By SARAH WHEATON

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 18, 2001

Kids who protested during President Bush's recent visit say they have a right to put their concerns about environment and government into action.

Yet President George W. Bush's rally at Legends Field in Tampa recently brought out exceptions to that stereotype of the ignorant postmodern kid.

[Times photo: Stefanie Boyar]

President George W. Bush speaks at Legends Field in Tampa this month.

One such exception is Dylan Ripoll, who will be a fifth-grader at Mendenhall Elementary School in Tampa. He attended with his family to protest Bush's policies, particularly the plan to drill for oil off the Florida coast, which Dylan said will "mess up our oceans" and be "one more thing that makes the world worse." He stood holding a sign expressing this view with about two hundred other protesters on Dale Mabry a few blocks away from the field where the president would address his supporters. The afternoon heat was sweltering, a reminder to Dylan of the possibilities for solar power, his favored solution to the energy crisis.

Dylan said he has been following politics for more than half of his 10 years. Although he conceded "most kids think it's boring and a waste of time," Dylan, who is already considering a career in government, said activism is "a good way they can learn what it's going to be like when they become adults."

The way today's leaders deal with the energy crisis definitely will affect us when Dylan's turn comes to lead. One possible consequence of drilling in areas such as Florida and Alaska could be the destruction of those environments. But if that drilling does not occur, power will have to come from somewhere else or we will be faced with a shortage.

[Photo: Courtesy of Susan Pendergraft]

Savanna Pendergraft, 26 months, of Largo has a snack in the protest zone set up during President Bush’s rally in Tampa. She was there with her mom, Susan Pendergraft.

"We need to be active in order to preserve our futures and our children's futures. And even if we can't vote, we can make our views known in other ways, like protests," said 17-year-old Sarah Skowronski of Palm Harbor, who also demonstrated that day.

Sarah, who recently completed her junior year in the International Baccalaureate program at Palm Harbor University High School and will be attending New College in Sarasota next year through early admission, has been following politics since she was in middle school. Yet she decided to become active only recently after hearing Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader speak in St. Petersburg during the last election. His discussion about civic participation "inspired me to become active, rather than just expecting someone else to fix political and social problems for me," she said.

Motorists driving past the designated First Amendment Zone that afternoon might also have spotted brothers Michael Cusato, 8, Jahid Hameed, 7, and Haleem Hameed, 5, holding up signs. They came with their parents, Brad Ohmit and Praise Pantell, and family friend Chris D'Angelo to protest against a local issue. The family lives in public housing on N Boulevard in Tampa. Their home is slated for destruction to make way for construction that will help the city's bid for the 2012 Olympics.

[Photo: AP]

Expressing political opinions is not only the realm of the baby boom generation. These young protesters take a stand against the World Trade Organization, meeting in Seattle in 1999.

D'Angelo thinks the offshore drilling issue parallels the situation of her friends. "Destroying the environment to make a profit is immoral," she said. Similarly, she explained, it would be immoral for the government to destroy people's homes for the potential financial gain of the Olympics. For this family, the protest is not merely an expression of abstract ideology; rather, it represents their struggle against impending reality.

Sarah suggested that fear prevents some young people from getting involved. Some are "afraid that our parents might get angry, afraid that we just aren't mature enough to know anything about politics, afraid that we won't really make a difference in the world."

Yet Sandra Wood, an eighth-grade teacher who is moving to Georgia, thinks students are mature enough to understand issues affecting government and society. She plans in her new classes to have regular discussion and debate. Although she, too, was at the protest because she disagrees with Bush's policies, she explained that she "does not want to direct" anyone about what to think. She wants a forum that would "allow for students to make their own decisions."

Youth activism at the dawn of the new millennium might not be as widespread as it was in the 1960s and '70s, but indifference does not characterize every child today. Sarah encourages others to voice their opinions. "We need to stop listening to the cynics and the apathetic bystanders, and start acting on our political instincts."

-- Sarah Wheaton, 17, will be a senior in the International Baccalaureate program at Palm Harbor University High School.

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