New Paltz HS Students Discuss Issues Concerning Child Abuse in WAMC Student Town Meeting

ALBANY, NY (03/10/2008)(readMedia)-- Has America’s way of life failed to provide safety and well-being for its children? Members of the senior class from New Paltz High School in Ulster County will discuss this question concerning the abuse and maltreatment of children on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at the WAMC Linda Norris Auditorium, 339 Central Avenue, Albany.

Moderated by WAMC’s David Guistina, the panel for this program includes Jennifer Matrazzo, Communications Director, Prevent Child Abuse New York; Assistant District Attorney Christina Calabrese, Albany County Office of the District Attorney; and Toni Naccarato, MSW, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare, University at Albany, State University of New York. The program, part of WAMC’s Youth Media Project: Student Town Meetings, will be taped for broadcast on WAMC’s afternoon program, The Speakers’ Corner, in April, during National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The safety and wellbeing of America’s children are crucial to the wellbeing of the entire country. Many of the problems in American society, such as substance abuse, inadequate educational resources, poverty, homelessness and inadequate health care, increase the risk of family violence and child abuse and neglect. In federal fiscal year 2005, an estimated 3.3 million children were allegedly abused or neglected and underwent investigations or assessments by state and local child protective services agencies. According to information released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2007, approximately 940,500 children were determined to be victims of child maltreatment.

This is the third WAMC Student Town Meeting in which students from New Paltz High School have participated. They selected the discussion topic in February as an outgrowth of their work in an interdisciplinary English and Participation in Government course. Students worked with New Paltz English teacher Bill Zimmer and WAMC Education Director Maryanne Malecki for approximately four weeks in preparation for the taping.

WAMC’s Youth Media Project provides teachers and students with a structured process that prepares young people to critically analyze and discuss issues affecting them with recognized specialists in the community on public radio. By connecting literacy and critical thinking skills with students’ worlds in a meaningful way, WAMC’s Youth Media Project encourages young people to become part of the public radio audience. WAMC's Youth Media Project is made possible through the generous support of the Educational Foundation of America, the Howard and Bush Foundation in honor of Margaret Mochon, and Jack and Connie Hume.

Upcoming Student Town Meetings on The Speakers’ Corner will include high school students from Berlin, Albany, Coxsackie-Athens, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Queensbury, Lake George, Ulster County New Visions Communications Program, and Hoosick Falls. Secondary educators in pubic schools interested in participating in the project should contact WAMC Education Director Maryanne Malecki at (518) 465-5233 ext. 135, or visit the Web site, www.wamcstudenttownmeetings.org. Audio versions of all previously recorded programs are available online as well.

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