Via a NYT article on teenagers with cancer:
Clinical trials for this age group have led to some breakthroughs — especially when it comes to acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the form of cancer Simone Weinstein had, said Dr. Crystal L. Mackall, chief of the pediatric oncology branch of the National Cancer Institute.
Teenagers with this type of leukemia, often called A.L.L., do not fare as well as younger children with what appears to be the exact same disease, a discrepancy that has baffled oncologists. But when researchers compared teenagers treated by pediatric oncologists with those treated by adult cancer doctors, they found that the first group did remarkably better.
“When we saw the differences, I was floored,” said Dr. Wendy Stock, director of the leukemia program at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “It wasn’t a subtle 5-percentage-point difference, but a 30-percentage-point difference in survival.”
Now the pediatric protocol is being offered to teenagers through clinical trial sites. Dr. Stock and others are trying to figure out what factors are responsible for the better outcomes, and whether the greater survival is because of the treatment protocol itself or other factors, like the more structured environment of a pediatric center or pediatric oncologists’ greater familiarity with A.L.L.
Filed under: Youth
“Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself,” – Thomas Merton, “Letter To A Young Activist”
“The Millennial Commission” by Hilary Doe and Lucas Puente, published on The Huffington Post:
f you believe the stereotype that Millennials, members of the generation born between 1978 and 2000, are indifferent to issues of social insurance — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. — Congress’s recent conversations should change your mind. Even if you imagined that young people across the country were not personally touched by or invested in the support that social insurance provides, you must recognize that the proposed Deficit Commission, intended to decrease the national debt by making cuts outside the democratic process, could serve as a rallying cry — an impetus for the largest-ever generation of Americans to demand a voice in the debate. Before Social Security or Medicare are targeted and slashed as part of the undemocratic commission’s “solution” to our growing fiscal debt, Millennials must be given the opportunity to weigh in. That is because we are engaged in these issues, we are prepared to contribute our perspective, and, most importantly, we are capable of designing the society that we would like to inherit.
It Goes Beyond Debt: Insuring Our Present and Our Future
As many have previously noted, the Millennial Generation is unique. We are interconnected, socially conscious, and innovative. We desire community, hold a holistic view of the world, and value progress. The Social Insurance programs taking the brunt of criticism by deficit hawks in DC have shaped our society since the Social Security Act’s passage in1935. If they are to change, reforms should be informed by these values, and not simply by a goal of deficit reduction. A country’s social insurance programs should be reflective of the citizens they serve. Therefore, instead of simply worrying about passing debt to future generations, Congress must consider the society that young Americans desire to live in when considering reform.
Millennials recognize the benefits of social insurance. We are beneficiaries of Medicaid benefits. We recognize the important role that Social Security and Medicare can play in our future. We aspire to self-employment and identify ourselves as entrepreneurs–an aspiration made less risky by a strong social safety net.
Additionally, Social Security already supports Millennials nationwide. For example, millions of young Americans are being raised by their grandparents. For many, the income received from social security makes this possible. Additionally, Social Security provides financial support to the families of children whose parents are disabled or deceased. In total, Social Security removes 1.3 million children from poverty every year and improves the impoverished conditions of 1.5 million others. Even Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reaches less than half of the number of children whose conditions are improved via Social Security. As a generation, we must recognize that both our present and our future are directly affected by the existence, strength, and breadth of the American social safety net.
A recent report by the Center for American Progress and Demos confirms the Millennial Generation’s support of strong social insurance programs in America. Millennials favor increased government spending to stabilize Social Security, with 66% of 18 to 29 year-olds in support, compared with 52% of those over 60. Similarly, the number of young adults favoring more government support for Americans’ retirement stands at 69%, up from 56% in 1996 and 53% in 1985.
Let Us Design the Society that We Will Inherit
The Millennial generation’s support for Social Security does not imply, however, that we are not concerned about the level of debt that we will inherit. We are not ignorant of the cuts or revenue-raising measures that will need to be taken to ensure the solvency of any program that we intend to support. We are concerned. We are conscious of the difficult decisions that need to be made, and, we must be included in these important conversations. In fact, the aforementioned values and attitudes that define our generation–innovation, social consciousness, and interconnectedness–imply a unique potential for Millennials to design a system that is fresh, transformative, responsible, and reflective of those people that it supports. We can imagine reform efforts that pay heed to reality and look outside the box to redesign our social safety net.
So, while we appreciate Congress’s efforts to reel in the national debt, an undemocratic process that compromises social insurance without input from the citizens that it supports is not the answer. Failing to include the perspective of Millennials, the generation that stands to be impacted more than any other at the table, would represent a tremendous missed opportunity. Most importantly, by not engaging the Millennial generation on issues of social insurance, we fail to consult a generation of Americans equipped with powerful ideas capable of balancing our budget and reinvigorating social insurance for decades to come. That is something this country simply cannot afford.
Via the BU Daily Free Press:
Ross defends ‘No More Than Four’
Although City Council President Mike Ross said he values students as constituents, he remained unwavering on his “No More Than Four” initiative, which restricts off-campus student housing based on quality of life concerns for residents.
Ross, who represents District 8, which includes Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, and Mission Hill, discussed the different issues affecting Boston on Monday at the George Sherman Union to an audience of 30 students in a discussion organized by the Roosevelt Institute.
The “No More Than Four” mandate, which prohibits more than four undergraduates from living together in a single-family unit, benefits permanent Boston residents by preventing overcrowding and poor living conditions brought on by converted units or too many students, Ross said.
While other concerns included education, the integration of college students with the community and public transportation, the “No More Than Four” policy was the main issue discussed.
