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INTRODUCTION: Thee Freechild Project honors the work and
accomplishments of youth-led organizations
throughout the world. One of the foremost organizations fighting for youth
rights today is the NYRA. Since 1997 they've been a hard hitting,
effective, and powerful presence in the area of youth rights.
The
History of the National Youth Rights Association
By Alex Koroknay-Palicz
Catch Alex's new blog here.
March 26, 2001.
In
the limited field of the youth rights movement, the National Youth Rights
Association is one of the foremost organizations. Founded amid controversy and scandal and stunted by
unmotivated leadership NYRA has had its share of the difficulty most
organizations encounter when starting a fresh group.
Striving to avoid pitfalls that have crippled other youth rights
organizations NYRA has organized itself in a professional manner, and is
positioned to build further on their limited history of small-scale success.
With a clear vision and philosophy NYRA stands apart from other groups
and once its resources are developed to their full potential its place in
history is secure. Unfortunately
the National Youth Rights Association is still a young, struggling organization.
Since all contemporarily powerful organizations had to start somewhere, a
study of this new organization can provide insight into the origins of other
interest groups in America.
The earliest origins of the National Youth Rights Association began with
the rebirth of a rights oriented youth movement in America.
On page 39 of the book Basic Interests, Baumgartner and Leech
discuss the “fluid nature of issues”, youth rights is one such issue that
has waxed, waned and adapted to changing times.
For decades a truly youth driven movement has been silent, the activism
of the late 60’s and early 70’s gave way to protectionist groups once the
demographics no longer favored the young due to aging Baby Boomers.
The protectionist groups calling themselves Children’s Rights groups
proliferated in the last 20 years, but while many had good intentions they were
fighting for something much removed from Youth Rights.
Contrary to Baumgartner
and Leech’s statement that “Many interests that would not be expected to
mobilize on their own—such as children, retarded people, and poor
people—nonetheless have organizations that lobby on their
behalf.” (Baumgartner & Leech p. 75) NYRA was founded and is currently run
by the very constituency it serves. Groups
seeking to represent underprivileged classes of people such as children rarely
listen to the true desires of that group, and are more concerned with advancing
their own agendas.
The term, Youth
Rights, as it is used by today’s movement can be defined by a June 21, 2000
resolution by the NYRA Board of Directors, “The organization deals only
with civil rights -- freedom from oppression or
discrimination by government,
business or other powers -- rather than entitlement rights. We do not deal with
issues
like the quality of education or
health care young people receive.”(Res. 00-L)
With these principles the contemporary Youth Rights Movement “first
utilized the internet to help the struggle in 1993, with the creation of the
y-rights majordomo mailing list.” (NYRA Webpage)
Out of this mailing list Matt Herman and Matt Walcoff met and decided to
found an organization called Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions
(AS-FAR). With the passage of a Declaration of Principles on August
31, 1996 (ASFAR FAQ) the first contemporary Youth Rights organization was
formed.
While primarily an Internet based organization, AS-FAR succeeded in
getting modest media coverage and attracting over 150 members to the cause in
its first year. Matt Walcoff served
as president until mid-1997, and at that time Canadian Josh Gilbert was elected
to the position. During his
administration the organization suffered from changes in the membership, taking
the group away from its original intent. Since
all members joined for purposive reasons and since AS-FAR (later changed to
ASFAR) was ruled through frequent direct elections by the membership the
organization quickly conformed to the new member’s views.
These new members took ASFAR down the path toward radicalism and stressed
controversial issues such as the age of sexual consent.
Discouraged by the current way ASFAR operated and the direction its
policy was heading, ASFAR founder Matt Walcoff, President Josh Gilbert and
Vice-President Avi Hein set out to reorganize ASFAR to make it more effective
they first began discussing the creation of NYRA in late 1997.
When asked about the impetus behind creating NYRA Josh Gilbert had this
to say, “NYRA was a replacement for ASFAR. The true intention was to create a
new organization without problems that plagued ASFAR. Specifically, the constant
infighting, the monthly votes by membership, the lack of power for officers to
carry out their duties, the extremists, the pedophiles (NAMBLA folks), etc.”
