This week’s contributor, 17-year-old Somers High School senior Lingbo Li, is co-editor of her high school paper, The Tusker Times.

I’m not destroying the world.
Kids listen to music with obscene lyrics. They’ve got no self-respect. They are too fast, too loose, and too immoral. The country is going to hell in a hand basket.
No, I’m not talking about me. I’m referencing you, baby boomer.
You were looked over with disapproving eyes when you listened to “the devil’s music” and let your hair grow long. MTV may be raunchy by your standards, but so was Presley’s legendary hip swivel. Your mother incited scandal when she cut her hair short and went on dates without a chaperone. Think MySpace is bad? The telephone, when first introduced, raised similar concerns about privacy.
So you’ve earned your right to look down on teenagers through years of life experience. You are shocked (just shocked!) at the proliferation of social networking sites like Myspace and facebook. You claim that it’s a sign we have no more self-respect. You can’t get over how some teenagers choose to live and make mistakes in a very public way, publicizing their exploits through words and pictures online. Sometimes these thoughts are prefaced by the disclaimer, “Now maybe I’m old-fashioned but…”
Old-fashioned isn’t always bad. But as long as adults pointedly refuse to understand their children’s culture, that generation gap will forever remain just that: a gap. Some gaps are larger than others. A generation that lived through the Great Depression will have a different point of view than someone who swims in credit card debt. A World War II vet may have a harder time connecting with his peacenik son. 
 But I am tired of all the articles harping of the ills of my generation. We are apathetic; we consume reality TV; we wear midriff-baring t-shirts; we have no shame. Some of this is obviously true for some people. However, these kinds of statements that paint teenagers as merely materialistic narcissists with serious Paris Hilton syndromes only annoy me. I’m tired of being blamed for cultural decline. It’s a hard load for an 18 year old to bear.
 Today, I was sitting in a room with ten other passionate and intelligent seniors from my school, talking about our community service initiatives and human rights work with a journalist. I was expecting it to be a dull bragging session, but I left that room humbled and exhilarated by the work and emotion of my classmates. When I mentioned my column topic, they urged me to bring up all the things that young people have done for the world, both in Westchester and internationally. And guess what: many people in that room had a MySpace, watched reality TV, surfed the internet too often, and sometimes made bad choices. 
 So did you. Well, at least on the bad choices point. You also had controversial new technology and morals that irritated the sensibilities of parents. It seems to be the perennial job of the older to look upon the younger and shake their heads at wild, crazy youth. (They’re just jealous.) While today’s world may move faster, it’s just a matter of adjustment. And despite the benefit of living in a world without MTV, I don’t think your generation will turn out so much better than mine. 
 So the next time you preface something by, “Now maybe I’m old-fashioned but…” consider that maybe you are. I think those “kids today” will be just fine.

By Kaminie Balkaran
Somers High School Class of 2008
As a junior in high school trying to meet the demands of a heavy course load and extracurricular activities, it can be hard to keep up with current affairs. Who has time to remember that the prime minister of Canada is Stephen Harper and that the capital of Iraq is Baghdad?
We’re teens, we don’t need to worry about that stuff, right? Wrong.
The fact that many young American teens don’t even know all the state capitals is very disturbing. Where has the appreciation for geography and foreign affairs gone? Why is it that American kids seem to know so little about the world? Are we destined to eat the dust of kids in other countries?
Let’s hope not. American teenagers can’t afford to be left in the dark. The war on terror and new business prospects in China and India have placed a magnifying glass on the Middle East and Asia.
For coming generations, knowledge of these areas is important if we are going to forge lasting ties with these countries. There are reportedly at least 135,000 Americans living in India. They know the language, the people, and the customs, and are fully immersed in the society. And that number is constantly increasing.
There is also an increasing number of study abroad programs going to China, Tibet, and even Cambodia. www.wheretherebedragons.com features information on how to apply to the best schools in those countries and obtain internships as well.
American youth has to increase its knowledge of the outside world. It’s as simple as that. The first step is knowing ourselves. It’s troubling that not all teens know that Puerto Rico is not a state.
We need to take action fast. Our world is changing and so is our country. The youth of today will be the adults of tomorrow and those same adults are going to have to lead our country. We need to push ourselves to keep up with the other countries of the world.
It’s important that we can identify people like Dr. Condoleeza Rice. We should know who Private Jessica Lynch is. We should know that the prime minister of Pakistan is Pervez Musharraf. It’s time to turn off the iPods, and step up to the plate.

Check Your IQ Instead of Your iPod
Here’s a little quiz to test your knowledge. Can you answer these questions? The answers are below.

1. Who is the Prime Minister of England?
2. What is the capital of Iran?
3. Who is the United States Secretary of State?
4. Nancy Pelosi is the first woman to achieve what political position?
5. Puerto Rico is not a state but a….?

ANSWERS:

5) Commonwealth
4) Speaker of the House
3) Condoleeza Rice
2) Tehran
1) Tony Blair