Maggie Cooney After seeing and experiencing just how badly teens are targeted with this law, I knew I needed to do something about it. I knew project citizen was just what I needed to finally voice my opinion. Hopefully our project brings this pressing issue into the light. The leaders of our state of continued to ignore the cries and complaints of their citizens. Not only does this law create issues of being targeted by police, but also predators. This brings teens safety into the question. With this, it cannot stand for any longer. I hope this is the call to change the politicians of our state need. Throughout working on project citizen, I learned how to make my voice heard. This project has inspired me to continue to voice my opinions, and work to better our society. Although it was not always easy, project citizen was worth all the time and effort put in, because of the lessons learned throughout.
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Julia Cohen Protecting America's youth from being targeted by predators is crucial. When I first heard about the red decals I immediately knew I did not support the usage of these targets. I believe our solution will greatly benefit teens and protect them from the "Scarlet Letter" of Kyleigh's Law. Project Citizen taught me the steps needed for the successful recognition of a problem. Kyleigh's Law directly affects all teens and I feel that something should be done to resolve this issue. Even though Project Citizen was difficult, I feel that it truly helps raise awareness about Kyleigh's Law. Project Citizen was a great way to become more educated on the topic of Kyleigh's Law and to fuel our passion regarding the pertinent issue of the red sticker. Through Project Citizen, I learned how to be an active citizen in my community and my state by advocating for change to benefit as many people as possible. I feel Project Citizen was truly beneficial in making me a more informed, proactive citizen.
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Meghan ConveryAfter completing the Drivers Ed course at Ridge during my sophmore year I thought the red decals implemented through Kyleigh's Law would absolutely be beneficial to me as I began to drive. However, as my group and I began the Project Citizen assignment on Kyleigh's Law I began to realize the negative effects the law has on new drivers every day. Teen drivers all throughout the state of New Jersey are being targeted by police and predators because of the scarlet letter placed on their cars license plates. Although the law was created with good intentions, its effects have been much more negative than positive. The fear in new drives due to Kyleigh's Law needs to stop, and the only way to do that is by removing the red stickers that target teens. Project Citizen helped me to realize that Kyleigh's Law isn't as great as it sounds on the surface, but hopefully with some changes suggested by real NJ teens, Kyeligh's Law can be a positive and helpful thing to new drivers!
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Alexa Horowitz
In the years leading up to me getting my license, I believed that by this time, Kyleigh's Law would have been overturned, and I wouldn't have to worry about being "marked" by the red decal. When Project Citizen was assigned, I realized that it was the perfect time to bring up the topic of Kyleigh's Law. The project was something that we could relate to, which was my favorite part of our Project Citizen. If our plan is put into action, we could actually feel the effects of all of our research and hard work. Throughout the project, I realized that it takes a large group of people with the same passion to even begin to make a difference; getting the attention of important policymakers is another factor altogether. Through Project Citizen, I learned how to take an idea and build on it little by little in order to see the big picture. I think that this project really taught me what it means to be an active citizen. An active citizen is someone who has an idea that would better the community and acts on it. To be an active citizen is to recognize the problem before there is a program set up for people to help; active citizens build the program. Our idea for this project began at a table discussion similar to one that might take place at a congressional hearing. We had to analyze every side of the problem and make sure each and every detail was accounted for, and I think that the project really taught me about every stage of an idea and what it takes for it to succeed. The hours that we spent pouring over each step of Project Citizen really made me realize how much of my life I was dedicating to this cause. At times towards the end, it was so hard to push through, but I know that this final step is the most important part and will help us get our message out.
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Claire Keller
When I first got my license, I became opened to a whole new world, including how I am viewed in others eyes on the road. Through conversing with other town citizens, I knew I needed to voice my opinion on this topic. Through researching and spending countless hours brainstorming possible ideas, it became quite apparent that passion and support are the fundamental necessities in order to execute a change within your community and state as well. The policy making process is a complex operation that takes maximum effort, but has a very rewarding outcome. Active citizenship is something I am very passionate about as I live in a very strongly opinionated town. Popular movements usually just start off with one voice wanted to be heard. I Going through this process, I knew it was going to be lengthy and use up a lot of time and energy, but the driving force behind my group and I was knowing the possible outcome could lead to something bigger than ourselves. This project has taught me to value my voice as a citizen of New Jersey and to set forth in action regarding the changes I would like to see happen in my community. I can speak on behalf of my group and I that this project is something we became very passionate about throughout the process; which helped us to realize how much opportunities can be opened for a group of students if they are able to set their mind on a goal, work hard, and eventually achieve the goal. Even if the goal is not achieved, we learned that we can appreciate the process and be proud of where we have come. |