Wednesday, 2 January 2008

wiretap magazine is a refreshing look at what power we have collectively

top 10 youth activism victories in 2007

yuca

From shutting down toxic waste facilities to making colleges more affordable, young people all over America put their energies into remarkable actions for their communities, and for the world.


Anyone who laments that American young people are apathetic, uninvolved or not sufficiently outraged clearly isn't up on the news.

Luckily, though, we are. The past 12 months have been filled with many great youth organizing successes; some were covered extensively by mainstream media, and some went -- sadly -- unnoticed. From these extraordinary stories, Wiretap has culled a list of our favorite 10 youth victories of the year. They're not just the events you've heard about, like the hunger strikes at Harvard and Stanford, because the less-attended actions of low-income, low-profile youth groups can be equally triumphant. And they're not just acts of campus activism, either -- because half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 are not enrolled in college. And though there are countless other examples of protest, cooperation, and informed dissent that went on and are still continuing around the country, here are 10 especially inspirational stories that went down this year. Congratulations to these and all other young people who took responsibility and took charge in 2007 to work hard both with their peers and with other groups, who put their energies into action for their communities, and for the world.

By Nicole McClelland and Kristina Rizga, December 20, 2007

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