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Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008: Pledge essay earns young person a spot at the RNC

By Ariana Gainer, 13; Jordan Gaither, 17; and Tommaso Verderame, 15, Y-Press

While seasoned politicians resort to kissing babies or begging for corporate contributions to gain a national audience, a 15-year-old simply wrote 434 powerful words. Those words propelled her to a coveted speaking spot during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul at 6:30 p.m. today.

Victoria Blackstone, a sophomore at St. Agnes School in St. Paul, is scheduled to address the convention by leading delegates in the Pledge of Allegiance.

She entered the GOP Convention’s “Wave the Stars & Stripes” essay contest and wrote on the topic, “Pledging Myself to the Flag of the United States of America.”

For example, Victoria notes the rigors of race and uses it to convey patriotism to those reading her essay.

An excerpt:
“I journey in the night with the slaves to freedom, and I can hear the Emancipation Proclamation. I tremble with pride as Martin Luther King, Jr., tells me of his dream in front of the Lincoln Memorial.”

Despite her steadfast love of the American flag and the Pledge of Allegiance, Victoria believes that deciding whether to recite the Pledge or not must be a personal choice.

In particular, Victoria, a devout Catholic, understands that some would prefer not to say “under God” in the Pledge.

Ultimately, by refusing to deliver the Pledge, “Americans are missing out on a great honor,” she says.

Personally, outlawing abortion is the most important election issue to Victoria, and she’d like to draw attention to that issue.

Though she considers herself a staunch Republican, she decided to support Sen. John McCain for president primarily because he is anti-abortion. She even goes so far to say that she would have supported Sen. Barack Obama if he were against abortion.

Some people have mixed feelings about what it means to be a proud American, but Victoria has no doubts.

“I feel that every country and every person has things in their background that they’re less than happy about. I feel that even though we have made mistakes, I believe America is the country that works to fix those mistakes.”

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008 Indiana state leaders at the RNC

By Becky Mangan, 13; Jake Thornburgh, 15; and Paul Winston, 16, Y-Press

St. Paul, Minn. -- Reminiscent of FDR, Gov. Mitch Daniels greeted a crowd of delegates from the back of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 56, a 1920s- era railroad executive train car.

After he stepped down from the train, Y-Press asked Daniels about Indiana education reform.
“It really is the biggest challenge still facing us,” the governor said.

As part of his reform efforts he calls for smaller, more disciplined classrooms run by better-paid teachers. Other Daniel’s plans, if re-elected, would include strong support for home-schooling and statewide, full-day kindergarten.

In addition, he would urge the General Assembly to pass laws to provide free tuition for the first two years of public college in Indiana, if parents annually make $60,000 or less. About 70 percent of Indiana high school juniors whose parents didn’t go to college think they can’t afford it, according to an Indiana Commission of Higher Education study.

The campaigning governor praised fellow Republicans for supporting the party’s decision to shorten the convention due to Hurricane Gustav.

Thomas G. Hoback, the owner of the historic car and a GOP delegate, and his wife, Sue, took the southwestern train car – hooked to three other historic dining cars, gleaming with leather and stainless steel -- from their home in Indianapolis to the Amtrak station in St. Paul. They didn’t need hotel rooms; they spent their convention nights in one of the train’s sleeping compartments. Hoback is president and chief executive officer of The Indiana Railroad Company.

They invited about 90 other Hoosier delegates and spouses to join them for a champagne brunch on the vintage train cars to kick off the convention. Fresh red, white and blue flowers graced every corner, and the hot, cheesy casserole and fresh sausage smells filled the train.
While those enjoying the meal seemed to be mostly middle-aged and older, Republican officials stressed that bringing in more youth to their party is a vital goal.

“We started bringing in high school students and college students and they’re taking very meaningful roles in the campaign,” said Matt Kirby, Indiana Republican Party political director.
No young Republican campaign workers attended the event because they were canvassing for candidates back in Indiana, Kirby explained.

“They’re not just making phone calls, they’re actually constructing and designing the programs we’re instituting,” Kirby said. “The average age of most our staff is probably 20 to 23 years old, so we’ve made recruiting youth a top priority.”

Deborah Hohlt, who is the D.C. lobbyist for Daniels’ office, predicted her boss can bring in the youth vote, as can McCain.

