NYC Students Take a Stand on Social Issues

NEW YORK, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Does the death penalty violate the eighth amendment? Is marriage for same-sex couples a civil rights issue? Do gun control laws violate a person's Constitutional right to own a gun? Next week—as part of Teaching Matters' citywide Voices and Choices culminating events—hundreds of middle school students will convene at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum and Pace University to take a stand and voice their opinions on these questions and many more.

The week begins with a Civil Rights Student Summit at Pace University on Monday, May 16 at 9:00 AM. Eighth-grade students from middle schools across the city will present Citizen Media Campaigns drawing attention to today's most pressing civil rights issues including environmental injustices, gay marriage and racial profiling. Students will then present their campaigns to a panel of NYC community activists and representatives from Sustainable Flatbush, African Refuge, Do Something, the law firm Proskauer Rose, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Center at New York University. New York City Council Speaker, Christine C. Quinn, will be the keynote speaker.

On Thursday, May 19, at 9:00 AM, over 200 seventh-grade students will gather at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum for the Voices and Choices: Constitution Today Town Hall meeting. Student groups will present persuasive arguments and multimedia presentations on a range of Constitutional issues including the Death Penalty, Student Searches, and Immigration and Citizenship. Guest panelists include former DOE teacher and lawyer, Charles Saperstein, Deputy Director of the New York City Council, Scott Crowley, and lawyer Sidney Baumgarten. Michael Best, General Counsel to NYC School Chancellor Dennis Walcott, will be the guest speaker.

Voices and Choices: Civil Rights is a six-week instructional unit designed to empower students with media literacy skills and offer them a wider set of perspectives on issues and events that have shaped the struggle for civil rights in the US. Voices and Choices: Constitution Today is a six-week instructional unit that introduces seventh-grade students to civic responsibility through an exploration of the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and issues of importance to New Yorkers and the rest of the nation.

For more information please contact:
Emily Durkin
Program Coordinator
Teaching Matters
[email protected]
(212) 870-3505

SOURCE Teaching Matters