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Arlington Teens

All American Boys

2/7/17 http://arlingtonva.libcal.com/event/2888707

An author talk by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, the authors of “All American Boys.”

“All American Boys” was a 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature.

Two teens—one black, one white—grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension.

A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?

But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty.

But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.

The talk will be presented in partnership with Wakefield High School, Yorktown High School, Arlington Public Library and An Open Book Foundation.

Healthy Lunch Challenge 3

Week 3 – whole grain pasta with spinach and tomato sauce:
Prep Time: 20 mins
Taste: 9/10

This was a phenomenal recipe. I made a couple servings worth and ate it both hot and cold, and it tasted great both ways. It’s light enough that it doesn’t make you feel gross, but it’s enough to keep you full throughout the school day.

1. Boil whole grain pasta (the stuff from a box). I used about a third of a box, which is about 6 (?) oz. The water can be salted, but there’s really no need. If you look on the side of the box, it will tell you how long to cook the pasta for it to be al dente (listen to the box!! Otherwise, the pasta will get soggy after a day or two when sitting in the sauce).

2. As the pasta is cooking, dice two to three tomatoes (depending on how much you like) and mince garlic.

3. Combine garlic, tomatoes, and white canned cannellini beans in a saucepan. Keep cooking until the tomatoes are kind of soggy. Then add in spinach leaves, and keep stirring until they’ve wilted. This part is so easy, you can really just wing it in terms of time and amount of ingredients, and there’s a 99% chance it’ll still end up amazing. Give it another minute, and you’ve got your sauce!

4. Drain pasta and combine with sauce. You can top it with shredded cheese if you want (do it!!!!!) – I used Gruyere

*Ed. Note – also good with swiss chard or kale in addition to/instead of spinach

The Millennial Vote and why it matters

Why are millennials feeling so marginalized when it comes to today’s politics? And what implications does this have, with the election less than two weeks away?

Posted: Oct 26, 2016 by Elizabeth Kraisinger  While watching the post-debate commentary last Wednesday, one man that was being interviewed by an anchor – maybe in his late twenties – stood out to me, expressing dissatisfaction at how the candidates rarely breached topics that were important to millennials. Even I, technically a millennial if using the US Census Bureau’s definition of 1982-2000, didn’t realize this until he brought it up. Millennials are often dismissed, and often stereotyped as entitled and lazy.

But the millennial vote is more important than many believe, and therefore, there should be more of a focus on the issues important to them. On June 25, 2015, the US Census Bureau reported that millennials, defined as those born between 1989 and 2000, now outnumber baby boomers by about 12 million, and represent more than 25 percent of the population. Seeing as such a large portion of the population consists of millennials, putting these issues at the forefront of political campaigns could encourage them to vote, and swing an election one way or the other. In fact, David Cahn, co-author of When Millennials Rule: The Reshaping of America, believes that if “[millennials] turn out and vote for [Hillary] Clinton, she wins. If they don’t, she loses.” The fact that one generation can have such a large influence on the outcome of an election isn’t surprising, but it is a testament to the importance of their votes.

If only they voted. A poll by GenKFD on January 11, 2016 found that that while millennial voters make up 36 percent of all eligible voters, 85 percent of these voters feel ignored by the 2016 presidential candidates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Additionally, the US Census released data that showed that youth voter registration and turnout was at a 40-year low in the 2014 midterm elections. This feeling of disenfranchisement isn’t without reason.

The topics predetermined by Chris Wallace to be covered at the third and final debate were the national debt and entitlements, immigration, the economy, the Supreme Court, foreign policy, and fitness to be president. Yet topics important to millennials generally lean more towards issues such as jobs and student debt, racial issues, the environment, and reproductive health. As a technical millennial, I can say I care very much about these issues and think it is imperative that they are addressed in order to move forward as a society.

Throughout the third debate, Green Party candidate Jill Stein repeatedly criticized the candidates on Twitter for not focusing on the environment. One tweet read: “still waiting to hear about climate change, student debt, health care, criminal justice reform, etc. Just war, war, war.” Stein is correct in asserting that a shockingly large portion of time was spent addressing war – all three of the debates addressed foreign policy in some way, especially policy involving Syria. The back and forth included contentions about airstrikes, ground troops, and who was being outsmarted by Putin. However, the general consensus of the American public is fairly well established – an Economist/YouGov poll conducted in 2013 found that only a quarter of those polled are in favor conducting airstrikes against Syrian government targets and nine percent favor sending in ground forces. To summarize, the majority of people don’t want to dip their toes into the messy disaster we call the Syrian civil war. They are in favor of providing aid or taking action in other ways, but all the candidates could focus on is who to kill or whether or not to take back a certain city. The implications of this conflict are serious and this is not a topic to be taken lightly; however, there are still other issues in America that we can’t afford to wait on addressing.

