youth

• The Politics Of Social Networks And Keeping The Youth Vote Plugged In.
• In the UK, Gordon Brown pledges £1bn on jobs for young.
• Neda, Obama and the Power of Pictures.
• Thomas Friedman (again) smacks down youth climate organizers with baseless claims.
• Aspiring Lawyer Finds Debt is Bigger Hurdle Than Bar Exam: Check out the craziest student debt story you will EVER read.

• 80MS gets some publicity on InsideHigherEd.com.
• The bachelor's degree means very little right now to employers.
• The gap between Millennials and Boomers is widening.
• Personal Democracy Forum: Seeking the Youth Vote.
• Millennial elected officials in southeast Michigan are organizing regionally.

One of my favorite aspects of blogging is learning about various programs and initiatives that infuse civic engagement and service-learning into the college experience. Dickinson College in Pennsylvania is prepared to announce the implementation of a public service fellowship program which will serve as one of the best examples yet of an institution linking its values with President Obama's call for public service.

From the soon-to-be-released release:

After four years of high school, not all students are ready to continue with higher education. For some, a one-year break from academia, commonly referred to as a "gap year," provides time for students to learn more about themselves and the world. Already common in other countries, the U.S. is now seeing an increase in students seeking time off before matriculation to save money for college; others seek civic engagement or travel. President Obama has called on Americans to participate in our nation’s recovery and renewal by serving in our communities. To support this idea, the federal government’s Web site Serve.gov is an online resource for registering a community program, finding service opportunities and the tools for creating one.

[...]

Students can apply for admission into the Fellowship in their senior year of high school. If accepted, students may defer enrollment until the beginning of the academic year for one, two, three or four years. Students who have engaged in public service for up to four years following high-school graduation receive a $10,000 tuition credit for each year of public service, up to a total of $40,000. Use of credits will be limited to a maximum of $10,000 annually and will be applied to the student's account when matriculated. The Fellowship amount will be in addition to other institutional grants and scholarships for which the student may be eligible. Dickinson grants and scholarships won’t be affected by receipt of the Fellowship unless the student's total gift aid exceeds the student's total cost of attendance. The college will work with students to determine the best timing for using the credits, within the context of other aid.

Students must engage in meaningful public service devoted to improving the human condition and/or the natural environment. A student may opt to join well-established public service programs that offer a wide array of experiences, such as AmeriCorps (which also awards up to $4,725 for college tuition), or the student may pursue an independently designed project with a local, national or international nonprofit organization. In all cases, students must work 30-40 hours a week for 10-12 months (at least 1,200 total hours). The hours may be a traditional 30-40 hour workweek, or a more intensive experience such as disaster relief work that may require 12 to 14 hour days. The public service work may be compensated or uncompensated.

In order to reap the financial benefits of this program, Public Service Fellows must submit an application including an essay stating how they hope to contribute to themselves and society through the work they will be completing. Once the project is complete, the student is then required to submit a reflection essay discussing how the student's experience will impact his or her Dickinson experience.

In addition to the financial advantages afforded to them, Public Service Fellows will add to an already impressive Dickinson education. Those students participating in the program will contribute to a reflection ceremony open to the Dickinson community by sharing lessons learned from the public service projects. Furthermore, the campus will give Public Service Fellows priority consideration for campus-based leadership positions, such as resident advisor and campus advisor, further emphasizing the importance of giving back to one's community throughout the Dickinson experience.

Granted, a Dickinson education isn't cheap to start with. The tuition itself is almost $40,000 a year, and the bill only increases after other fees are added. But as noted above, students can work in public service for up to four years, netting $40,000. While students can only spend up to $10,000 yearly, all of this money is on top of any additional financial aid the school offers (receiving the fellowship does not impact other scholarship and grant opportunities).

One way to add to the program might be to incorporate an academic piece. For instance, instead of limiting students to writing two essays, perhaps those deciding to matriculate at Dickinson any given year would be required to register for a seminar to further explore their experiences, more intensely investigating themes they observed or felt while serving. This would then improve the quality of the on-campus discussion led by fellows.

