Group urges teens to speak their minds

A February 20th article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about SYPP!

By JESSICA BLANCHARD
P-I REPORTER - February 20th, 2007

Just before Valentine's Day, a small group of teenagers visited members of the Seattle School Board to deliver an unusual gift: balloons and a basket filled with candies and hundreds of bright pink notes, each bearing the message "The WASL breaks my heart."

The valentines were part of a campaign by members of the Seattle Young People's Project to lobby against the use of the standardized test as a graduation requirement.

The group doesn't object to the Washington Assessment of Student Learning itself, But it fears hundreds of students could be denied diplomas beginning next year. "It's a really urgent issue," said Ingraham student Jeff Stein.

The group wants to press the Seattle School Board to adopt a formal resolution against the WASL graduation requirement -- and in turn, provide its movement with some momentum. The Legislature would have to change the law to remove the requirement.

The campaign is just one of several run by the group, whose overarching goals are to empower teenagers and encourage them to speak out on issues they care about.

"We live in a society where there isn't a lot of room for young people to have a say in decisions that affect them," said Yasmeen Perez, 24, a co-director of the Seattle organization. Teenagers often have strong opinions, but few avenues to express themselves or feel heard, she said.

Perez and two other adults fill the three full-time staff positions, but clearly it's the teenagers who are running the show. The students decide which issues to tackle, organize projects and fund-raisers and recruit members.

Campaigns usually focus on social-justice issues that affect young adults. The anti-WASL valentine delivery was part of the group's Education Justice Campaign; past initiatives have targeted sexism and institutional racism.

The group also organizes the occasional young women's conference, and produces a popular annual Martin Luther King Jr. hip-hop show. It's those types of events that tend to draw in more teens, Perez said. At last count, there were about 30 active members, and more than 800 students who have been involved to some degree with the organization.

"Their perspective is fresh, the ideas are fresh," Perez said. The best part of her job, she said, is "seeing young people feel empowered to take action around issues that are directly impacting them ... hopefully the youth members will learn skills so they'll be active for along time in the social-justice movement."

Though it's based in Seattle, the group draws middle and high school students from neighboring districts, including Highline, Tukwila, Renton, Shoreline and Lake Washington.

It takes Athena Zammit three buses to get to the organization's Madrona offices from Renton, but the 14-year-old said the ride is worth it. She was intrigued by the group and joined last September after realizing many of the campaigns were relevant to her life. So far, it's been an eye-opening experience, she said.

"There aren't a lot of places like this," she said. "Now I'm seeing a lot of things we can do to help better society for ourselves. We don't always have to look up to adults. We have the capability to accomplish things on our own."

To garner attention for their campaigns, the group stages events such as last fall's "WASL Haunted House." Garfield High School junior Lacresha Lowery played a "zombie student" in the production, which aimed to demonstrate the problems with the test.

"I scared people," she said. "I had a sign on me that said, 'Tap me to see what it's like to take the WASL,' and then I'd scream."

Adults tend to underestimate teenagers, Lowery said, but they ought to take them more seriously.

"We're the new generation," she said. "We're going to be taking care of the adults someday."

TO LEARN MORE:

For more information on the Seattle Young People's Project, visit www.sypp.org