Washington D.C. – Teen Observer Archive

June 27, 2019June 28, 2019

Climate change ‘urgent’ issue for Gen Z voters in 2020

Generation Z–those born between 1997 and 2012–voters interviewed this month in Washington, D.C. said climate change is the single biggest issue that will decide their votes in the 2020 election.

The older members of Generation Z cast 4.5 million ballots in the 2018 midterm election, representing 4% of all votes, according to the Pew Research Center. By 2020, their impact could be even more powerful, when they are projected to comprise 10% of eligible voters.

“It’s time to wake up,” Ryan Cullen Barto, 20, said of younger generations facing the 2020 election.

These young voices see the upcoming election as an opportunity for change, and climate change is something they see as urgent.

Nadia Nazar, the 17-year-old co-founder of thisiszerohour.org, is very passionate about encouraging Gen Z to use their power to vote next year. She wants a great president, but also someone who will be a leader on climate change, and she believes young people need to understand what’s at stake.

“You’re voting for your life and for the sake of this country,” said Nazar, who lives in Baltimore. It “is important for our generation.”

Citizens Climate Lobby, a grassroots environmental organization, tweeted Thursday morning, the day after the first Democratic Presidential primary debate, that: “Last night’s disappointing treatment of #climatechange at the #DemocraticDebates underscores the need for a separate debate on the issue.”

climate tweet — A grassroots environmental organization wants a separate debate dedicated to climate change. (Photo courtesy of Twitter)

Meanwhile, younger citizens who still will be too young to cast a ballot next year say when they can vote, climate change is their main and overarching concern.

Not being able to vote next year, Annelise Bittenbender, 16, from Leesburg, Virginia, worries that her voice won’t be heard.

“I think it could potentially make or break the rest of what’s going to go on in the world,” Bittenbender said of climate change.

“This election could potentially make or break our earth so me not being able to vote stresses me out ’cause I just wanna try to help as much as I can but not actually having a say is difficult,” Bittenbender continued.

The scientific community agrees overwhelmingly “climate change is real,” according to one statement on the NASA website.

Among those statements, the American Geophysical Union wrote: “Human‐induced climate change requires urgent action. Humanity is the major influence on the global climate change observed over the past 50 years. Rapid societal responses can significantly lessen negative outcomes.”

Generation Z’s youngest members may not be able to vote next year, but they already are organizing and fighting to be heard about climate change.

Ethan Vandivier, 13, already is an advisory board member for Young Voice for the Planet. He spoke on a panel at American University on June 20, noting that the next election is going to determine not just leadership, but will frame debates and policy solutions for climate change.

“For new people who are trying to get involved, voting is very important,” Vandivier said. “That’s how you start. That’s where you start.”

June 26, 2019June 26, 2019

No fare hikes this year for Metro but affordability an issue for some

Metro commuters from Maryland to Virginia will be affected by scheduled track maintenance and station renovations, and while they saw no fare increases this year, several said it’s still too expensive and doesn’t take them where they need to go.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the agency that oversees Metro, is spending $1.5 billion on renovations in Fiscal Year 2020, part of a larger $9.2 billion effort to get Metro back on track, according to public records on its website.

Those expenses and long-term sustainability were called into question by a 2016 master’s thesis in economics by Jasmine Simone Boatner who wrote that Metro was not economically viable, and that increased fares were leading to decreased ridership.

“In its current form, the Washington Metrorail system does not seem economically viable,” Boatner wrote in her thesis for Howard University. “With steadily declining ridership, continuing fare hikes to address the budget deficit is bad economic policy.”

Metro did not respond to two phone calls and four emails seeking comment for this story. In response to one of the emails Ian Jannetta, Metro spokesman, wrote on June 21, “Got it, thanks.”

Christopher Tyree, 32, lives in Fort Washington, Maryland near National Harbor. Tyree, a security contractor who was working at American University, drives rather than taking the Metro because, he said, the Metro doesn’t get close enough to home. He said he drives even though traffic in the district is “hell.”

“It’s very rare that I use public transportation,” Tyree said.

American University in Washington, D.C. tries to help its students with transit affordability.

Metro began offering in 2016 what it called a U-Pass, a program to make transit more affordable for students. WMATA says students pay the equivalent of $1 per day.

Prince Hyeamang, 20, uses public transportation daily, but said he would “definitely not” use public transportation without the pass.