In 2008, many of the Democratic presidential candidates offered similar proposals on their platforms, but nothing was this beneficial to students. This initiative provides Dickinson with a way to accentuate the importance of civic engagement among its students, while making its valued education more accessible to students predisposed with the ability to work hard and develop strong reflective skills. Those fellows admitted will be offered opportunity after opportunity to learn how to contribute to the greater good, while following in the footsteps of Dickinson College's founder, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. In a public address in 1787, Rush urged every citizen to become an engaged public servant. Now, some 222 years later, with another American leader issuing the same call, Dickinson College is leading the way among institutions of higher education.

"But do you want to be non-partisan and get nothing? Or do you want to be partisan and end up with a good health care plan? That is the choice." -- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Charleston Gazette, 6/25/2009

Sen. Rockefeller's framing of the choice should be instructive for his fellow Democratic senators (whether they listen is surely up in the air).

In a way, the problem Rockefeller speaks of here is the opposite of something we often see among our lawmakers. Usually, lawmakers refuse to cooperate, often turning the process into an ideological battle that holds good policy hostage, resulting in little progress. Unfortunately, since we've gotten control of the Congress in 2006, Democrats are obsessed with making sure the GOP is happy with any legislative victories we might achieve. Yet, Republicans couldn't care less about what Democrats feel. So we face a different outcome, though still frustrating -- policy IS passed, but it's nothing but mush, or Republican-lite.

Here we are, debating health care, faced with yet another opportunity to pass critical and historic legislation, this time with a Democratic president in the White House, and too many Democrats are afraid of hurting the Republicans' feelings.

Repeat after me: PARTISANSHIP IS NOT A BAD THING. Yes, the arguing and ideological tactics can produce a toxic political process. But just as well, empty legislation can produce toxic policy, still leaving millions of Americans without health insurance, while handing the GOP a bone. The fact remains that Democrats have nearly 60 percent of the seats in both chambers, having won the majority of congressional races in 2008 despite the Republicans' frequent attempts at linking the party and its presidential candidate with socialism. The presidential candidate ran on "change" and won. People want to see something different.

What's more, the American people in poll after poll trust the Democrats to handle nearly all issues, with health care being one of the issues the public trusts Democrats with the most. A large Washington Post poll released this week produces similar results, though the poll pits Obama against the Congressional Republicans instead of both parties. Obama won big. Borrowing from Greg Sargent's post on the Post's poll at The Plum Line:

• On health care, 51% of indys trust Obama, and 26% trust GOPers in Congress.
• On the economy, 51% of indys trust Obama, and 31% trust the GOP.
• On the budget deficit, 52% of indys trust Obama, and 30% trust the GOP.

Even though Barack Obama is on record as supporting a public option as a part of health reform, the majority of independent voters still support him -- twice as many than the number supporting Republicans.

Youth are relying on the Democratic Party to produce some results after supporting them by a 2-1 ratio in 2008. We're waiting for good policy (read - health reform WITH a public option) that's passed and signed into law because we WANT and NEED it to be passed, not because we want to make sure the Republicans aren't mad and don't hold a grudge.

If the GOP wants to work with Democrats in good faith, fine. If not, Democrats have marching orders from Americans. And they don't include kissing the feet of the GOP.

• Boston Globe: Obama's change message still resonates with youth.
• Winograd and Hais wonder in the LA Times whether the Millennials are taking on the role of their grandparents.
• Allison Fine reports on the Case Foundation's Giving Challenge.
• United We Serve, the White House summer of service, kicked of Monday.
• YouTube and All For Good team up to connect video makers and nonprofits.
• Google + Data.gov + Gapminder Visualizations: Is this a game changer?
• Liberty University has decided that maybe their Young Democrats policy WAS a bit unfair.
• A profile of a few young campaign staffers from the Obama campaign and what they're planning to do in the future.

"The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries." -- Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Last Friday afternoon, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D) announced his new budget proposal for the upcoming year. The proposal cuts approximately three billion dollars from the budget, a necessity due to the state's current fiscal troubles. In doing so, he made a few observations:

[The budget] prioritizes extremely limited resources toward critical health and safety services to provide for the greatest number of vulnerable Ohioans during this difficult time.