(Interview with Gilbert) Walcoff,
Gilbert, and Hein all agreed that even the name of Americans for a Society Free
from Age Restrictions sounded radical, and a softer name like the National Youth
Rights Association would gain the group more respect by legislators and media as
well as potential members. Unfortunately very vocal members of ASFAR strongly resisted
any changes, and when the issues to change ASFAR into NYRA came to a vote the
measures failed. (http://list.asfar.org/1998/07/)
Josh Gilbert said, “There was a huge amount of tension
between ASFAR and NYRA initially. In fact, Avi's involvement with NYRA basically
made him the receiver of constant threats to "impeach" him, especially
from Eric Anderson and Justin Mallone, the two individuals who, coincidentally,
became president and vice-president respectively after Avi's resignation.”
(Interview with Gilbert) Accusations
and criticisms were rampant on both sides and after the failure of the vote
discussions centered on making NYRA an independent organization from ASFAR.
First
mentions of changing ASFAR into NYRA were at an online meeting December 22,
1997(http://list.asfar.org/1997/), the scandal occurred when these conversations
were made public to the membership on February 17, 1998. (http://list.asfar.org/1998/07/)
Reacting to perceived shortcomings in ASFAR and problems brought up by the
scandal the newly independent NYRA reflected these differences.
Seeking to create an organization that was moderate and realistic NYRA
was formally incorporated on June 17, 1998. The expressed purpose of the
organization from the Articles of Incorporation state, “The specific purposes
for which this corporation is organized is to promote awareness of the legal and
human rights of young people in the United States by means including but not
limited to publications, reports, discussion and outreach.” (AoI)
While this description is very tempered from what the organization hopes
one day to accomplish this route was chosen to get 501(c) 3 status, and operate
as a charitable organization. NYRA’s
Mission statement passed by the Board of Directors on January
25, 2000 is as follows:
"The
National Youth Rights Association is dedicated to defending the civil and human
rights of young people in the United States. We believe certain basic rights are
intrinsic parts of American citizenship and transcend age or status limits. As
the world's leading democracy, the United States should not lag behind other
nations in granting first-class citizenship to its young people. NYRA
aims to achieve its goals through educating people about youth rights, working
with public officials to devise fitting policy solutions to problems affecting
young people and empowering young people to work on their own behalf."
The
National Youth Rights Association differs from Children Rights groups by seeking
only rights denied based on age, other injustices or problems affecting young
people are out of the scope of NYRA. NYRA
further differs from other Youth Rights organizations that share its approach to
Youth Rights, in that it has opted for a scaled down practical approach. The organization realizes that even modest lowering of
current age restrictions are radical enough to the general society, to advocate
a complete abolishment of age restrictions, as ASFAR does would be political
suicide. NYRA addresses several
Youth Rights issues including age discrimination, curfews, the drinking age,
driving restrictions, economic matters, entertainment, free speech, status
offenses and the voting age. This
list is by no means inclusive of all possible Youth Rights topics, but to adopt
more only stands to alienate possible allies.
The
initial Board of Directors from the incorporation of the National Youth Rights
Association on June 17, 1998 included Bennett Haselton, Avi Hein, Matthew N.
Herman, G. Justin Mallone, and Matthew A. Walcoff.
Josh Gilbert, though involved in the organizations founding decided to
serve on the Board of Advisors instead so he could focus on the creation of the
Canadian Youth Rights Association (CYRA), Bennett Haselton moved on to focus on
his organization Peacefire and still sits on the Board of Advisors too.
The Board of Directors is the chief ruling body in the organization.
Directors are elected yearly by a vote of the full membership and have
the power to conduct all the business of the organization.
The Board of Directors makes all official decisions and appointments.
(NYRA Bylaws) The number of directors is fixed by a vote of the board, and
is required to be between 3 and 10, currently there are 5 directors for the
National Youth Rights Association. The
results of the last election placed Alex Coatia, Adam Fletcher, Alex
Koroknay-Palicz, Dustin Manuel, Beau Daniel Sanchez, and Joe Zefran on the board
of directors. Since the election
both Adam Fletcher and Alex Coatia have resigned from the board and have been
replaced by board appointment with Manda Joseph and Robert Grant.
Day
to day administration of the organization is handled by NYRA’s four officers,
President Alex Koroknay-Palicz, Vice-President Beau Daniel Sanchez, Treasurer
Robert Grant, and Secretary Manda Joseph. They
were each appointed by the board and serve one-year terms.
