About Ben Young

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Stories by Ben

	Young Tsongas gets taste of politics By Ben Young, , Beth Plocharzyk, Ashley Tsongas learned the ways of the media when her father sought presidency and developed interests in public issues. Eighteen-year-old Ashley Tsongas thought she knew what she would tell her friends in November. She would say: "I'm leaving. I'm going to the White House. My father got a new job." All of her friends would know her new address, and her new house would be displayed on post car
	Americans don't value learning, Tsongas says By Ben Young, , Kelly Hartley, In our society, you're more likely to be admired if you're a top shooter in basketball than a brilliant student in the chemistry lab. According to former Sen. Paul Tsongas, (D-Mass.), that illustrates what's wrong with the public's view of education. Children's Express recently spoke with Tsongas about education, the environment and the federal budget deficit in a telephone interview from his
	Excessive use of Nintendo games may strain players' eyes or wrists By Carlos Galliani, , Aaron Shackelford, , Sean Griffin, , Ben Young, , Mike Pothast, Playing computer games also can be therapy for eye disorder, doctor says. A lot of kids play Nintendo almost every day for about two hours. Many of them are unaware that doing so can cause eye strain or cause them to lose feeling in their fingers when trying to do simple tasks. But they're also unaware that playing Nintendo has its benefits, too. Nintendo can also help the player's hand-eye c
	Unequal funding means unequal schools, Kozol says By Justin Klemann, , Ben Young, Poorest children get the poorest schools which, in turn, helps to keep them in poverty, the author contends. In 1951 in Topeka, Kan., Linda Brown had to walk 25 blocks to an all-black school, even though there was a new, modern school for white children only four blocks from her home. Her father and a group of parents filed a lawsuit charging the local school board with illegal discrimination
	Pearson tells what he would do if he wins state election By Carlos Galliani, , Ben Young, , Matt White, , Chris Cooper, 7, Ben Prince, 7, Nikita Page, 7, Rancia Cummings, 7, , , Amy Ott, 7, Ann-marie Lawlor, 7, Amish Patel, 7, Brad Atkins, 7, Nadia Kelley, 7, Mandy Ott, 7 Children's Express recognizes the fact that kids, although they cannot vote, need to have a say and understand the issues in this election, both at the national and state levels. That is why we brought 10 central Indiana students from seven schools together to discuss three issues with the Republican nominee for governor, Attorney General Linley Pearson. Children's Express staff members also
	National leaders propose education changes By Ben Young, , Amber Hall, , Lisa Schubert, , Kia Woodson, , Christy Hagan, 14, Eric McCoy, 14, Jennifer Spencer, 14, Ryan Asberry, 11, Jennifer Wilson, 14, Carrie Ward, 14, Emily Steele, 14, Sean Griffin, Barbara Bush would make sure it starts at home. The Rev. Jesse Jackson would make sure everyone has the same amount of money for it. Lamar Alexander would make sure its standards match those of other nations. And H. Dean Evans would make sure it could be held accountable. Four different people, four different views on education. Children's Express attended press conferences in Indianapolis wi
	TV anchor sees new racism emerging By Chris Cooper, 6, Laura Berlier, 6, Sarah Furimsky, , Beth Plocharczyk, , Ben Young, WTHR (Channel 13) anchorman Tom Cochrun, who won an Emmy Award for exposing the Ku Klux Klan, says he sees a new kind of racism emerging in this country. "I think that what has occurred is that some people, regardless of whether they're black or white or yellow or red, are becoming increasingly captured by the idea of what makes them different as opposed to what makes us all the same."