Hyeamang, who graduated in May with a master’s in public policy, just bought a car. He said planned to use it in places where it is inconvenient or impossible to use the Metro, like in Maryland and Virginia.

“I would take the metro where I can’t drive, for example, the middle of the city,” Hyeamang said.

Kyle Cleary, 17, disagreed.

He said that Metro’s cost was not an issue for him. He said he uses Metrobus to commute to his high school and takes Metrorail to commute into the district.

Cleary said that it was “amazing” that one could get from New Carrollton to Tenleytown for $5 on Metro, which bases its fees on distance and time of day.

Cleary uses Uber, only “when I don’t have any other method of transit.”

Quincy Arrington, 37, said that Metro was “really trying to oppress poor people” with its pricing. He compared the district’s rail system with others in New York City and Chicago that use a flat-fee system.

Boatner’s thesis noted that average fares for one ride in Washington, D.C. are $2.48. She noted in her thesis that low income riders often are pushed toward Metrobuses, which she wrote are more affordable, but which also are “raising concerns of a classist system.”

June 26, 2019June 27, 2019

18,000 feet of fencing part of making D.C. 4th of July ready

Independence Day is quickly approaching and people in the metropolitan area have different plans.

Becky May, 19, will be headed home to New Jersey for the summer holiday. May does not decorate or buy fireworks for the celebration.

While May is not a native Washingtonian, she “knows it’s hectic” on the National Mall and will be watching fireworks from a beach in New Jersey.

Nicole Narvaez is going to the National Mall to watch the fireworks display, which includes over 6,500 shells, according to the National Park Service.

The National Mall will be enclosed with over 18,000 linear feet of fencing and have 350 portable toilets to accommodate the thousands of people that attend the display each year.

Dominic Gatti, 20, thinks the Fourth of July is more of a celebration and party than anything else.

“I’m going to my frat party then probably to the Mall for fireworks,” said Gatti.

Narvaez “might be celebrating with friends,” and believes the holiday is about both celebration and remembrance.

Nadine Hallak plans to attend a barbecue with friends on the fourth. She will be watching the National Mall fireworks on television this year.

“We are not so into crowds,” Hallak said.

Drew Scheimer contributed to this report.

June 25, 2019

As 2020 election nears, some disengage while others double down

Personal attacks, perceived unreliable media coverage and politicians’ extreme partisan division all are driving both experienced and new voters to steer clear of politics all together or get more engaged as the 2020 election nears.

That is according to several interviews conducted this month in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.

A common belief among older voters is that news has become a place of bullying and bashing rather than a place to get information.

Shawn Bates, 46, described political conversation as, “far more toxic, deeply partisan, and personal.”

Jackie Martinez, 19, an American University student from Chicago, considers voting in the United States a privilege because she knows so many people from other countries who didn’t have that right. But, she also thinks political polarization is causing a more radicalized electorate, and said even infighting within political parties is shifting people’s viewpoints and making it harder to find common ground.

“It has changed a lot,” Martinez said of the political landscape. “It’s more about good and bad and no compromise.”

Several voters interviewed on American University’s campus and in the Tenleytown neighborhood of the district, agree that politics is a kind of war zone between political parties.

Two newspaper stands in Washington, D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood. (Photo by Drew Scheimer)

Behzad Jalali, 65, was born in Iran and believes political participation is “very important.” He has been in the United States for more than 40 years, and he has witnessed a huge shift in political polarization.

The deep polarization between parties is causing some young voters to disengage.

“I knew voting was important but I wasn’t in to it,” said Sarah Sleiman, 22.

Sleiman said she gets her news from Twitter, which seems to be a common source among young voters.

Rashard Flowers, 34, who was waiting for a car to pick him up in Tenleytown, said polarization is affecting all Americans.

“Everyone is okay with people disagreeing,” Flowers said. “People want someone who can satisfy both sides.”

June 25, 2019

Four years after legalized same-sex marriage, greater LGBTQ acceptance

People in Washington, D.C. interviewed this month agreed that acceptance of same sex marriage has been on the rise in the United States in the four years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on the subject.

Brittany Proudfoot-Ginder, 30, an employee at American University, thinks the culture has become more aware and will continue to change toward acceptance in the years to come. Ginder explained opposition is dependent on geographic location and socioeconomic status.

Despite groups who disagree with same sex marriage, Ginder says people feel more comfortable speaking about it and there has been more visibility for the LGBTQ community.

The opposition is “fairly similar to how it’s always been, but now there is more of a community fighting back,” said Ginder, whose sister identifies as lesbian and is getting married later this year.

