CDNOW

You've Got to Fight
For your Rights!

Josh Gilbert, 18, is the president and co-founder of Canadian Youth Rights Association(CYRA). CYRA is run by a volunteer board of directors and they have been actively promoting youth rights for about a year. They publicize mainly through their site (www.cyra.org), the Internet and by going to schools and youth fairs. Here is his story as told to Mel T.

What inspired you to start CYRA?
Over the years, I developed a strong disliking of school. I hated the fascist authority structure, and I hated how learning was targeted towards the group rather than the individual. By the time I was 14, I was cutting school almost every day.

At the same time, I started a web design company with a business partner. My partner left after a short while, and I became the sole owner. At that point, I decided to quit school. I started off working in IS (Information Services) for the government.

I had to struggle along the way, not just against competitors and myself, but also against the system and people's attitudes. Who really trusts a fourteen-year old? And, if they did trust him/her, how much would most people expect to pay a fourteen-year old? I had to build a reputation twice as good as those older than me to get much less pay. There was also the problem of not being able to sign contracts.

Then there was the discrimination I faced working for the government (when they found out my age, they let me go, which was easy for them to do since I was only a temp). And, when I wanted to incorporate for income tax and other advantages, I was faced with the law that that only those over 18 can form corporations. Most frustrating of all, I paid income taxes, but I couldn't vote among other things.

I found a bunch of people on the Internet who were experiencing similar injustices. The group was called Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions (ASFAR). I volunteered as press secretary for ASFAR, and I eventually became President. The only problem was that despite being open to members globally, ASFAR focused on American issues. So, I quit ASFAR and started the Canadian Youth Rights Association (CYRA, pronounced see-ra).

I founded CYRA in 1997 when I was 16, with two other people, both of them in their late twenties. We had to incorporate in Idaho, where there is no age restrictions on those who can incorporate. We fight things like the voting age, government curfews, ageism, and oppressive schools.

Tell me a bit about your personal life.
I'm still living at home. I work full-time in a large corporate MIS (Management of Information Services) department as an Internet Systems Administrator. I closed down my business about a year ago, when I was 17. It's not that it wasn't good for me, but I wanted to move into something more secure financially.

I like computers (obviously), hockey, listening to music, reading, and writing.

I don't know if I have any heroes, but just off-hand, people I look up to include Martin Luther King Jr., Nadine Strossen (President of the American Civil Liberties Union), and people who are willing to fight for their rights when necessary, like Subcommandante Marcos of the Zapatistas.

What do you think is the most important issue facing teens today?

That's a pretty loaded question, and therefore a little hard to answer. I think there are a lot of important issues facing teens today, and I'd hesitate to put any one of them ahead of the others. Personally, the general empowerment of youth is my most important goal. In other words, it's whatever you want it to be.

Why is it important for every teen to be concerned with his/her rights?

I think it's important for anyone and everyone to be concerned with your rights. Because if you don't know them, defend them, and fight for them, then there's always someone out there willing to trample on them, whether it's government or a private individual. It's especially important for teens, because we are a historically disadvantaged minority. We live in the highest poverty of any age-bracket, we have always had less rights, and since it's no longer politically correct to blame blacks, politicians are now turning us into the scapegoats. If you aren't concerned about your rights today, then tomorrow you might just find that you don't have any.

What was the Supreme Court decision to allow teachers to search students about and how CYRA was involved?

The Supreme Court basically ruled that students in public schools aren't subject to the same rules for being searched as people off of school property. Teachers and school officials, even if they're acting on behalf of the police, are allowed to search you on school property as long as it is "reasonable" to suspect you of having broken a school rule or committed a crime and it's "reasonable" to believe that they'll find something by searching you. That's different than the standard that applies to searches outside of school, which is that they need "probable cause" and a warrant signed by a judge, unless someone's in danger.

CYRA was against the decision, because it creates a double standard which wouldn't be tolerated of any other age group. And the defendant didn't get a fair trial, in my opinion. He had a really bad legal aid lawyer who didn't seem all that interested in the case. They even missed a principle argument, which is that he was facing age-based discrimination, which is prohibited by our constitution.

Mostly we were involved in getting the public awareness of what the decision meant and the downsides to it. That was done through the media. I sent out a press release via a newswire, did a bunch of interviews, and wrote letters to the editor.

How is CYRA financed?

Through myself and our members.

Do you think that there is a difference between the rights that male and female teenagers have in Canada?

Well, I'm not sure if there's a difference between the rights of female and male teenagers in specific, but I do believe there's a difference between the rights of females and males in general. Despite the advances we've made in this century, women are still slightly disadvantaged. The difference isn't so much in the law as it is in society. Women are the victims of violence more often, they're more likely to be discriminated against in the workplace (pay equity still isn't a reality), etc.

If yes, what should be done about this?

I'm not sure you want me to get into the details of my quasi-feminist opinions, but, essentially, I believe that by working to empower women and educating men, we can change things. I don't believe that we need to make further changes in the law; there's already as much equality as possible. The changes need to be in people's attitudes.

what can the average teen do to get involved in their communities/ make themselves more politically involved?

One way that's a very interesting way to get involved in both community and politics at the same time is to start a Youth City Council or a Youth Committee for your town or city. It's essentially a group of youth who deal with youth-related issues for your city. Have a youth "loitering" problem? Well, then your youth city council or committee would be ideal to deal with the issue (or decide that "loitering" isn't a problem at all). You can start off by talking to your city councillor and trying to start a dialogue about it. You can make a presentation and present it in front of the entire city council. It's important that you present good reasons for forming the youth city council or committee and that you present a good mandate (what the committee or city council is authorized/assigned to do).

Another good way to get involved in politics is to volunteer for an election candidate. In the last federal and provincial elections, I volunteered for two separate candidates and two separate parties, because I support two different parties federally and provincially. It's always to campaign, whether alone, or even better, with the candidate themselves. You can also join the party (if you're old enough), or the youth party, and get involved with your local riding association. That way you'll be able to get involved even before an election is called. And if you have an interest in running yourself, the riding association is the place to start (that's where they choose candidates from).