THE BEHREND BEACON ANUARY 28 2000 PAGE WORLD NEWS Election 2000: turned off by politics by Lori Lessner Knight-Ridder Tribune January 19, 2000 WASHINGTON A generation af ter 18-year-olds won the right to vote, young people don't find poli tics particularly germane to their lives. They say they don't bother casting a ballot because voting has little to do with the way public policy decisions are made, and that politi cians don't listen to their concerns anyway. Although they've written off poli tics, their civic-minded spirit is very much alive. Three-fourths per formed some sort of volunteer work in the past two years far more than the 15 percent who voted in the 1998 election. That double-edged message, the result of two separate polls that ex plored what motivates young people leading up to the 2000 Presidential election, suggests that young adults prefer to give back to their commu nities by performing public service rather than by wading into partisan politics. More of them have taught, fed the hungry, and cleaned up the environ ment than have volunteered on a po litical campaign or seriously consid ered running for office. But experts who track voter par ticipation are concerned about young people's reluctance to vote. Only 32 percent of 18- to 24-year olds voted in the 1996 Presidential election, while 67 percent of those 65 and older voted, U.S. Census data shows. What's worse, experts say, High court considers free speech rights of abortion protesters at clinics by Jan Crawford Greenburg Chicago Tribune January 20, 2000 WASHINGTON In a case pitting the free speech rights of abortion pro testers against a patient's right to seek medical care, the Supreme Court grappled Wednesday, January 19, with a state law that limits the protesters' ability to talk to people entering clinics. Several justices suggested that the Colorado law was too broad and vio lated the protesters' free speech rights under the Ist Amendment. The law prohibits so-called "sidewalk counselors" from getting within eight feet of people entering medical clin ics, and it applies within 100 feet of clinic entrances. "It seems to me to be whimsical and imprecise and inconsistent with our precedents," Justice Anthony Kennedy said of the law, noting it could broadly apply to everyone who entered a high-rise office building that contained a doctor's office. But other justices noted that the law didn't stop the protesters from speaking. Even from eight feet away, a person can carry on a conversation in a normal tone, they said. "What speech is it difficult for any one to make when they're eight feet away?" Justice Stephen Breyer asked a lawyer for the protesters. "What is it that I can't tell her?" Emphasizing that eight feet isn't 300 flight attendants to sue tobacco makers over second-hand smoke by Jay Weaver Knight-Ridder Tribune January 20, 2000 Three hundred flight attendants who say they never smoked ciga rettes plan to file 300 individual lawsuits in Miami on Thursday, January 27, against U.S. tobacco makers. These flight attendants claim that their respiratory illnesses were caused by second-hand smoke aboard jetliners. They are seeking millions of dol lars in damages. Thousands of other lawsuits are expected to be filed by September the deadline under a class-action settlement reached between the air line attendants and Big Tobacco in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in 1997. As part of that agreement, flight at- "I have grown old waiting for young people to start voting." -Ken Bode, Dean of Medill News Service, Northwestern University is that young people seem unlikely to pick up the voting habit as they get In the Presidential election of 1972, the first one in which 18-year•-olds had the vote, 49.6 of 18- to 24-year olds voted, a percentage that has steadily declined ever since. Mel Henning, a University of Kan sas senior, said she has seen her peers become increasingly committed to volunteering in the four years she has lived on campus. She is part of that trend. She's helped build homes for Habitat for Humanity and is active in a program that matches children with Big Brothers and Big Sisters on cam pus. "Sometimes we get tired of every one thinking our generation is just a bunch of lazy, non-motivated people, so we volunteer for ourselves and to show the older generation that not all of us are doing crazy stuff all the time," said Henning, a Wichita stu dent majoring in elementary educa tion. that far, Breyer twice noted he could easily "talk to Justice Kennedy" from that distance. Kennedy sits two chairs away from Breyer on the bench. Added Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: "You certainly can con vey anything you want to convey orally at eight feet . . . speak in normal conversa tional tone and be heard fully." But Jay Sekulow, an at- torney represent ing the protesters, said the law af fects the kind of speech protesters can engage in They can't talk confidentially to pa tients, and they cannot share leaflets or Bible passages unless the person consents, he said. What's more, he said, it could ap ply to reporters seeking to interview people outside clinics or, even, to people in front of hospitals who sim ply are passing out discount coupons for pizza. "The Colorado statute at issue here converts protected speech into a crime," Sekulow told the court. Specifically, the law prohibits people from approaching others on sidewalks or in public areas near clin- tendants won the right to sue the to bacco industry on an individual ba sis. Among the alleged victims is Cindy Williams, 45, of West Palm Beach, Fla., who worked as a flight attendant for U.S. Air from 1973 to 1998. She is now out on disability. Williams said she was cooped up in commercial jetliners daily and forced to inhale passenger cigarette smoke for years until smoking was banned by the airline in 1989. "I cough more than a hundred times a day," said Williams, a mother of two who is married to the chairman of the Port of Palm Beach County. "I see a pulmonary special ist and ENT every month, and they fear I have inflamed bronchial tubes. They [the tubes] are highly irritated, and that causes me to cough. Young Americans Although she