Ginder spoke passionately about the benefits of marriage, such as filing taxes together, sharing a health insurance plan, and being able to visit them in the hospital.

A May 2019 report from Pew Research Center found the opinions of same sex marriage have remained largely unchanged since 2017. While opposition is slowly declining, it remains a part of the culture in the United States.

Jack Sullivan, 66, sat on a bench on the American University campus on a recent day in June. He believes marriage being held as a constitutional right has only helped create acceptance and education.

“Acceptance provoked the legalization of marriage,” Sullivan said.

Aubrey Amos,16, has seen a lot more about LGBTQ groups on social media, but has also seen opposition more frequently, too.

“They are speaking their minds,” Amos said of those still opposed to same-sex marriage.

Jabriela Calderon, 30, thinks opposition groups have become more verbal and occasionally violent. She attributed this to same sex marriage and the LGBTQ community being normalized after years of marginalization.

“There seems to be more of an understanding towards same sex couples,” Calderon said.

According to a Pew Research report from May 2013, people are more open to same sex marriage after being exposed to someone from the LGBTQ community.

For Tyler Massias, 19, same-sex marriage has meant larger acceptance for others, too, including people of color who identify as transgender. He says that in the four years since that Supreme Court ruling, it has “generated a permissive culture.”

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case Obergefell v. Hodges, “requiring all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Hannah Ruth Wellons, who worked at the American University library, said she believes that the issue now goes beyond marriage. It means that ignorance also is being taken away.

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018

Political divide widens as teenagers ready for first vote in November

A donkey representing the Democratic party stands outside the School of Public Affairs at American University. Photo by Nina Khoshkish.

Metropolitan Washington, D.C. residents said that partisan politics is worse than they can remember, claiming the people are polarized and many are still dealing with the aftermath of the controversial and bitter 2016 Presidential election.

Michael Dahan, 50, who lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is a registered Democrat because of that party’s position regarding protecting the weakest in society, he said in a recent interview.

Dahan disagrees with the current government’s positions on most issues, because he fears that democracy is being “eroded away.”

“I believe the path to an authoritarian government is very short,” Dahan said.

The positive, as Dahan sees it, is his party being “re-energized.”

Another interviewee, Redmond Walsh, 58, also believes that Democrats are “amped up” and said he thinks even Republicans are showing signs of Trump fatigue.

“They got their win in 2016, and now they’re ashamed of what they have,” Walsh said. “They’re ashamed of Trump, so they’re keeping quiet.”

Nonetheless, still the divide between Republicans and Democrats appears to be widening, according to interviews done this week and a Pew Research Center report.

According to a study at Pew Research Center, divides in politics are bigger now than at any point in the last two decades.

Erin Fardshisheh, 34, believes that the divide America is dealing with today is thanks to “the silent majority.”

“I think people still talk politics, but mostly within their own echo chambers,” Fardshisheh said. “And that breeds cultural humiliation. It hardens people and their political views, and it’s precisely how we ended up here.”

This divide is also affecting younger generations and many interviewed this week said they wonder if they’ll be able to bridge the gap.

Joseph Grandison, 20, said he has not been keeping up with politics or watching the news lately.

“I want to enjoy myself,” Grandison said. “Watching today’s news does the opposite for me.”

Many under the age of 25 will stop at nothing to get involved and take matters into their own hands, especially when they have faced real-life violence and social upheaval.

For Ryan Foster, 2018 marks his first eligible election. And the Rhode Island resident said he isn’t going to miss a chance to cast his vote during what many said regardless of party was such a crucial time for the country.

“I’m excited to be able to contribute my part in our country’s political scene,” said Foster, 17. “I hope that a lot of other kids my age feel the same way. I know many who won’t be voting to avoid the controversy, but their votes are what we need to bring back balance.”

Some of these divides are also present within parties as well.

Foster believes that the Democratic party “has some unrest and divide in it, especially with individuals who are registered Democratic but are more Libertarian or centrist.”

“The GOP has lost itself and is now a host body being inhabited by a parasitic organism, something that is not authentic Conservatism. What’s going to happen next is the far left will respond to the parasite by destroying its own left-centrists,” Fardshisheh said. “It’s incredibly important that we do not let that happen.”

With midterms coming up, Fardshisheh believes that the “RESIST” mindset needs to be forgotten, and that those who really want to resist need to “get out, grab four friends and start knocking on doors for the 2018 midterms.”

