Tution increases are an obstacle for many types of young people trying to go to college. Of the 65,000 undocumented high school students graduating this year in the U.S., only about 6,000 pursue higher education. None are eligble for financial aid. KQED follows two young women pursuing college education. Youth Radio's high school seniors are also wondering how tuition increases will impact their future. One senior was crushed when she realized she might not be able to go to a four year college because of money. Read more...
Current TV journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor after being charged with crossing North Korea’s border illegally. The question people are wondering is what Current TV is doing to help free their reporters?
Finding an answer is not easy. Current TV is not willing to talk about this case. In a recent phone convesation with Current TV's press contact, I was quickly (and repeatedly) informed,“No comment on anything related to North Korea.”
Read more...
The preliminary hearing for former BART police Johannes Mesherle concluded today. Over the seven days of the hearing, the defense and prosecution heard from numerous witnesses including BART police Anthony Pirone. According to The Oakland Tribune, yesterday Pirone admitted that Grant posed no threat while he was handcuffed and lying on his stomach before he was shot. Pirone himself has come under fire from the community for not being charged with assault after it was brought to light that he struck Grant earlier in the incident. Read more...
12:45-Creation of ModNation franchise, a racing game that is meant to be accessible and promotes online sharing and playing.
12:35-They're introducing a new motion controller. It seems to me to just be a copy of the Wii, only it's still a prototype. They're showing a demonstration of a guy playing gold, tennis etc. Not that impressive.
Read more...10:00-So the President of Nintendo came on and talked about how he was concerned about the walls between experienced and beginner gamers. He also said that according to their studies, for every two people who play video games, there is one thinking about also becoming a gamer. Apparently part of the solution to this is a new Mario Kart for Wii. Then he also announced as the new big thing--the Wii Vitality Censor. From what I can tell this is just a finger clip that measures your pulse and relays the information to the screen. Read more...
If you're a texter like myself, then you might have problems switching from texting mode to actual English. Texting revolves around acronyms, LOL-laughing out loud, OMG- oh my god, TTYL- talk to you later, BRB-be right back, etc. These codes allow you to type texts faster, but they're also convenient because parents don’t understand what is being said.
Read more...
Who is Genai Powers? If you’re my age, your first instinct will be to look her up on MySpace. There, you’ll find the profile of a 17-year-old girl who goes by “Geezie.” Her profile page flashes with a rainbow star background and it blasts her current favorite song, “That’s Not My Name” by the Ting Tings.
Then there’s the MySpace profile of the other 17-year-old Genai Powers. It’s a plain, no-frills site—just a couple of photos of Genai and a bio that describes her as… a skank?
Read more...
Adobe Flash Player is not installed. Please download and install it to listen to audio.
(download mp3)
In Other Words is a new joint endeavor between Youth Media International and KQED. How do people who grow up in the digital era encounter news differently? See the collaboration unfold right here.
Did you hear the one about?
By: Emily Beaver
Maybe you've heard President Obama talking about reforming health care or seen TV news reports about people protesting recent town hall meetings. But if you think health care reform doesn't impact you, it's time to tune into the debate.
One goal of health care reform is making sure that everyone can get health insurance, including young people. About 30% of Americans ages 19-24 don't have insurance, and one in seven teens doesn't have insurance, says Claire Brindis, Director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California, San Francisco.
Many young people aren't covered by their parents' health plans, don't get insurance at work, can't afford to buy insurance or simply don't think they'll get sick. But if you get sick or injured when you're uninsured, you might not get the medical care you need or you may go into debt because of medical bills.
Read more...Young people discuss how the recession is affecting their education. They describe overcrowded classrooms, long lines at financial aid offices, and stress.
Previously:
UC Berkeley Walkout Youth Voices on the Recession Students Need an Education Bailout (VIDEO)
When Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a North Korean prison camp we asked Josh Wolf- who holds the record in the U.S. for the longest stay in prison for a reporter protecting his source material- about why reporters take risks.
In the wake of the release of Ling and Lee, and the capture of journalist Shane Bauer by Iran, KQED-FM in San Francisco had writer and editor Andrew Lam on as a guest to talk about the subject. In that conversation Mr. Lam- who works for New American Media- talked about how young freelance journalists are putting themselves into dangerous situations without the same training and resources that reporters who work for the big news organizations have.
We followed up with Mr. Lam today on that topic, and on how the rise of citizen journalism is affecting the quality of information in the media today.
Read more...In June, Mayor Gavin Newsom passed a mandatory composting law for the city of San Francisco. This ultra-green legislation sets a goal of 75% diversion (only 25% of waste would go to landfills) by 2010 and zero waste by 2020. But how does the mayor make a law that requires a skill? How can he enforce people to change their lifestyles?
Composting isn't easy. What rots and what doesn't requires the eye of an environmentalist, and some education as well. There are a few programs underway that help people learn the ropes of composting:
Fines are delayed until 2011 when people will have "acclimated" to the new rules, but I still wonder how much the average Californian really knows about composting and waste.
Here at Youth Radio, we put our composting knowledge to the test. Would we be able to survive in San Francisco's cut-throat environmentalist world? Find out on Youth Radio's newest game show, Rot or Not!
Read more...
Are you a thrill-seeker, a part-time daredevil or a calculated risk-taker? A health plan aimed at 19-29 year-olds would be happy to let you be any of the three—for a deductible of course.
Read more...
