Memo to Wile E. Coyote: Violence Won’t Make Kids Like You

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Here’s a conclusion that may surprise you about as much as one of the anvils that Jerry the mouse manages to drop on Tom the cat’s head from time to time: Kids don’t miss violence when it doesn’t appear in their favorite cartoons; what they’re really looking for is action. That’s the verdict of a study by professors at four universities whose finding’s have been published in the journal Media Psychology. Assistant Telecommunications Professor Andrew J. Weaver of Indiana University and his colleagues were testing the reason that producers and programmers often give for including violence in kid’s cartoons —  that children want to see it. "Violence isn't the attractive component in these cartoons which producers seem to think it is,” Weaver said. “It's more other things that are often associated with the violence.

May 27, 2011

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This Week's Stories:

In Tennessee, If You Can't Say Gay, Try George Takei
http://bit.ly/ioiSde

Is Ronald McDonald a "Deep Fried Joe Camel" or Just Plain Creepy? http://bit.ly/jxzbuS

Delinquency Prevention is Latest Area to Face Big Cuts
http://bit.ly/kQ2Usd

ID Theft Tied to Foster Care System

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Imagine getting bills for services you didn’t get when still a teen — and then finding out when you’re 18 that your credit rating is already shot. This Rhode Island TV station found three kids who went through that brand of identity theft. They shared two other things in common: All went through Rhode Island’s foster care system, and all believe the identity thief was a family member or close friend. The station says a congressmen, Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., plans to introduce legislation in Congress designed to protect potential victims of such crimes. You’ll find more on WPRI’s investigation here.

Sonya Ziaja: Death-in-Prison Sentences Constitutional in Wisconsin, at Least for Now

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The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has just ruled that it's constitutional to sentence juveniles to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for intentional homicide. The defendant in that case, Omer Ninham, was 14 years old when he was charged with killing a 13-year-old boy. The case will very likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court hasn't yet decided whether sentencing a juvenile to “death in prison” is cruel and unusual punishment. It has, however, indicated that how we sentence juveniles has to be different from how we sentence adults.

Juvenile Justice Expert David Schmidt Discusses Juvenile Life Without Parole

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Are sentences of life without parole for juveniles a death sentence? David Schmidt thinks so. See the short version just below. For more information on topics on like why a kid convicted of triple murder should still be released by the age of 21 see the full interview at the bottom of this page. Here are the time splits for the important topics Schmidt covers in the longer version below:

Life without parole - 00:33
Judge still could give 150 years - 1:20
Are we tough enough on kids - 1:38
There are dangerous young people - 2:03
Consider the individuals - 2:20
The New Mexico model and a triple murder - 3:00
Life without parole is a death sentence - 5:00
2,500 kids in jail without parole in 27 states - 5:50
Supreme Court acted cowardly - 7:05
Judge's and prosecutor's power - 8:00

Jajuana Calloway On Losing Her 14-Year-Old to a 30-Year Prison Sentence

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At the age of 14 my son was sentenced to 30-years in prison without the possibility of parole. My boy, Christopher, was convicted and sentenced under a set of laws passed by the Georgia Legislature in 1994. This package of misguided legislation popularly known as “the Seven Deadly Sins,” was an effort to lock up juveniles without any meaningful opportunity for rehabilitation and without any possibility of parole. He is not, I’ll make clear, an innocent victim. We are responsible for our own actions.

Georgia Senate to Confront Fallout Over Court Ruling on Charter Schools

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Georgia lawmakers who backed an ill-fated effort to skirt local school systems in setting up charter schools now are faced with a daunting task. Last week, the state Supreme Court ruled the setup unconstitutional because it diverted local school money to fund schools overseen by a state commission. Legislators already have promised to press for a constitutional amendment that would work around the high court ruling. But there are too many hoops to pass such an amendment before the 2011-12 academic year begins. So those same lawmakers are now faced with a more pressing challenge: Finding room in other schools for students who were enrolled in the eight existing “commission” charter schools that will now be closed, along with students who were set to attend eight new schools this fall.

Award Winner Joe Vignati on Juvenile Justice in Georgia

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Center for Sustainable Journalism Executive Director Leonard Witt caught up with Joe Vignati of the Georgia Governor’s Office on Children and Families at the Coalition on Juvenile Justice 2011 spring conference.  Vignati was awarded the Tony Gobar Outstanding Juvenile Justice Specialist Award.  In this video interview Vignati provides insights for policy makers and legislators.  

 

 

 

Anti-Bullying Programs Pushed Aside by Federal Budget Woes

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On March 10, President Obama turned up the spotlight on school bullying. For a couple of years, a handful of high-profile tragedies — often having to do with the rising problem of students picking on other students via social media — had brought unprecedented attention to the issue. Now, the White House was holding its first ever “Conference on Bullying Prevention.” And the president and the First Lady welcomed an audience of parents, educators, advocates and government officials by expressing how seriously they took the issue -- both as leaders and as parents. “We’ve got to make sure our young people know that if they’re in trouble, there are caring adults who can help and young adults that can help,that even if they’re having a tough time, they’re going to get through it, and there’s a whole world full of possibility waiting for them,” Obama said. “We also have to make sure we’re doing everything we can so that no child is in that position in the first place.”

Here’s the irony: At the same time that educators, parents and politicians decry bullying and other school violence, the Obama administration has presided over the elimination of all funding for the chief federal program designed to prevent school violence — a program that had been the backbone for anti-school-violence efforts across the country.

Two Teens Charged With Hate Crimes in McDonald’s Transgender Beating

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A Maryland grand jury has handed down hate-crime charges in the beating of a transgender woman at a McDonald’s outside Baltimore. The April 24 incident has gotten national attention, in part because an employee shot a video of the incident and posted it online. From the Associated Press: 

Teonna Brown, 18, was indicted Monday on assault and hate crime charges in the attack on Chrissy Lee Polis at the restaurant last month. She is also charged with assaulting a customer and a McDonald’s employee who tried to intervene. A 14-year-old girl is facing the same charges in juvenile court.