June 28, 2018June 28, 2018

Are we too connected to our phones? Many say “yes”

Students and faculty at American University discussed this week their phone habits and their thoughts on the implications of that usage with many wondering about addiction in a constantly-connected society.

Victoria Knight, 26, a summer intern on campus, said she uses her phone for alarms, reminders and maps, noting the usage is “embedded” in the way most of us live.

“It is so hard to navigate life without it,” Knight said of her phone.

According to a Baylor University study, 44 percent of Americans said that they couldn’t go a day without their phones. That has led researchers in the last decade to study whether phone addiction is as dangerous as other compulsive behaviors and what the societal implications are.

Every single time we get a notification on our phones, our brains get a hit of dopamine–the feel good neurotransmitter. We are constantly on our phones because our brains crave that good feeling. According to The Dopamine Project, all addictions stem from the brain’s desire for dopamine.

The main attraction to our phones stems from our need to be constantly connected.

Hannah Kim, 19, said that she thinks that society is “going to become more dependent on social media because of how easy it is to connect with people.”

Alongside it being easy, social media is also convenient. We don’t even have to move to talk to our friends and we can stay up to date with family and friends even when we don’t have the time to see them.

Two American University students stare at their phones while out on the campus quad Thursday. Photo by Maya Broadwater.

Although being constantly connected may seem a bit invasive, for some it can be very beneficial.

Kim uses her phone for networking opportunities to find jobs.

John Tam, 21, claimed that being connected can be very helpful, especially during emergencies.

Tam also added that “you have access to the internet, you have access to people, you have access to just the whole entire world in the palm of your hands.” He believes that smart phones have the power to educate the world.

Born in the late 1980s and 1990s, millennials individuals grew up with technology right by their sides. According to an analysis done by the Pew Research Center, older generations aren’t as dependent of their phones because of “unique barriers.” These include physical challenges in manipulating technology and lack of confidence in adapting.

Knight noted that it is harder for millennials to stay off their phones because it has been with them their entire lives.

Though they can’t even begin to imagine their lives without their phones, Kim and Tam admitted that they would be living totally different lives without them. Kim believes she would be more physically active and even went as far to say that she “would feel more personally connected to the world.”

On the other hand, Tam believes that we would all be majorly inconvenienced in a no-phone life.

“Life would be vastly different,” Tam explained. “It would be a lot harder to stay connected. I think we would still find a way to communicate without our phones, but the ease of what we have now wouldn’t be there, that instant connection.”

Phones aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

According to the Pew Research Center, cellphone ownership has risen from 62 percent of Americans in 2002 to 95 percent in 2018.

Due to the changes we have seen so far, we can predict that phone use is going to increase exponentially in the coming years.

When asked how she would resist the urge to become completely embedded into the technological world in coming years, Kim said that she would “try to recognize and focus on what is most important.” She added she hopes her life won’t be centered “around technological use.”

June 27, 2018

For some, campus blue light emergency phones add to sense of security

Passersby shared this week their differing opinions on the relevance of the dozens of blue light emergency phones around the American University campus.

Nearly five dozen of the emergency phones dot the campus in Northwest Washington, D.C., according to Chelsey Rawles, 24, a dispatcher at the American University Public Safety office.

Known as “Talk-a-Phones” to campus safety, they are equipped with a GPS location that shows exactly where the caller is on campus to ensure a quick response, according to Rawles.

Candra Reeves, 30, who said she attended the University of Georgia, recalled that campus had the emergency phones, but they’ve since been removed, according to the University of Georgia police department’s website. As of April 2014, they had been removed and the police department on the Athens, Georgia campus cited the growing ubiquity of mobile phones that could be used as an alternative to the emergency phone boxes.

Reeves gets that logic.

“If I’m in danger, that’s not my first thought, to find a blue phone,” Reeves said. Instead she said she thinks to find her cell phone.

But, others disagreed, arguing that Talk-a-Phones may still provide important safety measures.

Rawles estimates that the office receives calls from the Talk-a-Phones no more than a couple of times a month. Rawles was uncertain if there was ever an explanation about the Talk-a-Phones and how to use them, but thought it probable that the phones were explained at an orientation of some sort.

When asked if Rawles thought the Talk-a-Phones made American’s campus safer despite the low frequency of calls, her response was immediate. Rawles was extremely supportive of the Talk-a-Phones, referencing their GPS feature as an important part of the safety they ensured.

