THE NATION’S NEWSPAPER
Secondary
Case
Study
Will 9/11 define a generation?
By Sharon Jayson
.....................................................................................3
Volunteer rates hit record
number
By Beth Walton
.....................................................................................4
Celebrity activists put star
power to good use
By Donna Freydkin
.................................................................................5-7
Letters: Young voters speak,
but who listens?
..............................................................................8-10
Discussion questions,
activities, additional resources
...................................................................................11
USA TODAY Snapshots®
It’s smart to give back
Volunteerism varies by education level.
In 2002, 29% of U.S. adults did charity work.
By completed schooling:
Graduate school
College graduate
Some college
High school graduate
20%
Some high school 13
%
Grade school 8%
53%
43%
33%
Note: 2002 data, latest available
Source: National Endowment for the Arts
education.usatoday.com
Civic Responsibility
Young people across the country have demonstrated an increased interest in
public service and volunteer work. While some have linked this increase in
philanthropic spirit to the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the 2003 tsunami
disaster and the devastation and destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina,
general trends in society, such as broader celebrity activism, may also be catalysts. This case study examines growing community service outreach programs, and includes articles about student-led efforts, stories of celebrity
influence and outreach, and letters from students themselves. Indeed, on a
fundamental level, people are the agents of social and economic change.
Today's freshmen
want to lend a hand
Survey finds record levels of
civic, social responsibility
By Mary Beth Marklein
USA TODAY
This year's entering college freshmen
show "a distinctive and widespread rise"
in commitment to social and civic
responsibility, a new survey finds, and
researchers suggest that the 2004
tsunami in the Indian Ocean and
Hurricane Katrina played a key role in
shaping those attitudes.
"This survey is evidence that last year's
natural disasters impacted these
freshmen in a significant way," says John
Pr yor, director of the 40-year-old
Cooperative Institutional Research
Project Freshman Survey. It is conducted
each fall by the Higher Education
Research Institute at UCLA's Graduate
School of Education & Information
Studies.
The 2005 survey, released Wednesday,
is based on 263,710 students at 385 U.S.
colleges and universities and adjusted to
reflect the responses of the 1.3 million
first-time full-time students who entered
four-year colleges last fall.
This year's class exhibited record
increases across several related
questions, which is unusual, Pryor says,
"unless a major event occurs."
Because the Indian Ocean tsunami
struck during their high school senior
year in December 2004 and Hurricane
Katrina hit the Gulf Coast as many were
starting college, he says, the student
responses "could be a reaction to the
worst global and national disasters
witnessed in their lifetime."
By Cristina Abello and Suzy Parker, USA TODAY
© Copyright 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reser ved.
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S LIFE SECTION, JANUARY 26, 2006
Among results:
to create new connections between academic study and
challenges in larger society," she says.
u 66.3% said it is essential or very important to help others
who are in difficulty, the highest response in 25 years.
u A record 83.2% said they had volunteered at least
occasionally during their high school senior year, and 67.3% said
there's a good chance they will continue to volunteer at college,
also an all-time high.
u 25.6% said it is essential or very important to participate
personally in community action programs, up 4.1 percentage
points over 2004 and the highest since 1996.
A number of schools already have leveraged the heightened
concern among students. Many colleges, including RandolphMacon College in Ashland, Va., and McDaniel College in
Westminster, Md., organized programs during their winter
break in which student volunteered in cleanup efforts in
Louisiana.
Numerous colleges are planning similar programs during
spring break.
Other findings:
u 33.9% said becoming a leader is essential or ver y
important, up 3.2 percentage points over 2004.
Carol Geary Schneider, head of the Washington-based
Association of American Colleges and Universities, encourages
schools to build on the opportunity.
"While earlier studies suggest that too few students sustain
such commitments into their advanced college years, these
new data should encourage educators to redouble their efforts
u A decline in support for military spending. In the first
survey conducted after 9/11, 45% supported increased military
spending; 34.2% supported it in 2005.
u A record low in high school drinking. Fewer than half
(43.4%) said they frequently or occasionally drank beer as high
school seniors, reflecting a steady drop from a high of 73.7% in
1982.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 2
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S LIFE SECTION, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006
Will 9/11 define a generation?
