The e-mails are sent to people every Friday and each week is a different set of five students. No, it’s not a resume; it’s a short and simple description of the students’ likes and interests:
“PASSIONATE ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE seeks employment with equally passionate nonprofit agency. Through my political science education plus extensive volunteer work and activism, I have constructed a strong foundation in social issues & advocacy. Special areas of interest include urban poverty and children's health, but I'd consider any organization working to make the world a better and more just place.”
Once people receive these e-mails, they have the option to call the student personally or forward the e-mail to someone else. “It’s not necessarily the alum who has the job opportunity,” Nystrom says. “They may know someone who thinks the student may be a fit for their job."
It seems like the school is sponsoring their seniors, but Nystrom says it’s about people’s connections, connections that students may not have. “That was the whole goal. They (students) don’t know how to market themselves,” Nystrom says. “We are putting the students out there and asking them (alumni) to contact them because it’s the alums who have the contacts, not the students.”
So far, Engagement Wanted has been successful for Carleton College. Nystrom says some of their students have been fortunate enough to obtain jobs. “An alum saw a student's profile and was looking into hiring someone and thought the student was a good fit,” Nystrom says.
Nystrom points out that they have come across some people who think if the students are promoting themselves in a professional manner, they should send a resume, but Nystrom says the career center wants the students to have fun and be creative with their profile.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure. Without the technology, Engagement Wanted would not be as successful as it is right now. “I think we’ve known for awhile that the internet was the one way that could make the most impact fast.” Nystrom says. “We knew that it had to be technology-driven.”
The Truth about Teens and Texting
It always seems that when we kids find something that we enjoy, adults come along and make it lame. Take texting. We all do it. It’s easy, it’s quick, and you don’t even have to spell out the whole word. According to The New York Times, it’s becoming a problem for the youth of today.
Why is it becoming a problem?
Idk, but it is.
Seriously though, texting can be annoying at times — when you’re in class and you hear the chorus of every Lil Wayne song, or when you’re in the movies and all you hear is the vibrating of someone’s phone. Is that headline news? I think not.
The New York Times says that texting may cause your thumbs to hurt and may cause sleeping problems. I say, if you’re texting to the point that your thumbs hurt, then maybe it is time for you to start dialing and use that voice of yours. As far as causing you sleeping problems? Hello — turn your phone off and go to sleep! Personally, I send and receive about 80 to one hundred texts a day. To some, that’s very little (for instance, this 13-year-old).
The main negative to texting is when people argue with you over the phone. They show their anger by cursing and by texting in CAPITAL LETTERS. This annoys me because I can't hear them, so don't really know what they mean. For all I know, they could just be typing in caps. How am I supposed to know they’re mad?
Most of the time, though, texting isn't a big deal. It’s just a popular way of communicating today. Ultimately, adults are going to have to learn that it’s something we kids do.
Take a look at this video Youth Radio put together to find out more about what teens are texting.
California Court Upholds Prop 8
Today, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the voter-approved measure banning same sex marriage. The court also allowed for existing gay marriages to stand.
Youth Radio reporter Rachel Krantz was on the scene. Here's a sampling of reaction to today's court decision.
Change of Guard, Caught Off Guard
I feel like I did when I realized that wrestling was really fake. I don't remember the year, but the World Wrestling Entertainment we know today was known as the WWF, or World Wrestling Federation. Shannon McMahon, daughter of WWE owner, Vince McMahon was kidnapped on live TV by the Undertaker at the end of one of the shows. I remember bouncing with excitement to change the channel, thinking I was about to see additional news coverage of a dramatic police chase, like O.J.. I instantly felt like the butt of a joke when I turned to the news to see the anchors going on as if wrestling didn’t exist. Thank goodness it was a private moment. I had to adjust to the fact that wrestling is as real as a movie.
President Barack Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic female to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court is just one of many events that recently has me caught off guard while I adjust to a new reality. Unlike wrestling, the change taking place in America is real. While I was optimistic that change could take place in this country, I am truly surprised at the direction we are headed in as a nation.
How do I really measure the change? I pay attention to the reactions from the “Old Guard.” It excites me that the Republican party has welcomed change in their leadership structure in their selection of Michael Steele as their first African American chairman, but it tickles me when I read about how crypt keepers of the party are openly criticizing him and the party’s direction. I’m even more tickled when I turn on FOX News and see Republican strategists sharing their expertise on what will bring the party back to “greatness.” What tickled me the most was when I read a headline on Good Morning LA saying, “Dick Cheney Fires Back,”(not with a shotgun). He was responding to Guantanamo Bay’s closing and the scandalous nature of its operation. That was so January. That same day, President Obama signed into action the Credit Reform Bill, ending the legality of deceptive practices employed by credit card companies to squeeze consumers dry. Something tells me that corporate accountability was not very high on the list of priorities of the Old Guard.
Even the selection of Sotomayor for U.S. Supreme Court Justice by Obama for her empathetic nature is coming under attack by Fox News, which tells me he’s onto something here too. I mean, an empathetic judge? Get out of here! Of course, before Sotomayor is confirmed, she must go through a Senate hearing, but it is just nice to see Barack Obama “laying the smackdown” .. of change.
Sotomayor, Bolden, and Burns: Change Has Come
As Americans cross Memorial Day off the calendar and look toward an eventful summer, the inaugural seeds of change that were planted into the American soil on a brisk January morning are beginning to flourish. President Obama ran on the platform of change, and from the looks of things, change has come.
May 26th's national headlines informed readers of President Obama’s selection of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice. President Obama also recently appointed Marine General Charles Bolden Jr. as the head of NASA. Both Sotomayor and Bolden set precedents with their newly acquired titles, as they represent the first Hispanic and first African-American to hold their respective positions.
On a related note, Anne Mulchay, the head of Xerox is relinquishing her title officially July 1st. She will be succeeded by Ursula Burns, who will be the first African- American woman to head a Fortune 500 company.
Although Burns’s achievement is independent of any Obama influence, her story follows the Obama pattern: started as an intern, worked hard, and got rewarded for her hard work. With that said, both Sotomayor and Bolden also follow the pattern laid out by President Obama’s rise to the White House. Sotomayor went from the projects in the Bronx to become a Princeton graduate. General Bolden ascended to high levels of respect as both a marine and as an astronaut.
All three are accomplished individuals who represent hard work paying off. As most people look at the change taking place in America, and take it for face value, it might be good to look at the background story and see that this is more than just the façade of change.
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