“I think they make it safer because it shows exact location,” Rawles said.

The GPS feature on the Talk-a-Phones helps security or police who respond to the call locate the person quickly. Rawles said that it takes only a few minutes at most for a security member to reach the position of the Talk-a-Phone being used.

Kenneth Ferguson, 47, attended Clark University and worked as a student security officer.

Ferguson agreed with Rawles that the Talk-a-Phones are still helpful to ensure safety on college campuses. According to Ferguson, Clark University also had a similar security measure. However, at the time of his attendance, the phones were red instead of blue.

Ferguson recalled that the emergency phones at Clark also provided students with an escort to their destination. When people at Clark used the phones, it was most often to call for a ride rather than to call for help due to a threat, he remembered.

While Ferguson had never used a phone himself, he was adamant about the Talk-a-Phone’s importance.

“It’s always better to have something and not use it, than not have something,” Ferguson said.

June 26, 2018

Social media can influence self esteem

Students shared on Wednesday their views on social media and its effects on mental health and self esteem at American University in Washington, D.C., with many saying they see the negative effects but refuse to give up their phone.

It is very unlikely to find a millennial who isn’t glued to their cell phone, scanning their screen. Social media is used by many millennials in order to stay updated, develop a voice, or create content, and research shows that it can have both positive effects and negative ramifications.

However, many students feel that the advanced network causes their self esteem to take a hit, even though it can help them stay connected to friends and family who may be far away.

Many students studying or working at American University this summer expressed their thoughts on how social media affects their confidence.

Justine Coleman, 20, is like many others interviewed who said they compare themselves to others on social media platforms.

“Sometimes it can get a little in your head,” said Coleman, a journalism and mass communications student at George Washington University. “People just put out the happiest versions of themselves.”

According to the National Psychologist, around 81 percent of the U.S. population has at least one social media account.

Using social media is a part of many peoples’ daily routines.

Hannah Kim, 19, a film and media arts major, said that she uses it “really often, almost maybe every hour of the day. Just to check.”

Kim added that “a lot of the younger kids now are growing up a bit too fast and they’re taking inspiration from social media.”

As teenagers develop and undergo changes, they may feel insecure as they observe their friends or celebrities on social media.

“That’s all they’ve grown up with,” Coleman said.

Social media has advanced with Generation Z as they age which affects their mindset. It’s difficult for the younger generation to separate reality from idealism.

“They have grown up with social media, so it’s always been embedded in the culture,” Amanda Luthy, 21, a film and media arts major commented.

However, many of the students overcome the feeling of being pressured.

“There’s a whole team of people behind them producing this content,” Luthy stated on the topic of social media influencers. “It’s not always genuinely that person them self.”

Many students also express how common it is to have a social media cleanse. “Taking some time out is a good way to cope with it,” Coleman said.

June 25, 2018June 27, 2018

Bike share views mixed as Metro renovations go on

Washington, D.C residents and workers reacted to bike shares and other mass transportation options this month as the WMATA’s billion-dollar repair and renovation work continues.

Derrick Jefferson, 45, originally from California and works as a librarian at American University, has lived in the district for 5 years. He says that he is a “big advocate for public transportation,” and he likes the different types of transportation options in the district, although he feels it could be better implemented.

Lailah Johnson, 18, from Washington D.C., believes that the dock-less bikes are efficient because “you don’t have to walk to a dock station, which may not be close to where you live, to get a bike.”

She says that the dock-less bikes are “cool” because you can just locate the closest one through an app. She never felt like they were in the way. She likes the fact that “you don’t ever have to buy it, you can just rent it for not as much money.”

Without the bikes or the metro she wont have a way to get around.

A woman takes the Metro at the Tenleytown station on Monday, June 25. Photo by Nia Cain.

Madison Childs, 17, from Washington, D.C., thinks that the dock-less bikes are “a waste of money,” she says they are good for the environment but she wouldn’t recommend them to a friend.

She doesn’t think the bikes are in the way and said they are a “cleaner way of transportation and a great way to get exercise, which is needed in America.” She prefers walking.

Liliana King, 22, recently graduated from American University and says she relies on the Metro. If her train line was closed she wouldn’t really know how to get around.

Reginald Dickens, 17, believes that the dock-less bikes are a good alternative for people if their Metro line was shut down due to repairs.

But he personally thinks that the bikes are inconvenient because, “If the bikes are not in your neighborhood you’re out of luck.”