Dallas Tea Party-July 4, 2009

There’s been a HUGE tea party (remember April 15?) sheduled for July 4, 2009 at South Fork Ranch near Dallas. This will include nationally-recognized speakers and a 21-minute fireworks display!

More info can be found at dallasteaparty.org.

I hope to be in attendance, because it looks to be quite the party! I’ll update with more info as I get it.

New Email Address

I’ve changed my personal email to KevinSCrouch@gmail.com.

The old Intellicast414@sbcglobal.net will no longer be used.

Thanks

WISD: Practicing Safety, Lacking Security

The following is a column written for the Waxahachie Daily Light:

Last Friday, May 22^nd, a “Disaster Operations Drill” was conducted at Waxahachie High School, to test the preparedness of the school district and the community in the event of a major disaster, including lock down, evacuation, and triage exercises. The French Club, myself included, took a trip to La Madeleine restaurant in Arlington during the drill. The group left Arlington at 1 p.m., and on the way home, students began getting messages about cars being “tagged” (the windows written on with shoe polish) in the student parking lot. When we arrived at the high school at approximately 2 p.m., we found the claims were true, and several cars were tagged with the phrase “SR. 09″, standing for “Senior 2009″. At first you would think it was seniors taking on underclassmen, but that had already occurred earlier in the year, so it’s believed to be an underclassman counter-prank.

Now, I’m not a fan of my truck being tagged, but aside from the frustration and thought behind possible perpetrators, I began to think about the order of events, and the nature of the day, which didn’t register well in my mind once everything came together. I arrived at the school that morning less than ten minutes before classes began. I saw no signs of anyone targeting cars with shoe polish. The French Club left about 45 minutes later, and the disaster drill was only an hour away. I think back and come to the conclusion that the tagging could not have taken place before or during the drill, so it must have been after, between about 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. This is the prime of the school day, when most students are in class. This was also on the same day as a major disaster drill, when security at Waxahachie High School was probably at its strongest. This lead to the following question: Who is patrolling the parking lot, and is it safe at all if students can play pranks and be unsupervised during the middle of a disaster drill day, let alone the average school day?

I’m a student at the high school, and I can tell you that not only does it seem like that parking lot is wide open when it comes to live human surveillance, but students brag time and time again about how they were able to get away during lunch to eat off campus, when very rarely does it sound like they had to sneak away. I really worry about our security, or lack thereof, is lax enough to allow this to happen. All through the year teachers and administrators talk about the consequences of such conduct, and students just talk about how they get away with it more and more. This shows an obvious lack of action on the school district’s part, which could lead to a major breach in security, resulting in theft, or, God forbid, injury or death of one or multiple student(s). The district must rethink its security, and strongly improve if it wants to ensure a safe environment for students. After all, parents are trusting the district with their children, something not easily done in a world of violence and tragedy, where we hear more and more about school shootings and bombings, with Columbine being a name we too often remember.

As a student, I want to be sure my property and my life are safe and secure. I want to be in an environment where I’m being looked out for while I learn and work. As a former school board candidate who has learned more and more about this district, I’m disappointed to see this revelation. Those perspectives combined forbid me to stay silent about this issue, knowing that doing so could lead to a tragic event, one we so easily could and should have avoided had someone spoken up. There are many things I’d like to see changed or improved, with fiscal responsibility usually being the issue of most concern to me. Yet after today, the safety and security of the students has taken top priority. I’m not leaving these issues because I lost the 2009 election, but I’m using the experience and information I learned to continue to stand for what is best in this school district, and, with students being the soul cause for school districts to function, their safety is the first issue to make sound, and WISD could use some major improvement in this crucial area.

Alright, Let’s Do Something!

Time and time again, I hear about how youth are being blamed for more and more of this country’s setbacks. Just this morning, in a news report on congressional responses to credit card companies, FOX 4 anchor Tim Ryan explained that young Americans are among the top groups targeted by credit companies, and in response it was going to become harder for youth to obtain credit cards. Sounds like we’re the ones being punished. I also was very frustrated to see that the City of Dallas created a daytime curfew for youth, and even more angry to hear a woman say on a news report that she wanted it to go through the Summer.

