DEMOCRATIC 2008 CONVENTION

By Katie Bolinger, 18; Hrishi Deshpande, 13; and Quinn Andrews, 14, Y-Press

When Rachel Beenken was in eighth grade, she visited Denver and was disturbed by what she saw on its streets.

“It had been a pretty rainy night and I noticed a whole bunch of homeless people, and that really woke me up,” she recalled.

Now, two years later, Rachel, 16, and her friend Jasmine Fujiwara, 15, are doing their best to combat homelessness in their hometown of Fort Collins, about an hour’s drive from Denver. This week, their quest to improve their community took them back to Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention.

Rachel and Jasmine, along with 48 other youths, met on Monday with delegates and other politicians from across the nation at an event called “Teens Don’t Have a Vote, But They Do Dave a Voice.” The invitation-only gathering was put on by @15, a youth organization sponsored by Best Buy that collaborates with other youth-empowerment groups.

The @15 event was an attempt to show the adult world that you don’t have to be of voting-age to make a difference and take a stand for change.

“We still want our voices to be heard,” said Rachel, who’s now in 10th grade.

She and Jasmine aren’t waiting for politicians to do all the heavy lifting.

After Rachel’s harsh realization two years ago, she and Jasmine applied for a grant from Youth Venture, a nonprofit organization that, according to its Web site “enables young people to learn early on in life that they can lead social change.” The pair received a $1,000 grant and began their own attempt at social change: Hats for the Homeless.

Rachel said Hats for the Homeless tries to give the impoverished in Fort Collins everything they need to survive the often-bitter Colorado winters.

“It started as hats, then extended to hats and scarves, and then hats, scarves, and blankets,” Rachel said of their efforts.

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008: Obama energizes black leaders

By Jordan Denari, 17; Mallory St. Claire, 17; Jonathan Gainer, 16; Max Gabovitch, 15, Y-Press 

Those in attendance included prominent black politicians, as well as such celebrities as Star Jones, co-host of “The View,” and Kal Penn, a South Asian actor famous for his roles in such movies as “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and “The Namesake.”

Throughout the event, many leaders spoke about Obama as if he already has been elected. But they realize he’s unlikely to win without a large turnout of black youth voters. Obama has set a goal of increasing black voter participation by 30 percent in the general election compared to four years ago.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, another attendee, said Obama has already shown he can connect with youths.

“He is inspiring young people to register to vote and letting them know they now have a spokesperson in the White House,” the California representative said.

But only a handful of young people were at the event, and many of them were skeptical about the Democratic Party’s outreach.

T hey want Obama and other politicians connect with them on a personal level.

“Come to our schools. Come visit,” said Santeijha Smith , a student at Denver’s Montbello High School. “Find out what we need in our communities.”

The students added that they want politicians to explain why they deserve their support, not just that they need it.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, also recognized politicians need to improve dialogue with black youth.

“First of all, just start talking with them, rather than talking at them—asking for their input on policy issues,” said Thompson, who represents Mississippi. “Involving them is very, very important, if young folks are to really be participants. “

Saturday, September 20, 2008: Obama's, McCain's acceptance speeches mark dash to Election Day

 By Hrishikesh Deshpande, 13

Now that both political conventions have run their courses, the dash to Election Day has begun. So how did Sen. Barack Obama’s speech in Denver, which I attended, stack up against that of his opponent, Sen. John McCain?

Obama, being the talented orator that he is, drew massive crowds to INVESCO Field at Mile High. The atmosphere was almost electric, as fans did “the wave” prior to Obama’s entrance. The actual speech, however, was not as spectacular as previous appearances, though greeted with enthusiasm all the same.  The Democratic candidate has seemed to have lost his edge a bit and will need to back his rhetoric with actual policy, but he managed to do several things that were necessary to galvanize support. First, he invited ordinary, working-class people to tell their stories of what is going on in their lives.

This, in my opinion, should help him attract the blue-collar support he needs. (might use the Barney Smith story). He also managed to take a few jabs at McCain, my favorite being, “You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.”

But most importantly, he managed to keep young people’s interest by stirring the crowd with his message of change. Two young African-American men sitting behind me could not contain their excitement with shouts of “Amen!” and “You tell him!” every time he mentioned one of his proposals or went after McCain’s voting record. The famed Obama rhetoric still resonated with young voters.

The speech of his Republican counterpart was much more traditional but  it was by no means any less invigorating.  The addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket seemed to reignite McCain and his campaign, and he, too, received rousing applause at the mention of “change.” While Palin’s passionate Obama-bashing speech earlier might have overshadowed McCain’s acceptance speech, she will surely help to broaden his base. Said 16-year-old Letrice Walton, who was at the convention from Florida:

“It has definitely affected the ticket. He has gained so much more support from so many people from different walks of life. I mean, he had support before he picked her, but now he has increased his support base tremendously.”

All in all, if the conventions were any indication of what is to come, we’re in for a lively fall. During the first week of general election campaigning, we’ve heard plenty of talk about lipstick, pigs, the Bush Doctrine, and, of course, everyone’s favorite word, change. The election is mere weeks away. Let the mudslinging begin!