said she can see why some people don't think voting mat ters much, she made sure to vote for the president in 1996. She has paid less attention to local elections. She expects to continue volunteer ing and perhaps find work in a non profit group after graduation. Like Henning, a significant major ity of young adults polled by the Mellman Group for the Panetta In stitute expect to spend part of their careers working for non-profits or performing some kind of public ser vice. But only a quarter voiced an interest in pursuing careers in poli tics to express their civic mindedness. College students under age 31 were asked about their career paths and other topics that tie into the pub lic arena as part of the poll. President Clinton's former chief of-staff, Leon Panetta, started the in stitute to encourage public service. His poll results mirror those released Tuesday, January 18, by Campaign Media Group for Northwestern University's Medill News Service, which trains graduate students in po litical journalism. The Medill poll surveyed people ages 18 to 24. Ellen Shearer, co-director of the Medill News Service, said the find ings are encouraging because they show young people are not cynical about government; they're just get ting involved in their own way and steering clear of more traditional paths. "They're saying, 'lf we're being ignored by the politicians, we'll ig nore you right back and go volun ics to pass out handbills or leaflets or engage in "oral protest, education or counseling" unless the targeted individual consents. The prohibition covers an area within 100 feet of the entrance to a health-care facility. "What speech is it difficult for any one to make when they're eight feet away?" -Justice Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Colorado Su preme Court to rethink the issue in light of its 1997 ruling that some of a judge's restrictions on New York protesters were unconstitutional. After restudying the issue, the state court concluded last year that the Colorado law was different and could survive constitutional chal lenge. It said the legislature fairly accommodated the two fundamen tal rights at issue, because the law did not prohibit a type of speech and was narrowly drawn to address the government's important interest in ensuring people get medical care. What's more, it noted that the law "I have that wheezing feeling in my chest, and I've never smoked a cigarette in my life," added Will iams. "I look fit, I just don't feel fit." The flight attendants once thought to face impossible odds against the industry may have an advantage in their individual suits. The burden of proof rests with the cigarette makers to show jurors that something other than second-hand smoke caused the res piratory sicknesses. The suits are being filed at a criti cal time for the tobacco industry, which is fighting countless lawsuits by sick smokers and paying billion dollar settlements to states across the nation. In Miami-Dade Circuit Court, at torneys for a class of 500,000 sick teer somewhere,'" Shearer said. "Right now, they f young people] don't think there is a reason for them to vote." Educators and politicians have la mented low voter turnout among young people for years. As Ken Bode, Medill's dean, put it Tuesday, Jan. 18: "I have grown old waiting for young people to start voting and paying attention to politics." To engage more young adults in politics, graduate students in the Medill News Service will cover this year's Presidential campaign from the point of view of their peers. Their stories will reach 500 college news papers and dozens of daily newspa pers and TV stations across the coun try. The students also will try to attract young readers by reporting on youth issues for MTV. Both groups will share information on their Web sites. There is also talk of organizing a Presidential debate in which college journalists would lead the discussion, steering each candidate toward is sues that concern them. Others hope young people will re alize politics and voting are relevant to their lives as they become more involved in volunteerism. "We can't count on volunteering by itself, but as young people vol unteer they will see that federal hous ing policy has an impact on services available to the homeless and that en vironmental policy has something to do with beach clean-ups," said Mark Mel!man, president of the Mellman Group, which commissioned one of the polls. didn't foreclose all methods of com- munication A critical difference, it noted, was that the Colorado law did not require protesters to move back in order to maintain the eight-foot buffer if pa tients came nearer. The New York restrictions, on the other hand, re quired protesters to maintain a 15- foot buffer and back away as the per son approached. Several justices focused on that difference, suggesting that the law wasn't so troublesome because a pro tester could pass leaflets or informa tion to people as they walked by. T h e battle over the law has been raging since 1993, shortly af ter the state leg islature passed it. Several pro testers immedi ately challenged it, but they lost in the Colorado courts. How ever, the U.S. There was a humorous moment when Justice Antonin Scalia took is sue with the suggestion that prohib iting protesters from coming closer than eight feet wouldn't affect the nature of their protest. Supreme Court "I rarely stand 8 feet away," Scalia said of his conversations. "Yes, but everyone you communi cate with is a willing listener," Michael McLachlan, the Colorado solicitor general who argued in sup port of the law, told Scalia. The courtroom erupted in laugh ter as did Scalia, who is known for his aggressive questioning in ar guments. But O'Connor got the last line and the biggest laugh as she swiftly corrected McLachlan: "Don't be too sure." by July Florida smokers are arguing their landmark case against Big Tobacco a trial that could cripple the in dustry with astronomical compen satory and punitive damages. Jurors already found that tobacco makers such as Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds deceived the public about the addictive nature and deadly effects of smoking ciga rettes. The husband-and-wife