A Wake-Up Call: Sept. 25th-Oct. 10th

Hey Teen Resisters!
These past two weeks have been more tumultuous and emotional than ever. Here, we’ve laid out some key happenings: the Violence Against Women Act, family separation updates, climate change developments, and the recent passing of Indigenous Peoples' Day. We are sending infinite amounts of support and love; sometimes, things like Kavanaugh's confirmation can seem like defeats--and they're really, really tough--but they don't define resistance or make it pointless in any way. Keep calling, signing, campaigning, and protesting!!
peace&power, 
TR

p.s. We're honored to publicize a super cool opportunity for NY State high schoolers: start a chapter of Coalition Z at your school! As defined by their website, Coalition Z is a national, youth-led, peer-to-peer network of chapters taking political action and engaging young people in our democracy. Their work involves traveling for lobbying and campaigning, planning and running events and initiatives, and more. If you're interested even the slightest bit, DM @coalitionz.hchs on Instagram or email [email protected] for more information!!

what went down

Kavanaugh Update and VAWA 
​Kavanaugh: 
On October 6th, 2018, Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court was confirmed by a Senate vote of 50-48. Kavanaugh was accused by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford of sexual assault when the two were in high school. His confirmation followed a long and strenuous hearing addressing these allegations, during which Dr. Christine Blasey Ford recounted her sexual assault in painful detail. She described Kavanaugh’s inebriation as he attempted to rape her and detailed the assault itself as well. In Dr. Ford’s words, “It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me.”

The hearing was followed by an insufficient and brief FBI investigation that consisted only of nine interviews (not including ones with either Kavanaugh or Dr. Ford). Despite Dr. Ford’s testimony, recognized as credible by a multitude of senators and other individuals, Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Following the confirmation, protestors stormed the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, and 164 of them were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police. 

All of this leads to this question: how could Kavanaugh become dangerous?  His past actions indicate that he could potentially endanger Roe v. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Kavanaugh’s other stances include increasing the power of the executive branch and reducing gun control. The decision to confirm Kavanaugh shows a disregard for women and for survivors, one that has been echoed by President Trump’s remarks throughout the entire confirmation hearing process. Trump has gone as far as to mock Dr. Ford’s testimony, and has made such statements as, “It’s a very scary time for young men in America.” 

What You Can Do:
Vote (or tell everyone you know above 18 to vote)! On November 6th, every seat in the House of Representatives and a third of seats in the Senate will be up for reelection. A great way to show your support for a candidate even if you can’t vote is to volunteer by calling. Check out this TR list to find some candidates that we support and how to call them. 

Expiration of the Violence Against Women Act:
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a piece of federal legislation that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in September of 1994. The VAWA is largely seen as the aftermath of Clarence Thomas’s hearing to be a Supreme Court judge, during which Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment. The VAWA is legislation that expands the funds and the judicial tools available to fight violence against women and to give protection to women who have experienced sexual abuse. The reauthorization of the act in 2013 was largely opposed by conservatives. The Act was going to expire September 30th, 2018, but was extended and is now set to expire on December 7th, 2018. Expiration of the VAWA will result in a large loss in funds for social service agencies that help victims of sexual violence. Cases of sexual violence against women will become much harder to prosecute in the absence of this act. 

What You Can Do:
Call your representatives! Ask that they sign on as a co-sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act. You can find your representative by using this link, and you can see if they have signed on to support the VAWA by using this link.   

Family Separation Update: Kids’ Tent City and More
This issue has mostly flown under the radar recently, what with this week’s slew of headlines, but the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrant children continues to be an emergency-level problem. In some good news, a settlement was reached in September that allowed 1,000 of the 2,500 people separated from their children, denied asylum, and then reunited to re-apply for asylum. It’s a victory for asylum seekers for sure, but it doesn’t reach far enough.

Despite a federal judge’s ruling in July that mandated that the thousands of migrant children who were separated from their parents over the summer be reunited with them within 30 days, dozens of children* are still being held in federal custody away from their families. Many of these children’s parents have already been deported, making reunifications much more complicated. But the government hasn’t done nearly enough to bring these children and their parents back together. The settlement doesn’t guarantee that the government will reunify these families except in specific cases in which they think it’s merited—but when could it possibly not be merited?

On a separate but also horrifying note, more than a thousand children who arrived at the border as unaccompanied minors have been shipped to a tent city in Tornillo, Texas, which is relatively unregulated and doesn’t provide any formal education to its residents. The move is an attempt to manage the record of more than 13,000 immigrant children who are in government custody right now, straining the capacity of the shelters and foster homes. The problem was made worse by a new policy that orders potential sponsors of immigrant kids—many of whom have tended to be undocumented immigrants themselves —to submit fingerprints in order to have a child placed in their care. This deters potential foster parents from coming forward out of fear of their own status being discovered. This policy has resulted in the inhuman situation that’s currently ongoing, and it’s unacceptable.  

What you can do:

• Don’t let this issue go. It’s incredibly complex and multi-faceted, which makes it more important than ever to stay educated. These are a few of the articles that helped me have a better understanding of these issues and the context in which they fall:
  • Migrant Children Moved Under Cover of Darkness to a Texas Tent City
  • What Obama did with migrant families vs. what Trump is doing
• Keep this issue in your community’s consciousness, too. Social media is a useful tool if used well - post articles from credible sources to make sure the issue isn’t forgotten and is well understood.