Here is the truth. The American youth are not to blame for the setbacks of this country, this state, or its cities, and just because the majority of youth are too young to vote, does not mean that officials should put the blame on them. More and more regulations are being placed on teens, and more and more they sound like something out of 1984 or 1930’s Germany.

In all honesty, “We, the People” knows no age, just as it knows no race, no sex, and no national origin. We are not savages to be controlled, and we are not a group waiting to plot our next attack on society. We do not need to be treated as if we are all a threat to the nation, as we are, I remind you, the very future of it.

So, youth of America, let’s get together. Let’s show this country we productive members of society, and prove that we are the future, one that should definitely be invested in. Older generations are doing all they can to hold us down, when we are the next light of hope for continuing to make America great.

Soon I’ll be starting a new blog, one that will be a watchdog for youth rights and age discrimination. Fascism should not be tolerated at any age, for any generation, and that’s what we all should stand for. I’m done standing by, and I hope the youth of America are too!

A Letter to my Fellow Youth and Students

Many students in Waxahachie may see this as a final blow in a series of political down-trots. First the dress code issue flew into chaos, then Doc Hastings was ousted, and just yesterday my campaign came to an unfortunate end. Well, I want the students to know, it’s not over. In fact, it’s just the beginning.

I want you all to realize that I recieved 110 votes. That’s 110 people who stood up for the students. That may not seem like a big number, but Gary Fox, the winner of the most votes, only recieved 368. I got 8% to Gary’s 26%. So, you see, it’s bigger than it looks.

First of all, I’m not done, but only getting started. The issues that are most important to me are those that are important to the students and the youth. Local issues like Dress Code and Code of Conduct, as well as broader issues, like sex education and the age for drinking and voting. I will continue to be an advocate for these issues, and I’m ready to begin working on the next project that comes my way, one in particular that I’m very excited about, that I will announce when the time comes.

Secondly, I am not someone any more able than so many others in political activism. Any student can get involved, whether it’s running for office, or even just campaigning and organizing, getting the word out. Political work is not for the aged, but for the willing and able, just as the rights we enjoy in the Constitution and Bill of Rights do not belong just to adults, but to youth and students as well. This must be remembered by the grown and the growing, for if it is not, this country will fail to guarantee equal, inalienable rights to an entire group of people, something we remember in the days of slavery and segregation, the era of racism and prejudice.

I want all youth, from pre-teens to young adults, to take a moment to read the Bill of Rights, and know those belong to you. The rights to free speech, religion, protest, press, life, liberty, property, and many others. Youth are as Americans as adults, students just as free as administrators. While I expect a respect for authority, I also hope for an honorable exercise of that authority. Both sides of the classroom have a responsibility to make education happen, just as both sides of the gavel have a responsibility in making justice happen.

We are all Americans, we all have rights, we are all free. I say to all students and youth-enough apathy, enough ignorance, and enough arrogance. Put those things away, and trade them for action. Al Gore once said that “the future is ours; not to predict, but to create”. That is true, and it’s up to us to prove it. I cannot stand alone, and I hope to see the ranks of our future rise up and step forward.

May 9, 2009: Thank You!

First I want to thank all of you who made this campaign possible. Although it did not go as well as we hoped, we must not feel it’s all in vain. Look at the accomplishment we achieved! An 18-year-old candidate took on three incumbants and a well-known community entertainer and recieved 110 votes. We brought more public awareness to the issues faced by the school board, and we made the board pay more attention to the students, the district’s highest priority. You all have done great work in this campaign, and I am eternally thankful for it. Tomorrow we start another day just like any other. We must use it for rest, for another week like any othe will begin Monday, when we will return to our classrooms and offices, proudly knowing we helped make a difference. As for me, and my political work, it’s on to November 2010. A power-grabbing Governor is up for re-nomination, and a seat in the US Senate will be vacated by his challenger. I hope to immediately get to work to do my part in moving Texas forward. And my own political aspirations? Well, ask me in a couple years. It’s time to focus on what is best for Texas. Our state has a very inportant election coming, and all Texans have a duty to do their part. I encourage everyone to stand not on the sidlines, but on the frontlines in the movement to move Texas forward. I thank you for your support and your encouragement. Let us now turn our eyes to 2010.

Thanks again.

I would also like to congratulate Gary Fox on his election and strong turnout, and Mark Price and Dr. Joe Langley on their reelection.

–Kevin Crouch