Permanent residents are being driven out of the city after losing their homes due to the great influx of out-of-state students into the Boston-area universities, Ross said.
Speculating landlords increase the occupancy capacity of their properties and rent apartments to groups of students, who are willing to pay more than regular residents relative to higher on-campus prices, he said.
“People started losing their rented homes,” Ross said.
The artificially-increased property values cause higher taxes, increasing the cost of living, he said, which in turn drives permanent residents and recent graduates out of the city.
However, Ross said the “No More Than Four” ordinance benefits students as well, as the landlords of over-populated apartments do not care about students’ safety and rent out old apartments.
Ross said he does not intend to discriminate against students, who are a positive asset for communities, energizing the community and reporting crimes at hours when regular residents would not be awake.
“Students are a good influence for the city,” he said. “They are eyes for the city.”
On his blog, “The Ross Report,” Ross said he recognizes that students only want affordable housing; nevertheless, he said college students are making small neighborhoods uninhabitable due to their rowdiness.
“I’m not going to bat so you can have your keg parties,” he said when questioned on the issue. “I have no respect for people who have no respect for others.”
Ross said he commends BU for providing a great deal of on-campus housing. Unlike Northeastern University and Suffolk University, which he said respectively provide about 50 percent and 15 percent of their students with on-campus housing, BU provides housing to about 80 percent of its students.
Ross said students are part of “an inspirational generation” who have “continued to remind America when they’ve been right or wrong,” he said.
“[Society] can’t live without you,” he said.
Ross said he is concerned with Boston’s inability to retain graduates in the area.
“The population is aging in place,” he said.
Junior Amy Baral and sophomore Anna Ward, both of the College of Arts and Sciences and Roosevelt Institute co-presidents, said they invited Ross because it gave students the opportunity to hear someone talk about firsthand experience with policymaking.
“We felt student should know their representatives, have an opportunity to interact with them and bring up issues,” Baral said.
Executive Director of Student Activities John Battaglino said Ross addressed points of concern for students.
“He did a real good job,” he said. “He has students’ interests in mind and students should have the opportunity to challenge the councilor because they are part of his neighborhood.”
Cross-posted at Roosevelt Institute at Boston University (RCN):
n 1993, the National Voter Registration Act (commonly known as the Motor Voter Law), was signed by President Clinton. The Motor Voter Law allow for voter registration to occur in a place where most Americans spend an ungodly amount of time waiting – the DMV.
The goal of the Motor Voter Law was to increase voter registration by allowing citizens to register to vote when they renew their licenses, apply for plates, or any other activity that takes them into the offices of the DMV.
However, one area where the NVRA has failed is in the registration of teenagers. Most teenagers in the US will troop down to the DMV to pick up their first driving license sometime around the ages of 16 and 17. Unfortunately, US law notes that citizens must be 18 years old to vote, and 18 years old at the time of the election in order to register to vote (effectively, one can register before he or she is 18 so long as during the upcoming election cycle, that voter will have turned 18 on or before election day). The Motor Voter Law, designed to make it easier for people to register to vote – does nothing to help the scores of teenagers receiving their licenses for the first time. The law does not apply to them. They do not qualify because they are too young.
California is currently working on changing the way their system works, following in the footsteps of states like Florida, Louisiana, and Hawaii. AB 30 – a bill that has been passed through the California legislature (on strictly partisan lines, all Democrats voting for, all Republicans voting against) – is currently sitting on the desk of Governor Schwarzenegger, waiting to be signed.
The bill allows 17-year-old to preregister to vote at the DMV at they time they get their license. This preregistration will ensure that all new teen drivers will have the opportunity to fully use the resources of the DMV (that have been provided with federal funds through the Motor Voter Law) to register to vote while receiving their license and be able to vote in their first election once they turn 18 without having to worry about trooping down to town hall to fill out the necessary forms.
AB 30 and similar plans already in place in other states allow for the full application of the NVRA to all citizens using the DMV – young people, just like everyone else should be able to use the DMV’s voter registration resources to register to vote, even if they are doing so a year or two before the election in which they will actually vote. The NVRA was designed to make the process of registering to vote easier – except, state law and procedures exclude many teenagers from pre-registering, effectively excluding them being able to register at the DMV. California should pass this law and other states should follow suit. Young people are the voices of the future- isn’t it important to get them involved in politics at a young age, so that they can begin to exercise their right to vote?
At Netroots Nation:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14TH 4:30 PM – 5:45 PMPANEL, 301/302Every four decades, America’s demand for change puts in motion a political realignment or makeover. Like all others before it, this realignment results from the coming of age of a new generation of young Americans and the emergence of new online organizing tools. Almost everything about American politics and government—voting patterns, the fortunes of the two political parties, the issues that engage the nation, and our government and its public policy—will change because of these two forces. This panel will feature presentations by Simon Rosenberg, president of NDN, and Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais, co-authors of “Millennial Makeover: MySpace, You Tube, and the Future of American Politics.” Rosenberg will discuss the parameters and implications of this “Dawn of a New Politics” in America, and Winograd and Hais will detail the contours and causes of the country’s five previous political realignments. This panel will examine the impact the Millennial Makeover has on the elections, issues, and public policies that will characterize America’s government and politics in the decades ahead.
Just in case you missed it (seeing as how Newsweek only posted it online, as opposed to having a whole issue dedicated to it)…
Newsweek released their rankings of the 1500 top public high schools in the country.
And Conard is ranked 2nd in the state of Connecticut, 289th in the nation. Congrats Class of 2009 – just too bad you couldn’t make it to #1 like your 2007 siblings!