Study gauges students' response to attacks
By Sharon Jayson
USA TODAY
An ongoing study of the lingering effects of Sept. 11, 2001, on
young people who were in college then finds they reacted with
shock and confusion, but also with muted expressions of
patriotism and a new commitment to altruism.
In addition to learning about attitudes, the researchers are
seeking to find out whether 9/11 is the life marker for today's
young people that the Kennedy assassination or Pearl Harbor
were for previous generations.
It may be too early to say whether the young Americans
often referred to as "millennials" warrant the name
"Generation 9/11," but researchers Patricia Somers at the
University of Texas-Austin and Rob Wild at Washington
University in St. Louis say initial interviews — conducted largely
in 2004 — with the 120 students have proved interesting.
Initial findings — yet unpublished — suggest that students
greeted the events with shock and confusion and the desire to
be with family and community.
The students also were likely to engage in huddling or group
hugging and became more activist in their altruism.
Wild says the students did not necessarily support the blind
patriotism they saw in the images of 9/11, nor did they
necessarily support military action in Afghanistan or Iraq.
The post-9/11 campus environment appeared to inspire
blood drives, community service and greater civic engagement,
he says. "A very large portion of the population I interviewed
talked about really doing some things differently that they
would attribute to Sept. 11 — changing their major because
they felt after Sept. 11 they wanted do something more related
to social justice," he says.
By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY
Exterior of the soon-to-be-opened WTC Tribute Center museum located on the south side of the Ground Zero site
Somers says younger millennials will feel the impact even if
they don't recall the event. "They may not have been old
enough to understand what happened on 9/11, but they are
going to see the after-effects — the long-term war on terror,"
she says. "Things will be different for their everyday lives, even
though they may not connect everything with 9/11."
This fall, Somers will launch the second of what she hopes
will be at least four cycles of the study to gauge student
responses over time. In addition to many more interviews, she
plans focus groups and a questionnaire for 1,500 students
across the country.
Somers also is studying "helicopter parents," who some say
are too heavily involved in directing their kids' lives.
"The working hypothesis is that one of the reasons helicopter
parents act the way they do is because of 9/11," Somers says.
One student, he says, switched his major from pre-med to
social work.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 3
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, JULY 7, 2006
Volunteer rates hit record numbers
Peace Corps and
others see surge
Volunteer boom
By Beth Walton
USA TODAY
College graduates, shaped by such
events as Sept.11, Hurricane Katrina and
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are
applying to service organizations such as
AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps in
record numbers.
"I do think that recent world events
have heightened awareness among
college students and their desire to do
good," says Elissa Clapp, vice president of
recruitment at Teach for America.
Many service programs are reaping the
benefits:
*Applications to Teach for America,
which recruits graduates for
underserved urban and rural areas, hit
almost 19,000 this year, nearly triple the
number in 2000.
*This year, the Peace Corps took 7,810
volunteers — the largest number in 30
years — from more than 11,500
applicants in 2005, up more than 20%
over the year 2000.
*AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in
Service to America), which pairs recruits
with non-profit organizations, has had a
50% jump in applicants since 2004.
Joseph Almeida, 23, just finished his
first year with Teach for America,
teaching fifth-graders in New York City.
College graduates are
joining federal service
organizations in growing
numbers. A look at applicants by year:
AmeriCorps*VISTA
16,000
11,825
12,000
8,000
19,9791
4,000
0
’01
’06
1 – most recent figures
available as of June 28
Source: AmeriCorps
By Adrienne Lewis, USA TODAY
He says young people see ser vice
organizations as an antidote to a sense of
helplessness toward world problems.
"We have a venue to make a difference,
and the best thing about it is we are not
alone. We're part of a team, and I know
that we're collectively working to impact
something," he says.
Today's young people prefer to channel
their activism into helping others directly
rather than through politics, says Nancy
Crocker, director of Academic
Community Engagement Services at
Arizona State University. Many are more
attuned to volunteer services because
colleges and high schools increasingly
offer courses and credits for "servicelearning."
