ASFAR Forums

Discrimination culture

dummy@example.com (Tamanna Taznin) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:32:42 +0000

I think one of the biggest problems facing the youth rights movement is that discrimnation against youth is both normal and institutionalised. Take this case, as recorded one day after it happened during a trip to NY.

As unlikely as it may seem, the UN actually practices age discrimination as well.
During a tour of the UN building, I sat down on one of the benches while the tour guide talked, and was ordered to stand up with “Older people first”, despite the fact that the tour guide had already offered the bench, and no one had taken it, making me the only person on the bench when I was ordered to stand.

Not to be arrogant, but it seems that I'm in the wrong section of the bus....

Voting age poll

dummy@example.com (Garage door com1) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:47:46 +0000

I'm running an ongoing voting age poll. It's nowhere near completed, but here's some preliminary results after about forty-eight hours:
===PRELIMINARY RESULTS===
4% of people support eliminating the voting age
13% of people support a voting age of 13
21% of people support a voting age of 16
49% of people support a voting age of 18
4% of people support a voting age of 21
8% voted other
±5,3% to 99% confidence with a sample size of 91, 247 possible voters*

*Possible voter count derived by tabulating the number of accounts with at least ten posts. Accounts with fewer than ten posts are assumed to be inactive and are not counted, though they would be permitted to vote.
===END RESULTS===

Something I found interesting is that two posters expressed the opinion that voting is a right either of residence or citizenship, yet support restricting that right based upon age.

Planned curfew

dummy@example.com (Homes for sale) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:39:15 +0000

As I posted on NYRA's newswire, county commissioners in Leon County are planning a curfew. Any resources available would be greatly appreciated.

Goals

dummy@example.com (ionion) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:48:20 +0000

What are the goals of ASFAR?

How do we propose to obtain those goals?

Who is our leadership?

What--exactly--is the ASFAR leadership doing to help us reach our goals?

What number of youth are involved in ASFAR? Adults? Are we effective in combining the talents of both?

I ask these questions because I came here excited, but the excitement is wearing off fast. This is my second day here, and the board seems slower than molasses running uphill on a cold winter morning.

Unconstitutional School Search

dummy@example.com (intelligent) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:13:26 +0000

I was able to get the high school of director Max Harmony to stop an unconstitutional policy of searching the property of students who wanted to use computers (because of vandalism), with a confirmation that it had been dismantled issued by the principal shortly after she received my letter. I've sent a similar letter about searches to director Ryan Luchs's school:

[Ryan's Principal]
[Ryan's School]

Dear Ms. [Principal]
I represent a youth rights organization called Americans for Society Free from Age Restrictions (ASFAR), and we regret to inform you that we have received several reports of a number of random drug searches with canine units recently having been conducted at Newbury Park High School. If these searches were indeed conducted, we have reason to believe that they may be in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. That public school students possess some degree of constitutional rights was established in the Supreme Court Case Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503, 506 (1969).
As to this specific Fourth Amendment issue, school officials are required to possess reasonable suspicion of illegal contraband or criminal activity in order to conduct searches of students, as established by the Supreme Court case New Jersey v. T.L.O, 105 S. Ct. 733, 469 U.S. 325 (1985). It has traditionally been interpreted that reasonable suspicion must be individualized; hence, mass, random searches would violate the Fourth Amendment. It was confirmed in the court case Horton v. Goose Creek, 690 F.2d 470 (CA5 1982), that a dog sniff constituted a search, with a parallel confirmation in the court case B.C. v. Plumas, 192 F.3d 1260 (9th Cir. 1999), that a random, mass search of students by dogs was unconstitutional.
Accordingly, it was the opinion of then California Attorney General Bill Lockyer ("Opinion of the California Attorney General 99-1103"), written in 2000 regarding this issue that “[s]chool administrators at a public high school may not [boldface mine] implement a policy requiring on an unannounced, random, and neutral basis that (1) pupils be directed to vacate their classrooms and leave behind their personal belongings, including backpacks, purses, jackets, and outer garments, for sniffing by canines trained in the detection of drugs, (2) the pupils would proceed to a location not within the immediate vicinity of the canines and would remain away from the canines at all times, and (3) if a canine’s behavior indicated the presence of drugs, the pupil’s personal belongings would be searches by the school administrators without the pupil’s consent.”
As such, it is necessary to inform you of our strong opposition to this policy of random mass drug searches of students’ belongings, and our doubts as to its constitutionality, considering the confirmed unconstitutionality of such searches of students themselves. Please ensure that this policy is dismantled, bearing in mind that students subject to violations of their constitutional rights may reasonably seek injunctive relief against your school or district, as well as compensatory and/or punitive damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Sincerely,
______________________________
Julian E. Gutierrez
President
Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions

Now, our problem is that dog searches are conducted relatively infrequently and with no set pattern (which is the point; they're supposed to be random). So, we won't know if the policy's actually been dismantled unless there's an announcement. The other problem is that at Max's school, there was a relatively informal pattern of searches being conducted by order of a single teacher; dog searches are arranged for beforehand and are conducted with law enforcement. So I'll probably need to email the principal to ask her about the status of the issue. Updates to come soon.

