Goal: …give progressive students a voice in the media.

Leadership

Organization’s Objective

Many young people would like to “make a difference” in the world, but they are unsure where to start. They have been prodded since they were toddlers: “you can do anything if you try,” but in fact they have lead very sheltered lives. They are unsure what they believe in. They are unsure how their views are different from their parents. They are unsure how their views differ from others their age in other parts of the country, or even how they differ from kids across town. Most of all, they are unsure if anyone really cares what they think.

They are skeptical about politicians and government, and they are skeptical about the media. “Will the 50 year-old anchorman on television really tell me the news I want to hear about?” “Does the Wall Street Journal editor in the corner office care about my future?” “And even if they do, would they ever think to print my opinion?”

If young people are unsure about their own views, and unsure whether people really care, how can we expect them to become engaged and take action? Many young people go through the motions of volunteering with programs designed by people their parents’ or their grandparents’ age, but they won’t have the passion and commitment necessary to change the world until they form their own convictions and design their own solutions.