Elizabeth Jones, 26, of Portland, Ore.,
gave up her career as a corporate banker
and will leave for Panama with the Peace
Corps in August. "There's a lot of need in
this world, and it wasn't doing anything
in my heart to help make the rich people
be richer," she says.
Interest in service work, which in some
cases offers modest salaries, educational
stipends or student loan deferments, is
striking when the National Association of
Colleges & Employers notes job
prospects for seniors are up 14.5% over
2005.
Many young people, wary of corporate
downsizing, want skill development, not
just jobs, so they can remain competitive
in the workforce, says Sharon Melville, a
counselor with Career Development
Services in Rochester, N.Y. Potential
employers view veterans of service
programs as resourceful and selfmotivated, she says. A volunteer's
experience overseas and commitment to
service are also attractive to employers,
she says.
"It's pretty much helping out your
community and helping others while
helping
yourself,"
says
AmeriCorps*VISTA member Tabaris
Gregg, 24.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 4
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, JUNE 23, 2006
Celebrity activists put star power to good use
They bring
prestige, press to
a myriad of
causes, charities
By Donna Freydkin
USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Where Bono goes,
cameras follow.
The same applies to Angelina Jolie and
Oprah Winfrey. And the three stars set
the gold standard when it comes to
celebrity activism. Bono has been
instrumental in raising awareness of
global poverty and the AIDS epidemic
with his ONE campaign, which has gotten
stars such as George Clooney, Matt
Damon and Brad Pitt on board.
After initial skepticism, politicians from
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., to Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., now
wax poetic about the U2 singer, lauding
his understanding of the issues. His
charity work earned him a spot as one of
Time's 2005 people of the year.
Thanks to her hands-on work with the
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees as a goodwill ambassador, Jolie
— who pays her own way on U.N.
missions and says she donates one-third
of her income to charity — emerged
unscathed from her tabloid-ready
romance with Pitt. And she sealed the
deal by announcing they would donate
the millions in proceeds from the photos
sold globally of their newborn daughter,
Shiloh, to various as-yet unnamed
charities.
As for Winfrey, she gave $51.8million to
charity last year, according to The
Chronicle of Philanthropy, and is the only
celebrity in the journal's list of top
donors.
Increasingly, celebs of all stripes find
themselves under pressure to use their
fame for a higher purpose. With the
high-profile examples set by Jolie and
Bono, there may come a time, observers
say, when a star's lack of charity work
will be a liability. The perception is that
celebs should channel some of their
prosperity and prominence to making
the world a better place.
"You almost expect celebrities to have
a cause," says Alan Abramson, director of
non-profit studies and philanthropy for
the Aspen Institute, a research and
advocacy organization. "More and more
celebrities are doing this, so it almost
becomes an expectation, just like we
expect corporations to be socially
conscious.
"We're not at the point we look down
at those who don't, but we're moving in
that direction."
Stars, to some extent, really are like the
rest of us. Some get involved for personal
reasons, such as Michael J. Fox, who
started his foundation for Parkinson's
research after announcing eight years ago
that he had the disease. In other cases,
it's the charity in need of a celebrity
spokesperson that approaches a VIP (and
sometimes pays the luminary to turn up
at dinners). Some stars give cash. And
others do nothing.
A 'win-win' situation
Celeb causes run the gamut (AIDS,
Africa and the environment are the
hottest now), as does the level of
commitment. Clooney and actress
Ashley Judd are among those who spend
large amounts of time and money on
their causes — poverty eradication and
AIDS education, respectively. The
environment has attracted the likes of
Woody Harrelson, Josh Lucas and
By Jym Wilson, USA TODAY
Bono: U2 singer, political player.
Leonardo DiCaprio. Others known for
their charity work include Sarah Jessica
Parker (UNICEF), Scarlett Johansson (USA
Harvest, which provides food to the
needy) and Robin Williams (Doctors
Without Borders).
