Even though Cari Morales, 19, grew up in the United States, she speaks with a slight Hispanic accent, reflecting her fidelity to her heritage. Morales, who is studying business economics and public policy at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in Bloomington, still volunteers and takes action with an organization she joined back in high school – the Latino Youth Collective.

For 10 years, immigration has been a contentious issue in the United States. In the early part of the decade, the Bush administration was prepared to offer mass amnesty to illegal immigrants. As governor of Texas he’d long been friendly with Mexico, and both he and then-Mexican President Vincente Fox supported a big amnesty and guest worker program.

In this series, four Y-Press journalists explore how the current economy has affected youth. While many stories have been done about adults and the economy, few mentioned teens.

In 1748, the first coal for fuel use was mined in the United States. Since then, mining and converting coal into power has revolutionized the United States. First used for domestic heating and to power trains and steamboats, it has expanded to power factories and households through the electricity it creates.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said that the city, United Way of Central Indiana and a local foundation will launch a major educational reform program early in 2009. The program, which will be piloted in two schools at first, will track students in grades 1-8 to discover what extra help each one personally needs. “There’s literally dozens upon dozens of programs in the schools right now,” said Ballard, pointing to nonprofit agencies like the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Touching things methodically. Reading the same book pages repeatedly while the rest of the class moves on to future chapters. Worrying about how she's different from other kids.

As the political gambits of the 2008 campaigns kick into high gear, involvement by youth is higher than in any election. According to the Pew Research Center, overall youth turnout - voters ages 17 to 200 for the primaries has increased five percent from the 2004 election.