And, perhaps most important, this framework positions Ohio for the job creation needed for near-term recovery and for long-term economic growth after the recovery. We have a shared responsibility to make the decisions necessary to maintain a balanced budget without crippling the state's growth and economic progress. So my balanced budget framework calls for continued investments in a reformed system of education, which is the key to Ohio's economic revival.

Our schools must provide a world-class education for every child and teach the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that businesses tell us they look for in the people they hire. Our system of education does not do this now, and delaying this is not an option.

[...]

...In order to balance the budget we must reduce services that Ohioans have needed and received in the past but the state can no longer continue to provide. But in reducing these services, we must minimize the impact on our most vulnerable, especially children, the elderly and disabled.

Second, we must continue to prioritize education for economic growth. The jobs of the future will go where world-class schools produce highly-trained, highly-skilled workers. Postponing education reform will only hold Ohio back.

This has been a difficult choice for me but I believe a necessary one. It is contrary to what I ever thought I would have to do. Still, after looking at an array of choices before me and the state legislature, I have concluded this is the best course of action to meet our balanced budget obligations.

Before we go any further, I want to make clear that I respect the grave status of Ohio's fiscal health. Consequently, I acknowledge that Strickland's had to make some tough decisions that are never going to be popular. I am puzzled and saddened, though, by one particular piece of Strickland's budget proposal - the drastic cut in state library funding.

In order to get to his three billion in savings, Strickland has proposed that $112 million be cut from state library funds. While that sounds large, that's the tip of the iceberg. State libraries were already bracing for a hit due to a decrease in state tax receipts thanks to the economic mess. By state law, libraries receive 2.2 percent of tax revenues, so if the state's tax collections are plentiful, libraries do well in the budget; if they shrink, libraries' funding decreases. Before Strickland announced his proposal, Ohio libraries were already expecting an eighteen percent cut (from the expected $464 million to $365 million). But as mentioned earlier, Strickland's plan would take off an additional $112 million, leaving Ohio libraries with $253 million -- a 45 percent decrease, and a fatal blow to libraries across the state.

I'm puzzled at this decision to gut library funding mainly because of Strickland's non-stop talk of improving the quality of education in Ohio since he campaigned for governor. In fact, one can see in the excerpt from his speech provided above that he continues to mention his desire to develop an educational system in Ohio that results in graduates getting quality jobs to participate in a strong economy. But how can one rely on a strong educational system to build a state's economy when the laboratories of this educational system -- the state's libraries -- are being slaughtered? A library is the best chance for a child to develop that spark -- the love to learn -- that leads to great accomplishments, providing our state and our country with so many bright minds. A comment made today on Governor Strickland's Facebook crystallized the point: "Isn't it ironic that our library proudly has hanging a poster of you, Governor Strickland, holding a book, promoting literacy. The proposed further cut to library funding is a travesty!" Wall messages like this one continue to pour in expressing disappointment, and it's because of the mixed signals Strickland is sending to Ohioans -- big talk of reforming Ohio education, while taking the money that solidifies this revitalization away from a crucial piece of the effort.

But it's not just the confusion of mixed signals. What's really depressing about this proposal is his failure to recognize libraries as a vital tool in communities battling the recession. A few months ago, I wrote of the importance libraries carry in our communities, especially during hard economic times:

Libraries offer those less fortunate in the community that free access to meeting rooms, technology, printing services, an audio/video rental program, and simply, a place to gather (if quietly). Libraries are also an essential part of that ideal rooted in the American dream, that one can pull him/herself up by their bootstraps, given strong support from the community. The values of life-long learning and independent education are represented in a community library. Furthermore, libraries offer us the information we need in making educated decisions about political candidates and issues.

Unfortunately we're seeing funding for libraries cut all over the country, as lawmakers see it as easy way to get budgets back in check, because many libraries serve this role in an understated manner. In reality, though, libraries form a central role in our economic crisis. Money Magazine, in 2005, noted that nowhere else is someone going to enjoy free access to technology, important information using that technology, and "experts" to assist them in finding this information and sorting through it. Yet another example of an efficient use of resources.

