Youths Lack a Vote, but Getting Others to Polls is Uplifting

Herald News
By HEATHER APPEL

They don’t have the vote yet, but that didn’t stop some 200 local youths from getting the word out about Tuesday’s elections.

Students from several high schools and youth councils joined forces Saturday morning for a rally at Paterson City Hall, then split up to distribute palm-sized leaflets urging people to vote.

The teens wore orange T-shirts that said, “Vote for me — because I can’t!” They carried signs with similar messages.

“A lot of people like to complain about how things should be changed,” said Jonathan Caraballo, 16, a student at Garret Morgan Academy. “But at the same time, they’re not changing anything if they don’t vote.”

Caraballo was stationed all morning near the Great Falls, where he ran up to cars stopped at a red light to hand out leaflets outlining several issues important to young people, such as student loans, better community jobs and restoring Hinchfliffe Stadium so it can be used for high school sports, concerts and events. The handouts declared: “Please think about the YOUTH of Paterson when you vote on Tuesday.”

The list of issues came out of a meeting two weeks ago of members of several organizations, including the Paterson Youth Council, Youth Build and the Great Falls Teen Center, all of which are part of the New Jersey Community Development Corp. Students from the Panther Academy and Teen Links, which is affiliated with Planned Parenthood, also took part.

Jose Ojeda, 20, is part of Youth Build, which helps unemployed people ages 18 to 24 earn their GEDs and learn the construction trade. He can’t register to vote because of a felony conviction, he said, so it’s important to him that people who can vote exercise their rights.

While the voter outreach was non-partisan, many students privately expressed their support for Sen. Barack Obama for president.

“I believe we do need Obama,” said Ojeda, “He’s trying to do the same thing as Kennedy.” He believes Obama would improve education, expand youth programs and bring down food prices, he said.

Paterson Board of Education member Theodore “T.J.” Best Jr., who directs the Great Falls Teen Center, was one of the elected officials who attended the youth rally at City Hall, along with council members Jeffrey Jones and Vera Ames-Garnes.

Best said the event made a big impression on the teenagers, and the people they met in downtown Paterson were impressed to see so many youngsters — some 200 — volunteering. They would have had an even bigger turnout, except that the SAT’s were scheduled for the same day.

“A lot of them are 16 or 17, so they’ll be voting next year,” Best said. “I really think we engaged them in the process early, and as soon as they’re 18, I’m sure they’re going to register.”

Students said they drew energy from pedestrians and drivers who passed by. Many honked their horns in support. At one point, several Youth Build students began drumming on mailboxes on Main Street, while others chanted “Vote! Vote! Vote!”

Porsha Sims, 17, spoke at the rally, encouraging people to think about her generation when they go out and vote. She was nervous about public speaking, she said, but felt it was a worthy cause.

“It’s important for adults to go out and vote to make the community and environment better,” Sims said.