They follow the example set decades
ago by the late Audrey Hepburn, who
campaigned for UNICEF; the late Bob
Hope, who entertained the troops with
the USO; Jerry Lewis, whose Muscular
Dystrophy Association telethon is in its
40th year; and Elizabeth Taylor, one of
the first stars to speak out about AIDS.
A little charity work can go a long way.
"It's a win-win for the celebrities and
the charities," Abramson says. "The
charities are obviously getting attention
and help with publicizing their cause."
And the famous "look more substantial
and like good folks giving their time and
money to good causes."
For Winfrey, action is obvious: "To
whom much is given, much is expected,"
says the media mogul, ranked No.235 on
Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 5
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, JUNE 23, 2006
Americans. "You can't live in the world, participate in all of the
benefits of the world, and not give back. It goes against the law
of physics. If you don't give back, then what you have will be
diminished."
Being an activist provides a patina of class. Speaking to
business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic
Forum, as Jolie does, "gives people a new way of looking at you.
It's a way to stand out and get attention from other kinds of
people who don't read entertainment magazines," says Stacy
Palmer, editor of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Some skeptics question stars' motives for jumping on the
benevolence bandwagon. "Are they putting their money where
their mouth is?" asks Daniel Borochoff, president of the
American Institute of Philanthropy, a national charity
watchdog. "Sometimes they don't. They just want the benefits
of the recognition. People go to see movies based on how
strongly they like the celebrity, and it can help if they feel an
actor has strong convictions."
think it's Hollywood silliness," says Lucas, who promotes
biodiesel as a clean-burning alternative to petroleum-based
fuels. "Biodiesel doesn't make anyone cringe, which is so
common with causes and putting your name and face with
something."
Susan Sarandon, who has gotten flak for her anti-war
statements, flashed the peace sign at the 2003 Oscars, the
same year Michael Moore received both cheers and jeers for
calling President Bush "fictitious" in his acceptance speech.
Jane Fonda has never truly recovered from her trip to Hanoi
during the Vietnam War. Sean Penn earned some ridicule for
his visit to Iraq in 2003, which he wrote about in the San
Francisco Chronicle, and his one-man effort to help hurricane
victims last summer after Katrina struck.
And some causes, even if they aren't overtly political, can be
difficult to champion. Domestic violence is among those that
are "a little tough," Abramson says.
That hasn't deterred actress Salma Hayek, who has been
speaking out about abuse for years, even testifying before
Congress last July.
Not always what it seems
And, says Abramson, money sometimes changes hands.
"What's troublesome is when some of these folks get paid for
their charity work," he says. "There can be an honorarium or a
decent amount of money expended in getting them to attend
something, to cover their expenses. Not all these folks are
putting in their own money."
"I don't come from a family with domestic violence. I've
never experienced it myself. But I'm very, very passionate
about it," she says. "It's a very big problem that no one talks
about. It's work that needs to be done. I feel a lot of frustration.
It's ver y hard to make changes in culture, in social
consciousness."
But, counters Robin Bronk of the Creative Coalition, a nonprofit group that matches actors with causes, most activism is
for real. "This is hard work. It's too much trouble to be an
activist to do it for the publicity. You have to do the homework,
you have to take time out of your schedule and your personal
life to promote an issue. I can't imagine anyone is doing it for
the glory of themselves."
Natalie Portman picked an even more difficult one: the
Foundation for International Community Assistance, a nonprofit that, she says, "opens up banking services to the poor"
and enables women "to feed their kids, educate their kids,
medicate their kids. It's a great way to share opportunity." She
serves as the group's global ambassador.
As for those who do their homework and stick by a program,
Palmer says, "you can count them on one hand. The attention
span of a lot of celebrities is really short. But look at George
Clooney — he goes to United Way board meetings, is very
involved, and it's one of the most staid charities there is."
If a cause is just too impenetrable or concrete results are
difficult to come by, Palmer says, stars can quickly lose interest.
"Dealing with poverty, you don't feel you have many successes,
so it becomes frustrating after a certain point. You spend a lot
of time trying to do something."