• Call your representatives to demand that they call on the Trump administration to invest its resources in reuniting the remaining immigrant children with their parents.
• Call DHS (202-282-8000) to tell them to discard the practice of collecting fingerprints from potential sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant children - it’s against the kids’ best interests. And urge them to use their plentiful resources to bring every last family that they separated back together.

These problems are emergency issues that demand immediate, short-term solutions, but they’re also symptoms of a broader problem: a strained immigration system incapable of carefully and humanely receiving the countless migrants that come to our borders every year, and a slate of politicians far too disinterested in caring for them as people—often families—in need of help. The best thing we can do to try to find a sustainable solution (besides running for office, when we can!) is to replace racist, xenophobic, or just lethargic politicians with leaders committed to making America a refuge for immigrants. So… the midterms are in four weeks (!) - check out our various features and updates on the midterms to take action! 

*Information on this figure is difficult to determine, due to varying numbers offered, and the fact that things could have changed since the publication of most readily available articles.

Climate Change Developments
It is widely accepted that climate change has been around for a while. And yet, still, no one is doing anything to stop it. In fact, new government regulations and standards show that the problem is only catastrophically worsening, heading towards statistically irreversible conditions for our planet and the many creatures that call it home. Here are some of the most recent obstacles to progress in preventing climate change, their implications, and of course, what you can do to help!

The Trump Administration announced new standards in August for car production that dramatically reduce fuel-efficiency and increase pollution:

• The new car standards will have dramatic effects on health, causing an estimate of up to 299 premature deaths annually by mid-century, and causing Americans to lose nearly 17,000 days of work annually because of increased illness
• The Trump Administration’s plans take away agency from individual states to be more lenient with their regulations, rendering the federal requirements a lot more strict and costly​

• Environmentally, the government’s official report on the new plans states that, under current policies (including these new ones), the Earth will warm 7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100; this margin is more than twice the 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit increase that scientists say Earth must maintain to prevent a catastrophic environmental outcome
• On top of that, a new New York Times report suggests that the Earth is warming faster than scientists had previously estimated, and that the margin of global temperature increase tolerable to prevent environmental catastrophe is slimmer than formerly known.

And here’s what you can do:

• Support the Environmental Defense Fund in any way you can (donate, share on social media, a leading environmental organization that advocates for environmental protection in terms of wildlife/nature conservancy, and — most importantly for our purposes — climate protection!!
• Sign the open letter at this link that demands that the Trump Administration does not roll back the Clean Car Standards that are currently helping regulate toxic emissions into the environment.

In your daily life, limit use and emission of materials that are toxic to the environment. This may sound small, and big things need to change, too, but this does make a difference! If you can, use public transportation, ride a bike, or walk to navigate your city/town instead of driving!

Indigenous Peoples' Day
Most, if not all, American students are familiar with “Columbus Day,” and often only because it means a three-day weekend. Although getting a break is definitely something to celebrate, it’s key to reconsider and reflect on what you think you may know about Christopher Columbus.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the old “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, accompanied by romanticized stories painting him as a hero, a grand explorer, and even his feat of “discovering America.” None of this is true. What our school system has failed to tell us is that Columbus is a rapist, murderer, and thief (among other horrible things).

For one, North and South America were already occupied by a multitude of Native tribes, meaning that Columbus “discovering” America is a notion so false it’s almost laughable. In fact, his arrival in 1492 began the exploitation and genocide of Native Americans that is still ongoing to this day. Columbus and his crew stole land from the Arawak and Taino tribes, in addition to exploiting them, colonizing their land, pillaging and wrecking their communities, uprooting them, forcing them to assimilate Christianity, raping their people, enslaving them, and murdering them. The mistreatment, exploitation, and displacement of Native Americans in America is still rampant today.

This “Columbus Day” and every second Monday of October to come, you can celebrate Indigenous People’s Day (as declared by many counties in the US already since 2017!) by doing the following:

• Perhaps the easiest on this list is not only advocating for Indigenous People’s Day, but staunchly advocating against Columbus Day. This can be as simple as educating peers on the history of our nation’s disenfranchisement of Native peoples or petitioning in your county/city.
• Donate to organizations that protect Indigenous people and their human and environmental rights. A few include Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition, IWGIA, American Indian College Fund, and the Association of American Indian Affairs. ((lists courtesy of Bustle.com & DiversityBestPractices.com).
• Participate in cultural appreciation. Not to be mixed up with cultural appropriation, cultural appreciation is done respectfully with the intent of honoring a culture by not downplaying important aspects of it and by understanding your role in the oppression of the aforementioned culture. This being said, your knowledge of the culture should come from people from said culture.
• Attend vigils, rallies, and other events organized by Native people. Many events organized by Native activists are a great source of information on history, current events, and ways you can help! Doing a quick google search of such upcoming events is a great way to start.
• Support Native artists and businesses. If donating to bigger organizations isn’t an option for you, supporting local businesses owned or run by Native Americans is a great way to help. Invite your friends and family to eat out at a Native-owned restaurant, invest in businesses, etc. Additionally, Buying art from Native artists is a great way to give back as well!

Click here for a more detailed list of actions to take!

On that final note, happy Indigenous Peoples' Day to everyone! 

In lieu of our puppy vid this week, we're linking to SNL's Kavanaugh-themed cold open (it's clearly an incredibly serious topics, but sometimes humor can make things, however awful, feel just a tiny bit better).

LAUGHS!!