Welcome to the First Edition of the Positive-Youth News –

       You have received this newsletter because you signed our mailing list at a show like Blink 182, Greenday, or the Warped Tour. You may have signed up online or bought something from us in the past. At any rate we hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that you will check it out. We intend to send out news about 4 – 6 times a year. Maybe in between we will send out a regional announcement or two about an action, protest or important announcement. Having said all that, if you are not interested in our list, you can find info at the bottom that will help you quickly unsubscribe. We encourage you to forward this email to anyone you know who may be interested and / or sign up on our list at:

Contents -

We have 2 Brand new websites (we maybe just completely overhauled)

www.positive-youthfoundation.org – our organizations site

www.positive-youth.com – our web store

Charity Skate Board Auctions on eBay starting January 13th, get in on the bidding

Our New Web Sites -

The Positive-Youth Foundation.org

This summer we started the process of completely revamping www.positive-youthfoundation.org  our organizations main web site. This is the starting point for many people who see us out at a show and get interested in finding out more about our site. We have analyzed a lot of the frequently asked questions (FAQ) we receive from people interested in getting involved over the last few years and used that information to develop the new web site content.

Signed skateboards from Good Charlotte, NOFX, Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, Mighty Mighty Boss Tones, Reel Big Fish and Lag Wagon will be auctioned off bi-monthly on eBay starting January 13th all proceeds will benefit the PYF. Visit www.positive-youthfoundation.org/PYFDecks.htm for a schedule of when what bands deck will be auctioned off as well as pictures of each deck to be auctioned.

1st Auction starts Monday, January 13th at 5 PM PST for a GOOD CHARLOTTE AUTOGRAPHED DECK – eBay auction number 935170457.

Protest Politics: Inside & Out
by Wendy Schaetzel Lesko

Here in Washington, D.C. on a bitterly cold Tuesday morning, about 100 students from one high school and the neighboring junior high skipped classes. They staged an anti-war rally chanting "more books, less bombs" while holding placards with similar slogans at a nearby subway station.  This mini-demonstration was a prelude for the mega-protests coordinated by International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) against a military strike in Iraq. One of the lead organizers, 12th grader Dante Furioso, was amazed at the turnout, expecting only a dozen or so students.  

Many might assume this was an impromptu event. In fact, considerable planning occurred over a couple of months. Students attended a training session on non-violent protest tactics, met in advance with their high school principal, and worked with the police on the route for their march. Pragmatic preparation is not at all uncommon among the Millennial Generation. These young activists¹ repertoire typically includes--

• developing an action plan and timetable
• recruiting by word-of-mouth and via the Internet
• cultivating a coalition
• identifying the powers-that-be
• anticipating and sometimes pre-empting adversaries
• capturing the attention of the news media
• maintaining momentum for their cause

Nowadays these community organizing and advocacy skills are routinely presented at youth group meetings, leadership conferences and teen summits. That¹s what our national clearinghouse has been doing since 1992. What I find especially invigorating is when young people don¹t just "practice" civic engagement but really do it.

It¹s worth noting that these D.C. student rebels who took to the streets still navigated conventional channels and connected ahead of time with the principal. This two-pronged strategy also reflects the sophisticated, savvy approach of many experienced young activists. Some 40 to 60 teen attendees from all over the country recently worked both the "inside" and "outside" tracks at the 2002 National Conference On Tobacco Or Health.

These student conference participants are no rookies and have been fighting the tobacco industry for many years.  This youth contingent planned several unorthodox actions. For example, they publicly attacked the largest cigarette company for attempting to dignify its image with a new corporate name. In downtown San Francisco, they set up one large pile of cow manure with a sign "Philip Morris" and another pile with a sign "Altria" with a larger sign in between that proclaimed: "Same Shit ­ Different Pile."  This so-called "Poop in the Streets" was the kind of protest that few adults would ever consider, let alone carry out. (Photographs and video footage can be viewed at http://www.revolutionnow.net)

These advocates also sought to convince their adult counterparts that youths want a greater role in the tobacco control movement. Sixteen-year-old Katherine Klem of Kentucky, who is the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids 2002 National Youth Advocate of the Year, circulated a concept paper months before this conference claiming:

"Although there are many organizations that utilize and work with the youth in their tobacco control efforts or have youth as their primary concern in determining their tobacco control agenda at the local level, there is no national organization strictly in existence to serve and mobilize these youth of America interested in tobacco prevention and control in regards to federal policy and legislation such as FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] regulation . . . This is a void that needs to be filled."

Draft mission statements for a new national organization called IGNITE resulted from an ancillary meeting attended by most of the youth attendees and a handful of adults.  Another action to demonstrate their serious commitment occurred in the wee-hours of the morning when several teams slipped fliers under the doors of the hotel rooms of conference attendees with a picture of a boy sleeping with the caption,

"While you were sleeping . . .
We took action against Big Tobacco.
Wake up to the promise of youth empowerment . . .
Youth empowerment never sleeps."

The relentless determination of these young activists continued through the closing plenary session before 3,700 attendees. They won unanimous approval of their draft proposal calling for the conference steering committee to ensure:

"adequate representation by youth as committee members, plenary speakers, chairpersons, and discussants in order to further the goal of achieving parity for all communities."

Another resolution passed making more scholarships available to priority populations including young people to attend future conferences.  In the words of 17-year-old Terra Gearhart, "As youth, we were incredibly happy to see how supportive the adults were. They¹re fantastic partners, and together we can be strong."

It's worth noting that the recent 2002 Monitoring the Future Survey found that U.S. teen cigarette smoking rates have declined significantly compared to previous years, and compared to other drugs. Without a doubt, some credit goes to the steadily growing involvement of young people over the past decade that has contributed to comprehensive tobacco control policies, including increasing state cigarette taxes, smoke-free environments as well as advertising and marketing restrictions. This is an intentional process that includes sustained funding, ongoing training for both youths and adults, and a genuine commitment to co-pilot rather than co-opt the Millennial Generation.