Strickland's big mistake here is to lay all of the burden on an institution that is prepared to do more to help those impacted by this rough economy than any other state-funded entity. Now, if the library portion of Strickland's proposal is approved by the State House and Senate, the only hope many libraries will have to survive will lie with a library levy -- not exactly the most popular thing on the ballot in these times. The reality is that many smaller libraries will be forced to close. While there will be jobs lost all across the state, perhaps the saddest thing will be the signal to our children. Do we really want our children to grow up knowing that, when it came down to hard decisions, the "village" raising them decided against investing in their future?

And perhaps the most unsettling question. Those already having lost their jobs - where do they go? Cutting funding for our libraries pulls the plug on their futures, as many of them rely on their community libraries to rebuild their futures. When libraries are needed the most in Ohio (as evidenced by soaring circulation numbers during recessions), their future is the darkest. It can't just be me that doesn't get that.

As progressives, we owe it to ourselves to claim what we believe to be the most important of our civic institutions. As young progressives, we have a responsibility to see to it that in times of turmoil, we increase investment in our youth instead of cutting and running. If we all have a concern for our future, as Mr. Sagan suggested above, we'll be sure to fight for Ohio's libraries, especially if you're reading this from the Buckeye State.

The urgency in this post is there because the State House and Senate need to finish the reconciliation process by June 30th -- next week! So acting now is important.

If you're an Ohioan, find your representative and senator here.

Ted Strickland's Facebook page

The Ohio Library Council

Last week I wrote about the House passing the Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act. Because I failed to detail the bill then, I want to now examine the ramifications of the legislation's passage this week, reiterating why it is so important to today's young people.

According to the Institute of International Education, there are three times as many foreign students studying in the United States as there are Americans studying abroad. And those Americans who do study overseas can't help but go to the beautiful cities/cultures they're exposed to in today's media - cities with economies that are functional and developed. (I certainly am not implying that this is a wrong choice, but merely noting that it's natural for students to want to see romanticized cultures described to them for most of their lives.) The Paul Simon legislation not only seeks to balance those Americans studying abroad with the number of foreign students studying in the United States (it will do so over ten years), but it also wants to diversify locations across the world. Europe and Australia might still be popular, but hopefully options in underdeveloped countries in Africa and Asia will grow in popularity as well.

Of course, the legislation's main benefit to students and institutions, as cited last week, is the funding commitment. More opportunities will be offered to students should the bill be signed into law by President Obama, thanks to the injection of millions of dollars into the process. In return for the funding, though, institutions will be expected to examine common barriers to students studying abroad on their individual campuses and finding solutions for those problems.

If passed, the legislation would create other initiatives that fortify the U.S.'s presence in the world, especially among young people. In addition to study abroad provisions, the legislation adds 1500 Foreign Service Officers and modernizes the diplomatic corps. From a House Foreign Affairs Committee press release:

Among other significant measures in the bill are provisions that:

• strengthen the arms control and nonproliferation capabilities of the State Department

• reform the system of export controls for military technology and improve oversight of U.S. security assistance

• ensure that the United States will meet its financial commitments to the United Nations (U.N.) and other international organizations

• allow financing the refurbishment of helicopters for U.N. peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other peacekeeping missions authorized by the U.N. Security Council

• establish the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation as a new executive branch corporation to expand dramatically the number and economic diversity of U.S. students studying overseas

• substantially increase the budget of the Peace Corps to support President Obama’s goal of doubling the number of Peace Corps volunteers, and authorize a plan to use short-term volunteers to respond to humanitarian and development needs

• broaden the Merida anti-drug trafficking initiative to include the Caribbean, and improve monitoring and evaluation of Merida programs

• and increase resources and training for enforcement of intellectual property rights, especially in countries identified by the U.S. government as lax in enforcing those rights.

NAFSA has been doing a fantastic job of outreach and education on this bill. Their release on the House's passage of the bill can be found here. NAFSA has made an online guide to the bill, while also creating a Facebook group to track its progress with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it heads next.

There's no doubt young people would benefit from this bill, especially given how much it does target multicultural, compromising, and pragmatic millennials. There's no reason for the legislation to run out of time this session. We'll keep an eye on this as it moves on to the Senate. In the meantime, be sure to take advantage of NAFSA's coverage above.