“A lot of folks think the other side has the youth vote locked up,” she said. “We are bringing a new kind of change, and if there is anyone who is an agent of change, that would be Gov. Daniels.”

Both McCain and Daniels are independent-minded, sometimes bucking the party when they think it’s the right thing to do, she said.

“That is what the youth are looking for.”

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008: Flipping houses for the homeless

Ashley Gunn

By Justin Byers, 15; Pratik Cherian, 17; and Tommy Mangan, 12, Y-Press

What keeps a successful person going? Is it the awards, the publicity or the money?

For Ashley Gunn, the sight of families crying, hugging and smiling are the payment for her work.

In 2005, Gunn, then 17, and her younger brother founded Students Aiding Indigent Families in Brandon, Miss. SAIF is a nonprofit organization that buys abandoned houses, renovates them, and sells them to homeless families far below the market price.

“These families are so nice and this means the world to them. Just to see them be so grateful and thank me so much, it's just the motivation behind it all,” said the now 20-year-old college student.

She was one of the youngest people to speak at the RNC this week, and she was nervous beforehand.

“It was such a rush,” Gunn said. “As soon as I was out there and everyone was applauding and cheering for me, it was really very calming and such a great overwhelming excitement.”

In her speech, Gunn described one of those “crying, hugging and smiling” families she helped:“Ms. Hannah,” a single mother with two daughters earning $1,500 a month. She paid $650 a month for rent and used the rest for other home-related expenses. Nothing was left to provide for her girls, each with severe mental and physical disabilities. A widow, she had also lost a son to drowning and another to a heart attack. SAIF was able to place Ms. Hannah into a remodeled three-bedroom home with a mortgage payment less than her rent payment.

The junior at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania said a missions trip to Africa at age 12 convinced her to become involved in helping those less fortunate than herself.

“I had been living in a bubble my entire life and it just opened my eyes to vastly different lifestyles then what I had been accustomed to: suffering, disease, poverty and all that kind of stuff,” she said.

But Gunn is no bleeding-heart liberal. “I grew up in a very conservative household and the fundamental ideals have always been hammered into my brain,” she said, saying those convictions have been tested at the liberal University of Pennsylvania, but have stayed strong.

While Gunn was in high school, SAIF renovated and gave away five houses. Today SAIF is run by the 17-year old Brantley Gunn, but in hiatus for a semester while he serves as a Congressional page in Washington, D.C.; Ashley can’t be involved because of her university commitments.

But the siblings are dedicated to keeping the organization operating. Gunn would even like to see it expanded into other states.

And the Gunns know that many other states could use help revitalizing and reselling foreclosed homes to those in need. That’s because more than 155,000 American families have lost their homes to foreclosures this year, according to RealtyTrac. The real estate information firm also said that foreclosures have increased in 46 states and 90 of the nation’s largest cities.

Indianapolis officials are busy trying to figure out how to revitalize its foreclosed housing further, as well as encourage youth to volunteer in their communities. They’re impressed by Gunn’s efforts.

“I think it’s awesome for a person that has such compassion and passion to be able to reach out to the disenfranchised, especially at such a young age,” said Olgen Williams, deputy mayor for neighborhoods in Indianapolis.

He pointed out that Community Development Corporations and faith-based institutions and child-serving organizations have worked together to revitalize foreclosed homes in the city similar to what the Gunns did, but more needs to be done. Mayor James Ballard announced early this year that he wanted to work with foundations to buy up hundreds of dilapidated, foreclosed housing and sell them at reasonable prices to low-income families, but no major effort has yet been worked out.

Williams said kids can help their neighborhoods a lot – and they don’t have to do anything as extraordinary as Gunn did. He urged youth to get out and help in any way they can in their neighborhoods – putting up dry wall, cleaning up trash and promoting peace through the Peace in the Streets, Stop the Violence program.

At the end of her speech to the nation, the young blonde-pony-tailed Mississippian showed her camaraderie with the white-haired war hero.

“Sen. McCain has just as much passion and drive as any high school student rebuilding a house, except that he is working hard to rebuild our country,” Gunn said. “This country needs organizations like SAIF, and this country needs President John McCain.”

Copyright 2008 Y-Press