Other staff of the organization includes the communications director, Joe
Zefran, Webmaster Dan Taylor Jr. and legal council, Keith Mandell. All NYRA staff and positions are voluntary and receive no
compensation for their work.
Currently
the National Youth Rights Association has over 400 members in 47 states and the
District of Columbia. Membership is
open to all US residents and there are no age requirements to join, though a
majority of members are high school and college aged.
There are no dues or cost to join the organization.
Currently all members join for expressive benefits, Baumgartner and Leech
describe Robert Salisbury’s account of expressive benefits as something that
“one can feel good about one’s contribution to a group because the group
expresses values that one holds dear.” (Baumgartner & Leech p.
69) Solidary benefits are limited due to how spread out the membership is,
though in local chapters where personal contact is more common solidary benefits
are factors in pulling in members. Solidary
benefits “include such intangibles as social relationships with other group
members and increased status in the eyes of nonmembers.” (Baumgartner
& Leech
p. 69) The benefits of
solidary and material reasons to join an organization should not be discounted;
NYRA’s membership has been stunted by lack of incentives in each of these
areas. By relying too much on
member’s expressive purposes for joining, other people not as committed have
not been pulled into the organization. NYRA
leadership has expressed a desire to establish more incentives for attracting
members.
Membership
in local chapters is strong; currently 17% of the total organization’s members
are also members of the three local chapters.
Chapters are important to the well-being of the organization as a whole,
since much real world action is best carried out on the local level.
For an organization like NYRA large national campaigns are difficult to
generate so NYRA-USA focuses on just spreading the word and administrative
duties while allowing the chapters freedom to pursue concrete action at the
local level.
NYRA
has benefited much from individual entrepreneurs who have invested themselves
into the organization for the good of the cause and ideology it supports.
All leaders of NYRA past and present who have worked hard and cared
passionately about the organization fit the description that Roger Salisbury
puts forward. “Entrepreneurs
whose groups succeed benefit by having a job, by controlling potentially
substantial resources, and by having and opportunity to further their own
political agendas as the leader of an organization rather than as a private
citizen.” (Baumgartner & Leech
p.
69-70)
These
entrepreneurs who have been involved have also been the organization’s biggest
patrons and have contributed what meager budget the organization has had in the
past few years. Since NYRA does not
charge dues from its membership patronage is very important. Expenses such as the costs associated with the webpage,
direct mailings, and other material holdings have been paid for out of pocket.
Until NYRA files for and obtains a tax status it is not allowed to
establish its own bank account or possess its own funds.
Fundraising and grant seeking will not begin in force until its 501(c) 3
has been established. Current
assets of the corporation are detailed in a report put out by the president and
include such items as Internet domain names, t-shirts, a button maker, and other
smaller items, total worth of the organization’s assets are estimated at
around one thousand dollars. Larger
and wealthier patrons will be aggressively pursued by the organization once its
IRS tax status is filed, the ability to offer patrons a tax write off will be a
large incentive in securing money for NYRA. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nyra_bod/files/reso01.doc)
NYRA
is still in the beginning stages of its development, and despite occasional
attempts to do so its strategies do not include any significant push to
influence legislation at this point. Building
of the organization takes precedence now in order to have the capacity to lobby
effectively at some later date. Recruitment
drives, chapter formation, fundraising and the establishment of a solid
dependable inner structure are the organization’s current goals. In addition to such inwardly focus strategies NYRA intends to
continue making a name for itself by media exposure and public education
campaigns.
Such
media exposure has been among the National Youth Rights Association’s biggest
accomplishments. Most recently NYRA
Communications Director and board member, Joe Zefran was featured on radio shows
along the West Coast in response to the school shooting in Santee, CA.
Before that a large effort by the organization involved the Lower the
Vote 2000 campaign last November, where NYRA joined together with the voting
rights organization Youth Speak to advocate a lowered voting age.
Protests were planned in many states across the country, and the
organization attracted much media attention for its efforts.
Radio shows in major markets such as Washington, DC and Detroit, MI
featured interviews and programs about NYRA’s efforts.
Dozens of newspaper articles centered on the local protests circulated
around the country, from Maine to Texas to Oregon.
The protests were a substantial success for the organization.
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nyra_bod/messages)
Other
accomplishments of the young organization include the establishment of 3 local
chapters, one of which was responsible for the organizing of the DC Curfew
Protests, which attracted local and international media attention.