Young people are liking what they see out of Obama to this point, even while those over 30 don't believe the President has matched his policy output to his campaign rhetoric.

Over 70 percent of young voters between 18 and 24 believe that President Barack Obama’s message of change has matched his actions in office, according to those polled in a recent Zogby/Scoop44 survey (6/12-15).

In the expanded under-30 demographic, nearly two-thirds of young voters say that Obama’s policies as President have jibed with with his campaign rhetoric—that fervent trumpet of “change we can believe in.”

When I read this, I remembered another piece of data I saw, reflecting similar results. The Gallup weekly tracking poll, week ending June 14, showed mostly net declines in approval ratings in all age groups except for those in the 18-29 year old cohort. Three out of four 18-29 year olds approve of the job President Obama is doing, six percentage points higher than last week.

The age disparity between those who believe Obama is doing a good job and is on the right course to accomplish what he set out to do and those who don't approve of his job and do not believe he's doing what he promised to do is telling. Perhaps his young supporters -- many of whom followed the campaign from the beginning -- have heard Obama say over and over that change would take time. The latecomers and Washington elites and journalists can't help but rush to judgment (after all, that's the latter group's job!).

The main thing to remember is that we're only five months into a hopefully eight year-long term. And while the president has indeed taken on quite a bit initially, perhaps raising expectations even more, there's quite a bit of time with which to work. Health care and gay rights should get the priority treatment in my opinion -- health care's time is now, before the mid-term craziness emerges, and gay rights should have been taken care of yesterday.

Anyway, it looks like millennials are cutting Obama some slack. Rightfully so.

The US Labor Department's program YouthBuild is designed to provide assistance to at risk youth who are behind in skill level with alternatives to education in efforts to ensure they finish high school.

"The primary target populations for YouthBuild are adjudicated youth, youth aging out of foster care, out-of-school youth, and other at-risk populations. "

According to a release from the Labor Department 183 groups dedicated to YouthBuild services throughout the country received $114 million.

"This amount is an initial increment for two years of grant operations. A remaining increment may be awarded pending the availability of additional funding. Among today's awardees, 62 are current Department of Labor YouthBuild grantees, and 121 are new to the department."

One such program in Columbia, Missouri schools students for half of the day, and the rest of the day shows them how to build homes that then help disadvantaged families. A new program in Phoenix will fund the first ever green building project done by youth. The Phoenix students will build two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified houses in older neighborhoods.

"President Obama and I are delighted to be able to increase funding for this promising program, which does so much for youth and their communities," said Secretary Solis. "The YouthBuild program not only assists young people in obtaining education and skills, but also gives them a sense of accomplishment and empowers them as they give back to their communities."

The release also says that $47 million of the total program budget came from the stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year. With all the no votes for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 one would think it was filled with useless and meaningless projects - clearly this is yet another real world example of the lives impacted by this year's Congress.

We haven't said anything much (see Craig's post here) here about the Iranian election, and the use of Twitter to organize protests and evade government censorship of what is happening in Iran. That's our bad, because there is definitely a generational component to this. Millennials in Iran (if there is such a thing, maybe better to say our Iranian contemporaries or peers), are a big part of the opposition, and university dormitories are being stormed by state militia. The political actions and the tactics of Iranian youth are well within the scope of this blog.

That said, I don't know that I could say anything that hasn't already been written - and written well - by others. So here's a reading list of some of the best reporting and information resources I've located on the topic:

• Jon Taplin has a great, short post outlining how this differs from other student uprisings in Iran during the past decade.
• Via Boing Boing, I found this fantastic compilation of traditional and social media resources covering the protests.
• Today's New York Times has the latest, and best, traditional media update on the situation.
• Mashable! has a great primer on how to follow developments in Iran on social media.
• Deanna Zandt talks about the significance of Twitter influencing mainstream media coverage of the Iranian election.
• Alison Fine recognizes the power of Twitter, but also cautions about its limits.
• Nancy Scola at Tech President has done invaluable work looking at the role of Twitter in the Iranian elections, writing about everything from State Department intervention in a Twitter maintenance update, to the role of geolocation for tracking sources and cracking down on opposition bloggers.