	Natural gas a cleaner alternative to gasoline By Ben Young, , Sean Griffin, Some Indianapolis-area vehicles already are running on the fumes. Will your first or next car be one that runs on natural gas? Dan O'Brien, public affairs coordinator for Citizens Gas & Coke Utility, says his will be. Citizens Gas is in the process of converting its entire customer fleet to run on compressed natural gas. When an older van goes out of service, the gas company automatically conv
	Couple adopts steady approach to family By Ben Young, , Gretchen Hall, , Brendan Kirsch, Here's a story Of a Southside couple Who wanted their home filled with boys and girls. They tried for five years in Indiana, But they had no such luck. Then one day when this couple met this agent And they knew that it was much more than a hunch. So they adopted seven kids from Korea That's the way they all became the Garber bunch. "Ithink adoption really fulfills your needs and a child's
	Divorce classes for parents help kids By Chris Lee, 5, Gretchen Hall, , Ben Young, Court-ordered seminars focus on kids' needs during traumatic family times. Even though it happened more than eight years ago, 15-year- old Mary remembers how hurt she was when she heard her parents were getting a divorce. "We came home from my grandmother's _ my sister and I had been at my grandmother's visiting there _ and my sister had known about it before we went down there and then they
	What do you think? By Ben Young, , Justin Klemann, , Stephanie Hancock, 13 "Yes, because then we can avoid the risks if we didn't use them." Amber Aushton, 12 Daleville High School Daleville "Yes, because they protect other children." Damon Miller, 11 School 84 Indianapolis "Yes, so we can have more safety in the schools and not have to worry about gangs, problems or what will happen next." Donald Grays, 13 Crispus Attucks Junior High Indianapolis
	Coretta King helping to keep `The Dream' alive By Chris Lee, 5, Kia Woodson, , Ben Young, Rev. King's widow continues his struggle for social justice. BLACK HISTORY MONTH This profile is part of a Children's Express focus on prominent blacks who are helping to make "The Dream" come true. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. fought all his life to make a stronger nation. His dream was to make our country equal for all races. After his death, his dream did not die. Coretta Scott King, his
	Americans' concept of Croats, Serbs `wrong' By Ben Young, , Carlos Galliani, , Meg McIntyre, 84 Bogdon Uzelac and Marina Kovacevic come from different regions of Yugoslavia. Uzelac is Serbian and Kovacevic is Croatian. Both of them now live in Bloomington, Ind., and are affected by the war between Serbia and Croatia. Both have relatives and friends still living in these regions. Kovacevic is a visiting Fulbright professor of Serbo-Croatian languages, teaching at Indiana University. Uzela
	KIDS ON THE AIR By Sean Griffin, , Ben Young, The future Jane Pauleys and Bob and Toms are getting their training in the radio and TV classes at the J. Everett Light Career Center. Students in these classes get the opportunity to be disc jockeys on FM radio and host and produce TV programs. Currently there are 56 students enrolled in the two three-hour radio and TV classes at the career center, located next to North Central High School at
	Officials put youth-service issues to the talk test By Alice Russell, , Leah Lindsey, 7, Ben Young, In early September, Children's Express traveled to Chicago to cover a symposium sponsored by Lilly Endowment. The topic was citizenship and its place in volunteering. Gathering program directors of service organizations, White House officials, national service program officers, foundation program officers and directors and academics, the group's six-hour discussion focused on the meaning of
	CHILDREN and VIOLENCE By Amy Weisenbach, , Kate Schnippel, , Justin Klemann, , Diana Groth, 13, Ben Young, In a recent speech at the University of Notre Dame, President Bush said, "To paraphrase that fantastic philosopher Barbara Bush, `What you teach at your home is more important than what happens at the White House,' and she is absolutely correct." But educator Jonathan Kozol vehemently disagrees. "Some parents don't do what they should, but no matter what your parents do, they can't change the
	Terry Anderson's life falling back together after long captivity By Jade McGillem, 85, Ben Young, Former journalist had been held hostage in Lebanon for more than six years. For 2,455 days, Americans read about, heard about and watched helplessly as one man experienced his nightmare - being held hostage in Lebanon. Terry Anderson's nightmare has been over for more than 16 months now. He's working on a book, gotten married, restoring an old house and getting to know his youngest daughter,
	Life of drugs, gangs and violence changes for teens By Ben Young, , Jwahara Coleman, , Reniqua Allen, The public is slowly recognizing how many children must deal with violence every day. To further increase awareness of this problem, Children's Express conducted national hearings on violence and children in October in Washington, D.C. After finishing our work, four members from our team were searching to find a constructive way to spend our last day in Washington. We decided to talk to kids
	'Jurassic' a great thrill ride but lacks appetite of book By Ben Young, , Nick Shannon, Jurassic Park 3 1/2 Actors: Laura Dern, Sam Neil, Jeff Goldblum. Locations: Loews Lafayette Square, Cherry Tree, College Park; GC Greenwood Park 5 (in the mall), Clearwater Crossing; CTS Clermont-Deluxe, ABC Noblesville, Tibbs, Southview and Twin drive-ins. Rating: PG-13 Children's Express Ratings: 4 excellent, 3 good, 2 fair, 1 poor. Jurassic Park, the $65 million Steven Spielberg product