Choosing something you can stay with is key, says Harrelson,
a crusader for hemp and environmental issues who drives a
biodiesel-powered car, follows a vegan diet and uses solar
power in his home. "If you're constantly out there in the media,
talking about this, that or the other, at a certain point, people
don't put much value to it," he says.
Hurricane Katrina, not surprisingly, rallied many celebrities.
Harry Connick Jr. got involved in Habitat for Humanity's
rebuilding efforts in New Orleans because it's "my hometown. I
was born and raised there. I felt compelled to do it."
Political issues can be dangerous territory.
"Being out there as a forceful liberal, in a bizarre way, can
undercut you, your career and your ideas. People automatically
So did Johansson. After Katrina hit, she wanted to help, and a
friend referred her to USA Harvest. Johansson read up on the
charity and has been quietly involved with the group for nine
months, dishing out food herself in the devastated Ninth Ward.
"These are people who are working to rebuild their homes,"
she says. "They don't have any means for a warm meal."
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 6
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, JUNE 23, 2006
Hayek was influenced by the feminist playwright Eve Ensler
after performing in her play The Vagina Monologues. Harrelson
was turned on to the man-made problems facing oceans by his
Cheers co-star Ted Danson, a longtime campaigner on behalf of
the environmental group Oceana.
uses his fame to advance worthy causes. Judd became the
global ambassador for YouthAIDS in 2002, at Bono's behest, and
since then has hit Southeast Asia and Africa to educate young
people about the disease. She calls Bono "the godfather of the
awareness of extreme global poverty."
Lucas was raised by environmentalist parents who were
interested in sustainable solutions years before they became
trendy. "They've always said that the only real value to fame at
all is to be able to educate someone about something and put
your name out there," Lucas says.
Judd says her charity work has "reorganized my priorities.
When I go to bed at night, I know I've done something of
consequence, something that matters."
In the world of A-list activism, most roads lead to Bono.
Everyone from Harrelson to Lucas cites him as a celebrity who
So if the personal and professional payoff of altruism is so
great, why don't more stars get involved?
"A lack of interest," Lucas says.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 7
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, NOVEMBER 7, 2006
Letters
Young voters speak, but who listens?
We invited voters ages 18-29 to share their opinions about today's election process.
Below are some of the comments received, edited for length.
day, there are countless other issues this
nation is facing that have not received
adequate concern.
It was brought to my attention that a
microscopic portion of my age group
votes in national elections. I found this
odd. I'm part of the young, 18-29 age
bracket — those of us just beginning our
"real lives." At no other point will so
many issues be so relevant at once.
So why don't we care? I thought about
why, realized that I personally know very
little about the issues, and figured that
before I cast my vote, it's my
responsibility to become informed. So I
did a little research. Sorted out what
exactly the major issues are, and then
tried to plot exactly where each
candidate stands on each issue. Sounds
easy enough. But it wasn't. And I realized
why nobody votes: Very few candidates
are worth supporting.
For instance, the rising profits ExxonMobil has been making while gas prices
remain high are unpleasant, to say the
least, for many people. Rising gas prices
and the complaints made by millions of
Americans should sway Congress to look
into investing in alternative fuels, such as
electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Gasoline is not going to last forever, and if
there is a shor tage now as the
government has been saying, why not
take action and do something so that
Americans can still have reliable
transportation?
By Sam Ward, USA TODAY
The reason it is so difficult to learn the
candidates' positions on the issues is
because they won't tell us. They don't
say where they stand, what they'd do
and why we should vote for them. No,
they only tell us where their opponent
doesn't stand, what he wouldn't do and
why we shouldn't vote for him.
How are we supposed to pick a side
when the candidates make such polar
opposite assertions and won't tell us
what they really believe? The fact that
they aren't forthright makes me think
that even they don't believe all their
actions are in the interest of the public
good.
For example, I attend school in
Cleveland, where a fierce debate rages
for a Senate seat between Republican
incumbent Mike DeWine and his
Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Sherrod
Brown. One TV ad, which I assume was
for DeWine, told me only that Brown
voted against providing more body
armor for our troops. It made no
mention of what DeWine would do
instead. If that weren't confusing enough,
Brown's website insists that he did in fact
support more armor for our troops.