NYRA President Avi Hein and Director Alex Koroknay-Palicz spoke at the
second DC Curfew protest in October 1999. Another
speaking engagement by the organization includes a speech by Alex
Koroknay-Palicz to 500 high school students at a model congress in Long Island,
NY. He was keynote speaker to the
politically motivated and involved crowd. NYRA
representatives have been invited into DC schools to speak with classrooms about
Youth Rights and the organization on several occasions.
Efforts
to influence public policy have been limited though fairly successful.
Early in life of the National Youth Rights Association founder Matt
Walcoff appeared before the Maryland legislature to testify against bills
proposed that introduced further limitations on driving privileges to young
people. Two driving bills in the
Maryland Senate on March 11, 1998 and on in the house on March 3.
Several newspapers approached Walcoff for interviews following his
testimony. More recently NYRA’s
chapter in Ottawa County, Michigan was involved in an effort to fight the youth
curfew in Hudsonville, MI. A
petition was circulated around the small town to get the issue put on the
ballot. The wording was incorrect
on the initiative, and it was not allowed to count to be on the ballot, but the
signatures were instead used in a presentation before the city council.
In a Hudsonville City Council meeting in fall of 2001 NYRA’s arguments
were listened to and then many exemptions and safeguards were added to the law
in response to our complaints.
Another
prized accomplishment is gathering together an esteemed Board of Advisors to
gain prestige and guidance from. The
assemblage of this luminary group was the result of much of the organization’s
early efforts. Today it includes
ACLU President Nadine Strossen; president
and a founder of the American Council on Science,
Elizabeth
M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H; author and homeschooling advocate Grace Llewellyn;
Peacefire founder Bennett Haselton; author Mike A. Males; drinking age reform
advocate Dr. Roderic B. Park, Ph.D.; drinking age reform advocate Dr. David J.
Hanson, Ph.D.; and CYRA President Josh Gilbert.
This collection of established minds lends credibility and respect to the
actions of the organization. (http://www.youthrights.org/articles/boa.html)
Unfortunately
a hostile political environment and a lack of competent, driven leadership have
held NYRA’s efforts back. Literature
on interest groups mentions the impact of issue salience and popularity on the
success and influence of a group. Currently
the issue of Youth Rights lacks both salience and popularity.
Though being able to adjust both is within the control of the
organization with a determined effort behind it.
Since the issue of Youth Rights hasn’t been considered in almost 30
years, long before NYRA’s main constituency was born, most people haven’t
even considered the possibility that young people deserve civil rights and they
are worth fighting for. Persuasive
and far reaching education of young people across the country is needed to
resurrect the non-issue of Youth Rights and bring back the national spot light
to the needs and demands of the young. Salience
is hurt by the inexperience and busy schedules of the young.
Those who care about the issues don’t know how to do anything about it,
and those who do often are lured into other fields where they can expect a
paycheck or social advancement.
Theories
abound that describe the formation, influence and nature of interest groups.
While by the measurement of accomplishment and prestige great separations
exist between the long established, successful interest groups and the newly
formed groups in a theoretical sense all groups big or small, old or new,
involve the same factors and principles. Political
scientists have created a wealth of literature to study the wealth of politics
that interest groups have created.
Works
Cited
Assets
Report. NYRA-BOD page.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nyra_bod/files/reso01.doc
Gilbert,
Josh. Personal ICQ interview. 25
March 2001.
NYRA
Resolution 00-L. Written by Matt Walcoff.
Passed 21 June 2000.
NYRA
Mission Statement. Written by Matt
Walcoff. Passed January
25, 2000
Baumgartner,
Frank R., and Leech, Beth L. Basic Interests. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1998
NYRA
Document. NYRA Webpage.
http://www.youthrights.org/articles/boa.html
Discussion
list archives. ASFAR Webpage.
http://list.asfar.org/1998/07/
Discussion
list archives. ASFAR Webpage.
http://list.asfar.org/1997
NYRA BOD
Email list archives. NYRA-BOD page.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nyra_bod/messages
The SNAYR is brought to you by
The Freechild Project in partnership with
National Youth Rights Association
NYRA has been working for more than
five
years to bring young people across the United States a society where
they experience
political, social, and economic, and cultural equality, and where the rights of youth
are equal to those of adults.
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