Yes, one of the topics covered was reproductive rights, but only the issue of abortion was addressed. There was no mention of sexual health and contraception. The discussion during the third debate was obscured by Trump either avoiding Wallace’s question on Roe v. Wade or repeating the very eloquent phrase “rip the baby out of the womb at nine months”, which is factually incorrect and only serves as a scare tactic. Additionally, abortion wasn’t even mentioned in the previous two presidential debates. Regardless of where one stands on this controversial issue, the fact that reproductive rights are so scarcely covered – and when they are, rarely focus on anything but abortion – doesn’t bode well for those wishing to appeal to millennial vote.

Coverage of the environment and education was minimal at best. The candidates rarely discussed these topics, and when they did, their policies did not align well with millennials’. Former Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders was able to draw a staggeringly large portion of the millennial vote because of his liberal views on the issues that are important to millennials. During his campaign, which ended in July, he pledged to fight for free higher education, come down hard on big business and the wealthy to benefit the poor, and increase access to certain welfare programs. He also promised to address the daunting issue of climate change. Similarly, President Barack Obama was able to do the same in the 2008 and 2012 elections – because he addressed issues that millennials actually cared about.

Another reason Sanders and Obama were so successful in getting the millennial vote is the millennial generation is far more liberal than previous ones. A Gallup poll conducted in May of 2016 reported that 28 percent of millennials describe themselves as liberal, compared with 21 percent of Generation X, 21 percent of baby boomers, and 18 percent of traditionalists. This overwhelmingly positive support of Sanders and his liberal views could be seen on everywhere from Twitter to Instagram – essentially social media platforms that were dominated by youth – in the form of posts and tweets, videos and funny hashtags. In contrast, coverage of the other two main contenders for the Democratic and Republic nomination – Clinton and Trump, respectively, was mostly negative.

On November 8, 2016, fate of our great nation will be decided – will it come to lie in the hands of Clinton or Trump? There’s a gigantic portion of America’s electorate that they both still have yet to fully address. They have autonomy over their own campaigns; hopefully, they will realize the significance of the millennial vote and adjust their agenda to represent that 25 percent of the nation that’s feeling ignored.

Undocumented Students – An Issue for our Next President

Posted: Sep 27, 2016 by Catherine Burke  Last night, the two presidential candidates debated, not only face-to-face, but, more importantly, in front of millions of viewers here in the U.S. and around the world – in front of you and me. They debated many topics, some important and some not so much. But one very important, urgent even, issue they failed to address was the status of undocumented students living here in the United States, students whose lives are in limbo and who need answers.

Imagine all the late nights spent studying for tests, all your hard earned A’s, and the endless homework assignments you’ve completed in order to gain admission to the college of your choice. Imagine the moment you get accepted, when the long hours of hard work pay off. Now imagine being told you cannot go to college using in-state tuition simply because you were not born in the United States. This happens everyday to thousands of undocumented students around the country. And it does not matter how long a child has been in the United States, or that they proudly consider themselves to be Americans.

I cannot imagine what it must feel like to discover that you cannot go to college and take advantage of in-state tuition, to see all your friends follow their dreams knowing that when the next school year starts, you won’t be there with them.

Many undocumented students have lived in the United States their whole lives and identify as American. These students feel more comfortable speaking English than their native language. They also feel more at home in the U.S. than they do in their native countries. For example, one student, Lilly, an undocumented immigrant, was on the path to becoming a doctor. She attended her local community college for one year until she was forced to drop out because her family could no longer afford the full tuition. Lily was denied in-state tuition just because she was not born in the U.S. Even with Lily’s mother working extra shifts and her whole family pooling their money, Lily’s dream of becoming a doctor was over. Lily wanted to becoming a neonatologist, a doctor who cares for newborns. Lilly said “I’m 22 years old. I’ve been here all of my life. My friends are here. My life is here, I love the U.S. more than anything.”

These students deserve the opportunity to receive the college education they have been working towards. Significantly, they have often already received 12 years of education funded by our taxpayer money. If these students do not go to college, taxpayer money and their previous education will be wasted. The benefit to these students and society is enormous and cannot be overestimated. Given the chance, many of these students will pursue careers as doctors, engineers, scientists, writers, and teachers.

And so, I dedicate this post to the moderator of the next debate. Please ask the candidates how they will help these undocumented students, some of whom have served in our military, continue their future, achieve their dreams, and go to college. And if you are not moved by the sheer importance of higher education alone, please advise the candidates to consider the many practical reasons these students should be allowed to benefit from in-state tuition. Without the opportunity to pursue higher education, their dreams are lost and taxpayer money is wasted.