In the 1770s, American colonists rebelled against the British because they were being taxed without representation. After the Civil War, Abolitionists crafted the Equal Protection Clause because the Constitution was not being applied to all Americans equally. In the 1960s, young people pushed for the 26th Amendment, which set the voting age at 18, because … Read more
In the 2018 midterm elections, Badger State Republicans lost every race for statewide office, but still carried the legislature in a landslide, winning 63 of 99 seats in the State Assembly and 11 of 17 seats in the State Senate. This was not the first time Republicans had won large statehouse majorities without winning the … Read more
On Friday, March 15, over 1.4 million high school students in more than 300 cities around the world took to the streets to demand serious climate action from their representatives. With the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the National Climate Assessment forecasting disastrous effects of climate change in the next … Read more
In an unprecedented move that would shock millions and capture national media attention, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) joined a sit-in at Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on November 13, 2018 alongside Sunrise Movement, a new environmental group led by young people who are working to make climate change a national priority. Their call: the formation of … Read more
Each year, more than 65,000 Americans commit to a service year, which they spend working full-time as a volunteer. Individuals of all ages are teaching in urban schools, responding to natural disasters, and fighting food insecurity. Some serve in their hometowns; others travel across the country. But if asked about Americorps, the most popular service … Read more
On November 6, 2016, political newcomer Jahana Hayes approached a podium in the Waterbury Marriott in New Haven County, Connecticut. Hayes, a former National Teacher of the Year, announced that she had received a phone call from her opponent in the race to be the next representative for Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District. He had conceded, … Read more
As of January 16, 2019, Edwin Chindongo is three years sober. If asked a few years earlier whether he would be able to follow a path to recovery, Chindongo might have said no. “I thought if I die, I die,” Chindongo told the HPR. That was before Chindongo met Dr. Avik Chatterjee, a physician at … Read more
Plastic is everywhere: From cutlery and packaging to clothing and electronics, some 9.2 billion tons of plastic have been produced in the past 70 years. Whether these plastics are single-use or longer-lived, many ultimately become environmental pollutants. When plastics are improperly discarded, they can find their way into waterways such as rivers. From there, plastic … Read more
In June 2011, Mercy for Animals released footage taken by undercover activists depicting the bloody debeaking of poultry and gross confinement of breeding sows on factory farms, animal cruelties that are standard practices in the animal agriculture industry. Fearing damage to its nearly $5.7 billion pork industry, Iowa was swift to act. The following spring, … Read more
The activation of the youth vote was a defining feature of the 2018 midterm elections. It was discussed and debated at length in the months leading up to the elections because of the sheer size of the youth population eligible to vote. The elections confirmed the voting power of this generation, as voter turnout rates … Read more