I refuse to play into lesser-of-two-evils
politics. It's my vote, and I'll use it
however I want. Even if that means not
using it at all.
Ben Weinberg, senior
Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland
War swallows other issues
Though it is true that the war in Iraq is
an intensely debated topic that continues
to garner more media attention day after
Alternative fuel is one of many
important topics that unfortunately have
fallen by the wayside thanks to the war.
Matthew Tumpney
Rocky Hill, Conn.
Wanted: People with vision
When I was a child in Portugal and my
parents would talk about America, their
faces would light up because they knew
the better lives their kids would have:
u Access to a quality public education
(now compromised by lack of funding).
u Affordability of higher education
(which is no longer as feasible as it once
was).
u A quality health care system (yet
prices have skyrocketed in the past four
years).
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 8
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, NOVEMBER 7, 2006
Letters
u A country that is loved by everyone in the world (but a
failed foreign policy no longer makes it so).
after empty, broken promise from our so-called leaders across
the nation.
I am a disgruntled Californian, and unfortunately I am unable
to vote this year. I'm a permanent resident whose family has
paid taxes for the past 12 years and still can't vote to really
"change the course" to return to what we once had. I want to
see public servants provide us with their vision of America,
with their vision of where we should go regardless of the
economic consequences or political plays that happen behind
closed doors.
The issue that matters most to many of us? Whether or not
the next politician will actually do what he or she has
promised. Most of us have a sense of what I'll call "pattern
recognition," so more than a few try to look beyond the halfbaked trash whirling around the airwaves. We're a generation
of people who are realizing that we're going to be performing
damage control and triage, not guiding how our nation will
grow. We're a generation faced with a choice between dunces
on donkeys or egomaniacs on elephants. And to many in our
generation, that isn't a choice; it's national suicide.
I want to live in a countr y where transparency isn't
something to strive for but something we do. I want to live in a
country where people are safe from economic and physical
harm. I want to live in the country that I heard and dreamed
about in Portugal.
Nadir Vissanjy
Rohnert Park, Calif.
Josh Cornwall
Ames, Iowa
Find ways to contribute
I am a 25-year-old, second-generation, black, HaitianAmerican woman. I am single and have no children.
Put aside differences
I'm 23 and I work full time. Are there issues that I worry
about? Yes.
For instance, I would like to see both parties put aside their
differences and figure out a realistic, workable solution for
Social Security and for illegal immigration. The problem lies in
the fact that both parties care more about their special-interest
groups and re-elections than they do the general public.
Harsh? Yes, but it's the nasty truth in the world of politics.
Are they really public servants? Well, that's up to voters to
decide today.
Joshua Reynolds
Lees Summit, Mo.
Recently, I requested an absentee ballot from my home state
of Florida be sent to me in Savannah, Ga., where I had, until this
fall, been studying film and television at the Savannah College
of Art and Design.
I first received my voter registration card seven years ago on
or around my 18th birthday. And, as you might've already
guessed, my first election was the infamous 2000 presidential
election, involving, no less, my region.
Before I requested an absentee ballot, I was ambivalent about
participating, at least, in this year's midterm elections. I was
uninformed on the candidates in my state and district as well as
unaware of the issues that would appear on the ballot. I had
also had my fill of the whole election process and the
superficial coverage surrounding it. You can say I was suffering
from "decision 2006" fatigue well before the campaign season
had begun.
Generations are more alike
After opening USA TODAY during lunch, I saw a little box in
the corner of the editorial page asking to hear from
"Generation Next." Piqued as to what issues mattered to my
generation, I thought I would add my voice to the din on what
matters.
What matters to those ages 18-29 is not much different from
what matters to older generations. We're just more jaded.
We've grown up seeing the endless cycle of corruption, apathy
and just plain stupidity; we've seen empty, broken promise
Right now, I am more preoccupied with financial security
than national security. I have had to suspend my
postsecondary education aspirations for financial reasons. My
current income puts me way below the poverty line. I have
incurred a mountain of debt that includes student loans, and
my credit is in ruins. I am also one of the many Americans living
without health insurance.
