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Youth Agents of Change (Y.A.C.)

Goal of This Page

The goal of this page is to spread news about youth who shake things up or make a difference in the world or school. It's also to find things that happen in this school worth talking about and find things that need to change for the good of the students. ~ Mario, Student Web Editor

Students WANT a REAL voice in things that matter to them. It's also said we don't "... shed constitutional rights... at the schoolhouse gate.” 10 Here are a few TOP student concerns...

Equitable Student Parking- Skateboard Racks

Freedom of Expression- Wearing Plaid Shirts as Jackets

NO BULLYING-- by Everyone on campus, inc. the adults.

Adequate access to more than just a few, clean bathrooms with soap, towels and toilet paper.

EQUAL RIGHTS- Skateboarder Rights

There's been a long standing campus debate on whether to install skateboard racks or not. Why are skateboarders denied the right of a rack while people who ride bikes get a bike rack? Worse, students that CARRY their boards on campus get detention, after legally skating to school. Does that sound fair to you? Well it doesn't sound fair to many, including me. ~Mario

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION- Wearing Flannel as Jackets

Supposedly, we're a poor school that qualifies for extra federal money. If so, why can't students wear flannels, which are a teenage wardrobe staple as a jacket, that would not cover their uniform logo?

WALK THE TALK

Yeah. We all have moments of getting angry or disrespectful at times, or sneaking use of contraband items. Students get detention, or worse. What about for campus adults? Should classrooms be free from personal cell phone use & eating for all (unless a party situation)?

HYGIENE

Our recent worldwide virus threat has put a big emphasis on cleanliness practices. What do we need to change at WMS to ensure low risk of disease spread? After all, 19 former students in 1942 were infected with Typhoid Fever from "poor sanitation practices". Click here for details.

TRIGGERING CHANGE

While there have been many students trying to gain a rack for skateboarders, one current student has done extensive work in looking at what OTHER schools have offered to their students. Clink here (pending), to learn more about her efforts and findings!

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION- Flannels

One former student, who was from Scottland, officially started the WMS campus campaign to "free plaid and flannels from WMS's naughty list"! Is it time to let students wear them as jackets? Click here (pending) to see her findings.

MODEL BY EXAMPLE

We all should walk the talk. Here are tudent comments & observations about this topic.

SANITATION MATTERS

Student comments and suggestioins about WMS campus cleanliness practices and access. (pending)

Amazing TEENS Making a Difference in Our World!

TIME Magazine's Person of the Year

That's right ladies and gentlemen, Swedish Greta Thunberg is Time's person of the year, someone who is not much older than me or you. It's great that someone so young has earned this.

Photo credit: EVGENIA ARBUGAEVA

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai, also known mononymously as Malala, is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She received the award in 2014.

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Ryan Hreljac

Ryan was 10 years old when he made Ryan's Well Foundation which allowed over 800,000 in 16 countries to receive drinkable water. This foundation also teaches children about how clean water is not accessible for people in poor areas. He also had a penpal in Africa named Jimmy Akana who he visited in Uganda before Jimmy was kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) but he escaped and was adopted by Ryan's parents.

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Kyle Giersdorf "Bugha"

US gamer Kyle Giersdorf, alias "Bugha," became the first Fortnite World Cup solo champion on Sunday, winning $3 million at the age of 16. "It's insane," Giersdorf said after winning by nearly double the points of his closest rival.

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Nicholas Lowinger

Nicholas is the owner of the organization called, Gotta Have Sole. This organization donated about 99,000 shoes to homeless children shelters when he was only 17 years old.

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Wolf Cukier

As a high school junior, Wolf spent his summer vacation scanning the skies and evenutally, helped discover a planet!

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Bana Ablabed

At the 2018 Academy Awards ceremony, Common and Andra Day performed their Oscar-Nominated song “Stand Up For Something” with a group of activists behind them. The youngest was 8-year-old Bana Alabed, a Syrian refugee who took to Twitter to broadcast the nightmarish experience of living in Aleppo during the siege, airstrikes, and hunger. Her family was eventually able to escape to Turkey, but her experiences stuck with her and led her to write a book, Dear World: A Syrian Girl’s Story of War and Plea for Peace, published in October 2019.

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Easton LaChappelle

At the age of 14 Easton made an robotic hand out of legos and fishing wire. This invention gave him the idea to make more affordable prosthetic arms and hands that brought the price from $80,000 to $350

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Marley Dias

Remember the viral book donation campaign #1000BlackGirlBook she made that campaign when she was in sixth grade.

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Shane "Epikwahle" Cotton

Shane "Epikwhale" Cotton, a 16-year-old from Redondo Beach, California, finished third in the singles competition and won $1.2 million by playing Fortnite.

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Ryan Hickman

At 7, Ryan started Ryan’s Recycling. What started out as collecting cans and bottles from his neighbors as recycling has risen to over 50 customers and over 200,000 bottles and cans."It's because bottles get to the ocean and then animals get sick and die," he told CNN.

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Jack Andraka

As a high school student, Andraka made a major contribution to the health community by inventing a type of sensor that could detect early signs of pancreatic and other forms of cancer. The prototype won him a $75,000 prize in Intel's Science Fair.

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Jahkil Jackson

After 9-year-old Jahkil helped his aunt distribute food at a local homeless shelter in his hometown Chicago, he decided to do more to help his community. This is how Project Am I was founded. He distributes "Blessing Bags" full of snacks, toiletries, a towel, and socks to people experiencing homelessness. Over 3,000 Blessing Bags have been given out in Chicago communities.

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