legal team heading that case, Stanley and Su san Rosenblatt, are the same attor neys who won the original class-ac tion settlement for flight attendants in 1997, which was upheld by a Florida appellate court last year. Under that 1997 agreement, the to bacco companies agreed to pay $3OO million to a new research foundation to find a cure for respi- A decision in the case is expected Senior kicked out of school for "threatening"artwork by Alex Branch Knight-Ridder Tribune January 19, 2000 LEON, Kan. Sarah Boman says she was aiming for conceptual art: art that emphasizes an idea, rather than an object. So she admits her drawing representing the delusions of an "obsessive, compulsive, para noid" madman might have gone a Sarah Boman, a 17-year-old senior at Bluestem High School, created this piece of artwork that school officials consider a. threat Bowman was suspended for the rest of the school year. little against the grain. But when the 17-year-old senior at Bluestem High School tacked it up on a school door last week, she was expecting artistic criticism from classmates and teachers. Instead, she found herself suspended for the rest of the school year. Classmates and neighbors are cir culating petitions for her reinstate ment so that she can graduate with her class this spring. And an art gal lery has invited her to exhibit so people can make up their own minds whether the art is threatening, said the gallery owner. Principal Dale Harper said school officials were immediately con cerned when they read the poster, which was placed on a classroom door and was unsigned. In the cen ter of the drawing is the word "please" written in big, red letters. Sentences spiral out from the middle to show the madman's spin ning, paranoid thoughts, Sarah said. "Please, tell me who killed my dog," it reads. "I miss him very much." Later it reads: "I'll kill you all! You all killed my dog because you all hated him." Sarah sees her punishment as a gross overreaction to what was in tended to be thought-provoking art. "It was entirely fictional," Sarah said. "It was just a different kind of art I wanted to try. It was supposed to be a look into the head of a mad man. I never expected this." Harper, when asked if he thought the artwork constituted a threat, said, "I think the words speak for themselves." He then said he wouldn't get into specifics of the incident because it was under ap peal. A three-person school district sus pension committee heard Sarah's case and found that the artwork con stituted a "threat of violence" against the school and warranted a suspension for the rest of the school year. ratory illnesses suffered from sec ond-hand smoke. A spokeswoman for R.J. Reynolds said, as policy, the to bacco company would not comment on the expected lawsuits because the suits have not been filed yet. But the spokeswoman, Jan Smith, said: "We would vigorously defend our selves in court." The Rosenblatts, who face a court gag order in their current tobacco trial, picked six Miami law firms to represent the flight attendants. Each of the six law firms will file 50 suits for the 300 flight attendants. Miami attorney Steven Hunter be lieves the attendants have strong cases because of victories in the pre vious flight attendants' class case. "Once you establish that the sec ond-hand smoke is causing their Sarah and her parents, Jerry and Julie Boman, have filed an appeal to the Bluestem school board, which can overturn the panel's decision or reduce the punishment. Jerry Boman said he understood the school's concern but argued that school officials were taking this too far. "My daughter has never even had detention," he said. "My wife and I aren't even really big fans of this piece. But we're intelligent enough to know that it is art, not a threat against anybody." The Acme Gallery wants the pub lic to be able to judge the quality of Sarah's art. To that end, the gallery and artists' conclave will stage an exhibition later this month of sev eral works by the aspiring artist. "Individually, the members have various and sundry reasons" for in viting Sarah, said Mark Dwyer, an Acme artist. "Some feel she needs support from other artists; others hate the notion of censorship at any level, and feel we should do a show for anyone being censored. Others are unimpressed with the whole deal and will go about their work as they usually do, and will ignore having this minor celebrity in the show." Among those hoping that the ex hibition will be a show of support for Boman is David Murano, a cu rator for the Wichita Center for the Arts and an Acme artist. "I wanted to offer the space to her," Murano said, ". . . so people can see what she does and that she's not some raving lunatic." Since her suspension, Sarah has taken her portfolio to an assistant professor of art at Wichita State University. She has a letter from the professor saying the "madman" piece indeed falls into the classifi cation of conceptual art. She said she is surprised that she hasn't been able to work something out with school officials. Just re cently they selected her to represent the student body in interviewing po tential candidates for a teaching opening. "If they just would have told me not to do it, I never would have put anything up again," she said. "I can understand their concern, but they know me, and they know who I am. I would never hurt anyone." Bud Norman of The Eagle contributed to this report. diseases, you're almost home," Hunter said, adding that each atten dant will be able to show how ciga rette smoke affected their health, medical costs, livelihood and lifestyle. "It has to be terrifying to have a disease that affects your ability to breathe," Hunter said. "More than half are still working, but all of them have seen their lives go downhill. You can't put a dollar amount on damages yet because each flight at tendant has a different case." Williams, of West Palm Beach, said she doubts she will ever be able to return to work. "I'm fearful about the future, because as I get older I'm not going to have the ability to with stand what I withstand every day," said Williams. "I'm hoping for a miracle cure."
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