Drinking Age Protest

dummy@example.com (accident attorneypress) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:28:49 +0000

I propose that we (anyone who supports lowering the drinking age) protest every state capital (or county seat) to show our opposition for the excessively high and massively arbitrary drinking age. Of course it is hoped that one day there will be no drinking age but for a start it should at the very least be lowered to 18.

Discuss

If people have an unconscious preference for young people

dummy@example.com (Ferdous Ahmed) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:17:21 +0000

then why don't they want them to have equal rights?

According to the famous Harvard Implicit Association studies, most people prefer young people to old people.

Yet, most people seem to be against youth rights. Why is this?

Drug-sniffing policy at my high school

dummy@example.com (Affordable wedding photog) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:36:28 +0000

Hi, I am currently a senior at Temple City High School, in Temple City, CA. I am concerned that a certain policy at my school violates the 4th amendment. My school is using the Interquest Program to detect drugs and weapons through the use of widespread, random, unannounced drug-sniffing detection canines. During such uses, dogs are subject to sniff parked vehicles, lockers, and everything inside classrooms. I am particularly concerned with the appearance of the dogs at the classrooms. When a drug-sniffing dog is subject to sniff out a classroom, students and teachers in that classroom are told to remove themselves from the classroom, leaving their personal belongings such as jackets, backpacks, and purses behind for the dog to sniff. If the canines indicate to anything, the item would be searched without the property owner's consent. When the canines appear, the school has no individualized suspicion. The school's only intent for using the dogs is to deter drug use.

Can you help me? I don't think this policy is constitutional, and I hope you agree, but I would do anything in my power to get this policy ended. I've also read the topic "Unconstitutional School Search" right below this topic and notice almost a complete match in description. What should I do or what can you do?

Thank you!

Board Meetings

dummy@example.com (Parenting) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:51:00 +0000

Board meetings are open to ALL members to speak and contribute. We've noticed that many members don't take this option, so we're reminding you.

We're also needing to change our agenda, so we'd like to know what works for the members.

What if people realized how similar we are?

dummy@example.com (Match) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:24:00 +0000

People seem to have this view that humans are very different based on their age; that what applies to adults does not apply to teens does not apply to kids. What if people realized just how similar humans are at every age? We all feel sad or angry when our freedom is restricted. We all want to be treated with respect. We all want to feel safe and loved.

I think if there were some way we could show people just how similar they are to other people regardless of age, the youth rights movement would take off a lot faster. It would be hard since most people today have very selfish ways of thinking.

I just wanted to congradulate the members of this site for their intel

dummy@example.com (custom screen printing) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:11:42 +0000

WoW!I am really impressed by the intelligence of the posters on this site and how hard you kids (and your avocates )work on information gathering and essay writing, its like someone doesn't post a topic without thougroughly researching it beforehand .I am also very impressed by the drive of the members of this site to right civic wrongs and the witty spunk of some of the posters rightous calls for "Viva La Revolution". I can only hope that you don't abandon your pursuit of youth rights when you graduate from youth and enter offical adulthood .I am nearly offically an adult of 21 and I have not given up my fight for Youth rights just because they are becoming irrelivant to my own personal life ,since I can do just about all of those things that you guys are trying to legalise for kids ,and I don't plan to .
I believe in equal rights for ALL PEOPLE ,regardless of age ,race , national origin , handicap or even sexual orientation ,and I will continue to fight for human rights until my last breath.
FREEDOM_4_ALL_THE_AGES ,CONTINUE THE GOOD FIGHT ,KIDS !

Curfew protest.

dummy@example.com (coaching123) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:22:43 +0000

I am here to propose a curfew protest, and one that will be effective in several ways. This is proposing an unlawful activity, and should be weighed heavily when about to be done.

1) Spread the word, on one night when school is not occuring the next day (so there is no excuse for curfew enforcement whatsoever).
2) Gather fireworks for the protest, this should be a block party style protest with no drugs or alcohol, just like a cookout and fireworks
3) Gather your group together, and choose a group of 'media men', people who will speak to the press
4) make sure you are all on the street but close to the edge, with lots of spotlights for safety.
5) set off fireworks

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dummy@example.com (Julian3243) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:10:49 +0000

How do people like the new site?

Constitutionality of voting age?

dummy@example.com (Motivational speaker MD) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:22:03 +0000

Amendment IV: The enumeration in the constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.
Amendment XXVI:
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any other state on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Together, these articles seem to suggest that citizens under 18 are not banned from voting. The 26th amendment only says that those over 18 can vote, not that those under 18 cannot.

(Amendment XIV, 1868) “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This is the crux of my argument. As implied by “The United States or any other state” (see above), The United States as a whole can be considered a state. Therefore, even a federal law that abridges the privileges of citizens (children included) is unconstitutional. Voting is, of course, a privilege.

I will soon be in contact with a lawyer for the purposes of litigating this case, but in the meantime, I want input. Do we think that this is a strong enough case?