And for all the ills found in American pop culture and
entertainment today, I can honestly say that the increasing
union between entertainment and philanthropy/activism has
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Page 9
77
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, NOVEMBER 7, 2006
Letters
had some (in a not-so-cynical way) effect
on me.
Oprah Winfrey's commitment to
educating young African girls; Bono's
African AIDS awareness campaign;
George Clooney's appeal on behalf of the
suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan;
rapper Wyclef Jean's efforts to help his
and my parents' native country of Haiti;
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Madonna's
trans-Atlantic child adoptions; and Bill
and Melinda Gates' charitable
contributions continue to prove that
giving back remains in style.
I guess every generation has to go
through that ever-changing label game. I
hope that mine won't ever be referred to
as "Generation Unconcerned," as a
former first lady turned New York
senator once insinuated.
Babette Thomas
Savannah, Ga.
Try personal responsibility
In an era when politics has become
nothing more than "he said, she said"
and "vote for me because I'm not him,"
we want personal responsibility. You can
see Generation Next crying out for it
when you hear us talk about lower taxes,
Social Security reform and smaller
government.
money how we see fit and star t
programs on our own. Who knows
better what we need to retire than
ourselves?
We don't want to throw away our
money. We had that opportunity taken
from us as politicians said it wasn't
necessary.
Finally, we want to make decisions for
ourselves. We live in an age of
information, where we can learn about
anything in a matter of minutes. Let us
take this knowledge and use our own
resources to better ourselves. We need
guidance, not a babysitter.
We are a generation that believes
government only wants to be re-elected
and doesn't care about our needs. We
want lower taxes so we can spend our
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Keith Davis
Grove City, Pa.
Page 10
As seen in Inside USA TODAY, January 26, 2006
Today’s freshman want to lend
a hand
APPLICATIONS: civics, geography: human-environment interaction, synthesis
DISCUSSION: According to a recent study, what events may have shaped
college freshmen’s ideas about social responsibility? Do you think there are
other issues that are causing young people to feel more committed to their
communities? If so, what are they? In your opinion, how important is it to
volunteer? Have you volunteered in the last year? If so, has your charitable
work given you insight into an issue or problem? Do you think you will continue to volunteer in college? What are some connections between academic studies and real-life challenges?
“A record 83.2% of college freshmen said they
had volunteered at least
occasionally during
their high school senior
year. Roughly 67% said
there’s a good chance
they will continue to
volunteer at college,
also an all-time high.”
ACTIVITY: List the classes that you currently take. Then, cite a global or
local issue related to each subject (e.g., math: poverty; English: free speech,
etc.). Finally, choose one of the connections on your list. In
VOCABULARY writing, explain the effect that students in a particular class
tsunami
could have if they mobilized to combat the problem.
redouble
leveraged
As seen in Inside USA TODAY, September 11, 2006
Will 9/11 define a generation?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
v Americorps VISTA
www.americorps.org
APPLICATIONS: history, social studies, sociology, cause & effect, analysis
v Habitat for Humanity
www.habitat.org
DISCUSSION: How did the Sept. 11 attacks affect young people attending
college at the time? What effect did the Kennedy assassination and the
attack on Pearl Harbor have on previous generations? Is 9/11 a “life marker” for today’s youth? How will younger members of the “millennial generation” be impacted by the after-effects of Sept. 11?
v Peace Corps
www.peacecorps.gov
v Teach for America
www.teachforamerica.org
v USA Harvest
usaharvest.com
v YouthAIDS
projects.psi.org
ACTIVITY: The term “helicopter parent” refers to moms or dads who pay
extremely close attention to their children, particularly at educational institutions. Such parents are said to “hover” around their children, ready to
step in at a moment’s notice to protect or defend their sons and daughters.
Using information from the article and your own experiences, explain the
effect Sept. 11 has had on baby boomers’ parenting and
VOCABULARY
their “echo boomer” children. Are today’s youth overmanaltruism
aged? Do they face realistic or unrealistic pressures?
millennials
social justice
For more information, log on to education.usatoday.com
Page 11