fitz '99

Ben Jones '96

Joshua Ritter '99

Amy Beth Schneider '97

Adam Shoemaker '96

Melody Waller '98

Scott Wargo

Around the Square

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not just black and white, there are many shades of gray."

At the convention, José met candidate Patrick Buchanan, a person he considered to be one of the greatest contributors to the difficulties the Latino community faces. In an interaction that José said involved "swallowing his pride," he asked Buchanan what steps he, as a young person, could take to represent the voice of minorities effectively. José's efforts resulted in nothing more than a "photo-op," but he prepared news reports about the encounter for New England's "El Mundo" radio and National Public Radio. José's self-esteem skyrocketed because he had made a difference by representing himself and his community through his individual voice.

Similarly, Andrew Floyd's trip to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago provided more than just media literacy. Before the convention, Andrew, a 16-year-old student from Roxbury, said his goal was "to send a message to the nominees for president that an inner-city kid can come to something like this (the convention) and ask serious questions and be known as a serious person."

To achieve this goal, Andrew worked hard to become more articulate at expressing his feelings about the acts of violence he experiences daily as an inner-city youth. He left for Chicago still unsure about his ability to reach his goal, but soon had garnered interviews with several governors, senators, and celebrities. He had overcome his fear of expressing himself openly and returned home with a new sense of pride.

The media coverage and the placement of stories done by YVC press corps' members was extensive. Boston television stations reported on the YVC project at the conventions, and the Boston Herald devoted a full page to stories written by YVC reporters after each convention. Corps members were reporters for New England Cable News and provided commentary for NPR's "Morning Edition," C-SPAN, "Phatlip! Radio" of Little Rock, Arkansas, and "Radio Ahhs" of Washington, D.C., and they were the focus of an edition of CBS' "48 Hours." YVC members maintained a World Wide Web site to provide instant updates from press corps members at the conventions.

Youth Voice Collaborative does not just breed young spectators of a media-dominated society, it creates leaders who are making a difference. Whether at the convention, on television or radio, in newspapers, or on the Internet, the youths of YVC sent a clear message: young people are not just a part of the future, they are an active part of the present.

--David Heafitz '98

David Heafitz, a junior from Swampscott, Massachusetts, is majoring in East Asian studies, with a concentration in Japanese language. His position with Youth Voice Collaborative was funded partially with a $500 grant from the President's discretionary fund for student-initiated projects, with support from the Center for Service and Learning and the Office of Communications. YVC is a collaboration between the YWCA Boston, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, the Patriot's Trail Girl Scout Council, and the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, and is funded by the Riley Foundation, the Reebok Foundation, and the AT&T Foundation, among others.

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