	Teen-ager says violence forced him into adulthood By Timothy Ward, , Tony Dale, , Misty Moore, , Ben Young, , Carlos Galliani, SOUTH AFRICA In the United States, you're still technically a kid when you are 17. But in South Africa, violence forces kids to grow up faster. In the United States, we complain about things such as sharing a room with our brother or sister, getting a cold or hearing racist remarks on the street. But in South Africa, some children must live away from their families just because their house is
	News of elections for South Africa sparks joy and violence By Leah Kidwell, , Randy McDade, 15, Ted Mosey, , Ben Young, , Michelle Huser, , Kim Dexter, Lawrence Wilson, a 16-year-old South African, has witnessed great changes in his country. From the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 to the promise of elections that will give black South Africans the right to vote, he sees this as a time for hope. "It's the beginning of a new South Africa. (Mandela's release) sparked off everyone trying to strive for peace and change from apartheid," he said
	NAACP ponders alliance with ANC to help resolve conflicts in South Africa By Kate Schnippel, , Gary Templeton, , Eric Augenstein, 15, Ben Young, Black South Africans have many obstacles to overcome. Despite winning the right to vote, they still need to achieve equality in housing, employment and education with white residents. To survive, they must end the black-on-black violence as well as the fighting between groups of different races. Only then can they give their children hope for the future. African-Americans face the same difficu
	South African says violence indescribable By Timothy Ward, , Tony Dale, , Misty Moore, , Ben Young, , , Children's Express recently talked by telephone with several children from South Africa to find out about their lives under apartheid, or racial separation. Theona Canster, 15, lives in a township outside Cape Town. People are dying. Some of them are dying for no reason - maybe for the color of your skin or the language that you speak. And to some people, (if) you don't look good or if you d
	Cape Town teens relate changing views and global interest By Sean Strother, , George Srour, , Ben Young, In the summer of 1993, Children's Express talked with five kids from Cape Town, South Africa, while that country was still under white minority rule. They expressed optimism that the announced multiracial elections would do away with the last traces of the racist government that had dominated South Africa for more than 300 years. The groundbreaking elections took place last April, and when th
	Nogales' teens-agers help improve life in the border town By Ben Young, , Erica Bellamy, 13, George Srour, In late November, Children's Express published a group of stories about the border town, Nogales, Ariz. The following story is part of that series. In the past few years, Nogales has been plagued by many problems, most stemming from its location across the border from Nogales, Mexico. Besides being a major drug trafficking spot, Nogales' sewers have recently been overtaken by a gang of homele
	Poverty, gangs and crimes surround kids in barrio By Ben Young, , George Srour, We saw the environment change before our eyes as we rode across the U.S./Mexican border in the back of Mickey Chapman's beat-up pickup truck. We were heading from Nogales, Ariz., to Nogales, Sonora, in Mexico. The population difference was evident - the Arizona city has 25,000 residents; Mexico's Nogales has eight times as many people. Nogales, Ariz., is filled with houses, strip malls, restau
	Young lives are shaped by a centuries-old battle By Ben Young, "The recent bombing in a Detroit bar has an estimated death toll of nine. ... The rebels in Wisconsin have reportedly claimed responsibility." Imagine Wisconsin and Michigan at war over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Every day you would hear reports of the religious and political war being waged between two neighboring states. For kids in Northern Ireland, this is their daily reality.
	Futures for Children's sponsors motivate kids to stay in school By Ben Young, , Christina Snorten, For information To find out more about Futures for Children or how to sponsor a child, call or write at: Futures for Children 805 Tijeras Street, N.W. Albuquerque, N.M. 87102 (800) 545-6843 or (505 ) 247-4700 People everywhere will do remarkable things when asked to work together for their children's future. Turning words into actions was Dr. Richard P. Saunders' goal in 1961, when he started F
	Lugar explains complex issues By Tony Dale, , Meganne Hoffman, , Christina Snorten, , Ben Young, Politicians seem to express their views more during the campaign year than at any other time. However, much of what they say revolves around what their opponents will do wrong rather than what they themselves hope to do in office. Children's Express recently talked to U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., about his work before he begins his 1994 re-election campaign. We wanted to talk to an actual
	American Indian kids accept traditions By Ben Young, , Christina Snorten, Zuni, N.M. - While we may smile when we see a father carrying a child on his shoulders, the Zuni Pueblo tribe considers it bad luck. That's one of the many Zuni beliefs we learned about when we visited the tribe last summer. The Zuni believe that sleeping with your shoes on is bad luck, as is playing outside after dark. Although kids in the tribe live by these rules, they say they don't unders