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May 1, 2012 | Who Wins When Young Voters are Wooed by Both Sides?
Never underestimate the power of voters to move seemingly intractable issues, especially in an election year. Why are both Republicans and Democrats working on a version of the DREAM Act? In part because the Latino vote is gaining strength.
As for the youth vote, witness the latest development on student loans. Democrats and Republicans are no longer debating whether, but how to address the July 1 deadline, when interest rates on subsidized federal student loans could double.
Politicians better be sure they're offering a genuine proposal. A leader of Young Invincibles questions a proposal that cuts health care to pay for loan subsidies.
Skepticism about partisan politics and politicians' priorities may be eroding young voters' enthusiasm for engaging in the political process, but if Millennials see an authentic champion for their interests--a better job market, affordable access to college, health care and insurance--they may once again be a force to reckon with in the elections.
Speaking of dreams, there's a question I keep asking myself: what would happen if all of us who care about child and youth issues were to pull together? Instead of being the first to be stripped of public dollars, we might see classrooms, playgrounds, workforce programs and cafeterias getting the same protection as tax cuts.
Now the reality: as the left-leaning Center for American Progress reports, kids rank last when it comes to the federal budget working its way through appropriations in the House of Representatives this spring.
Onward,
Jan
We heart feedback! Email jan@sparkaction.org
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Check out @amaliowirth's powerful call for a Presidential Youth Council & join the movement at @gov4youth! http://bit.ly/IlI7Uo #youthvoices
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Connect with SparkAction!
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| Quote of the Week 
"Since when does this generation have to choose between a stable economic future and a healthy one?" 
-- Young Invincibles Deputy Director Jen Mishory on the House bill that prevents
an increase in student loan interest rates, but eliminates a health care prevention fund for life-saving cancer screenings and child immunizations.
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| Youth Voices
Join the SparkOpportunity Challenge
Want to know what's on young people's minds? Check out the ideas that have been submitted to the SparkAction Opportunity Challenge. If you think your idea is better - speak up! We're looking for ways to create more local jobs and give young people, especially those with the steepest challenges, better ways to get trained, educated and employed.
Check out MTV.Act's coverage of the Challenge--a great blog!
Survey of Young Americans' Attitudes toward Politics and Public Service
Many young adults are turned off by partisan politics and politicians that don't reflect their priorities, according to this latest Harvard-undergraduate-inspired survey.
You Got the Power! MTV Launches 'Power Pics'
What issues will drive your vote this fall? MTV makes it easy to speak your mind. Upload a photo and fill in the caption "I will use my power ... "
College Struggles - One Student's Story
Otis Hampton tells Represent readers what he learned the hard way about making a success of yourself in college--like turning off your phone when studying, making sure your financial aid comes in time to buy your books and not scheduling classes for times you're usually sleepy.
Dream Big for College Video Contest
Winner Jessica Curtis and other "Dream Big for College" video contest finalists speak about the web of supports, from counselors to professors, who helped them stay on track to finish college.
Get Covered: A Health Care Toolkit for GenY
Young Invincibles' updated toolkit has new information to help recent college graduates get health coverage.
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| New on SparkAction
Teach Me How to TweetDeck: A Video Tutorial
Social Media SparkNotes, video style! SparkAction's Alison's video tutorial on how to use TweetDeck--the (free!) Twitter software--to boost your social media impact.
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| More College Graduates - Public Good at Private Cost? 
The headlines are full of the fight over student loan interest rates--whether to keep them low or let them double on July 1. Economists say we need more college graduates for the good of the economy and future tax revenues, but diminishing public dollars and increasing college costs are privatizing the financial burden of an educated population.
More College Grads Could Mean Billions for US
To remain globally competitive, the United States needs more college graduates. States with low college graduation rates could cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars. The Center for Law and Social Policy and the Center for Higher Education Management Systems present the data.
The Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the Future Middle Class
Demos examines how states' declining investment in higher education over the past 20 years has shifted college costs to students and their families.
Key Facts on Student Debt
How much is the total college loan debt and how does it effect the economy? Young Invincibles' has the answers.
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| Bullying - How a Movie is Sparking a New Dialogue
 "Bully" Sparks a Dialogue
The new documentary about bullying in schools has now gotten a PG-13 rating so kids can see it too. As the film breaks the silence about bullying, communities are holding forums after the movie or publicizing resources for schools and families to keep children feeling safer.
From suggestions for what bystanders can do to reports on state anti-bullying laws, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education sites have good resources.
Tiger reliever Phil Coke isn't holding back when it comes to talking about bullying. "It can get under your  skin and provoke you into getting upset or being angry or being down, getting upset enough to be withdrawn." Coke testified in the last hearing for the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence.
Findings from a Randomized Experiment of Playworks
Where do you imagine bullying happens? Where adults aren't around, right? Like on the playground at recess, or in deserted hallways. A rigorous study from Mathematica Policy Research and Stanford University finds that Playworks, a nonprofit program that places trained, full-time adults in low-income schools to provide opportunities for healthy play during recess and class time, transforming school climates, reducing student bullying, creating better student behavior and allowing teachers more time to actually teach their students.
May 3 Webinar: Utilizing the Village: Building Community Support for Dropout Prevention and Recovery Work in Rural Communities
From the U.S. Department of Education with assistance from Jobs for the Future. |
| Public Budgets - Families Can't Go It Alone
Protecting the Safety Net in Tough Times: Lessons from the States
It may mean raising fees or taxes, but the National Center for Children in Poverty reports that several states are protecting their safety nets for families and children during tough times.
Map the Meal Gap 2012
Feeding America provides estimates of food insecurity at the county and congressional district level, and how food banks are developing targeted solutions to address hunger in their communities.
Why Are Fewer Moms Applying?
The food stamp program has grown with the need in tough times, but not the WIC program. Why?
Share Your Story: Make the Minimum Wage a Livable Wage
$14,500. That's what a woman with a full-time, minimum-wage job makes in a year. The National Women's Law Center, ramping up to fight for a better federal minimum wage, wants to hear your story.
Get up to speed on the minimum wage--the debates, the research and the historic levels--with this quick resource for MBA students that was recommended by a SparkAction reader!
Kids Rank Last in House Appropriations
The Ryan budget that was approved by the House, is rolling out in appropriations committees from food stamp and school meal budgets to health insurance coverage for kids. The Center for American Progress takes a look at the numbers of children that could be cut off from school lunches or health care services and concludes that kids rank last, as far as the House of Representatives is concerned.
Senate Takes a Step Forward
Meanwhile PolicyLink reports some good news from the Senate. The Agriculture Committee passed the "Farm Bill" with--for the first time ever--a national commitment of $125 million to bring healthy food and jobs to underserved areas.
Action Center:
Every Child Matters' petition urges passage of bipartisan legislation to create a National Commission on Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths that would study and evaluate federal, state, and private child welfare systems and develop a national strategy to prevent and reduce these deaths.
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Caitlin Johnson and Thaddeus Ferber
SparkAction and the Forum for Youth Investment
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