A letter to the editor in this week's PIke County Courier urged the community not to support lowering the drinking age to 18, as was recently suggested by a growing group (120+) of college presidents part of the Amethyst Initiative. They argue that the current law increases problems associated with underage drinking by forcing it underground into a dark and dangerous world.

I will withhold giving my two cents on the topic here save for some personal observations, but I think it is a good idea for young people, and the community, to engage in some dialogue on this topic. Not that Pike County can change the law, or that the PCYC will have much say in the matter, but I think one thing can be said for certain and reflected in our approach to this topic locally, alcohol consumption by young people becomes that much more perilous when we treat it as a sort of taboo topic.

For instance: A friend of mine recalls when he went to college, his RA went so far as to provide the residents of the building with alcohol on weekends but ensured it was consumed in a relatively safe and responsible manner by the grown adults present (most of whom who were 18 years of age and could otherwise be dying for their country). Let's contrast that to where I went to school at American University, which had a "dry campus" where even 21 year-olds could not consume. As a result, most students engaged in binge drinking and hard-alcohol consumption. That led to many more being hospitalized and injured.

College presidents and many others, in my interpretation and reading, have looked at underage drinking, by 18-21 year olds in particular, as an inevitable circumstance that we need to deal with more pragmatically as a country. Of course others, have stood up to this idea saying that only more harm can come.

What has been your experience or what are your thoughts?

Post by Nick Troiano, Executive Director

View the letter: http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2008/09/16/pike_county_courier/opinion/1.txt

Last week, I had the privilege to attend the ServiceNation summit in New York City. The summit was a gathering of 500 non-profit, business, political, and educational leaders who met to jump-start the National Service movement in our country.

Representing the Pike County Youth Coalition, I was part of a group of 100 under 30-year- olds who came from every corner of the country and were working within our own communities to extend and support service opportunities. (As you hopefully read, PCYC recently launched its youth volunteer corps.)

To briefly recap the trip: The first night of the summit, televised on many cable networks, was the Presidential Candidates Forum. There, we heard from our next President, who committed to making citizen service a priority in his administration and to sign the Serve America Act of 2008, which was introduced at the conference by Senators Kennedy and Hatch.

The next day allowed participants the chance to attend a variety of panels and discussions about the future of service in America. I attended two panels: one on how to incorporate service learning into public education and the other about how bipartisan coalitions in Congress can work to create and fund the necessary legislation.

It was incredibly inspiring to be in the company of these national leaders who, regardless of age, ethnicity, or politics, joined together in a common vision, which among other things, called for making service a civic right of passage for every young American. That was my take-home message I have since committed myself to furthering.

So what does it mean exactly? It means that every young American, in one way or another and on a voluntary basis, be afforded the opportunity to serve - whether that is enlisting in the Military, joining the Peace Corps, participating in Teach for America, spending two years with AmeriCorps, or something else. Public/private partnerships would create and encourage more opportunities so that young people, in greater numbers, can answer the question posed almost a half-century ago - what can you do for your country?

It has been my experience working both locally and for a national non-profit dedicated to youth civic engagement that my generation, the Millennial Generation, perhaps more than any other in recent history, desires to give back. Trends have shown this. As I wrote in a blog for ServiceNation, perhaps it’s because we found working outside what we perceive to be a broken political system is more effective in creating social change. Perhaps it’s because we are defined by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and were forever inspired by the subsequent showing of national unity and call to service. Whatever the reason, young people are becoming more engaged and our society stands to benefit immensely because of that.

Providing more opportunities and facilitating existing ones are imperative steps. In Pike County, I think we are doing a superb job. The United Way Day of Caring, the community Relay for Life, the annual volunteer recognition dinner, and countless other events and organizations show how much our community values community service. Hopefully, the Youth Volunteer Corps can add to that. And hopefully, we can continue to engage more and more young people. So it is our duty as a community to pave the way for this movement, especially at a time when the need for it is so immense. Whether it is fixing educational inequality, renovating our national infrastructure, aiding in disaster relief - or whether it is a simple as lending a hand at the food pantry, cleaning up the park, or repainting a fence - young people are ready to take it on.

Post by Nick Troiano, Executive Director

TIME: The Case for National Service.

Service Nation

After some words of encouragement to students at Delaware Valley High School today, we are seeing many students visit our site and sign up to be a part of the newly established Youth Volunteer Corps.

Here are what some young people are saying as to why they are hopping on board:

"I have the grades and extracurricular activities to make a pretty nice transcript or resume, but I have basically no community service hours...thanks for giving the students in the Pike County area something worthwhile to do around here :] this is a really awesome idea."

"Since I have been in Girl Scouts for 13 years, I know how good it feels when I am doing community service. I would love to help out in our community and also make it the best that it can be."

"I also believe that people need to give back to their community besides just living in it. I am joing because I enjoy doing volunteer sevice and this is should be a fun way to help out with people my own age. We are the future of tomorrow and we need to make the future a good place."

"Community service is something that has always been a large part of my life... I seek to join the Youth Volunteer Corps to serve the community in Pike County specifically more and to be able to connect more with the people in my own community."

Why will you join? Click here to sign up today!

To sign up to participate in the United Way's annual day of caring, fill out the online for located here and mail it in.

The day will begin with breakfast held at both the Delaware Valley High School and Wallenpaupack High School at 7:45 am. There you will get your work assignment and free t-shirt before traveling to the agency work site on your own. The work day begins at 9:00 am and ends at 3:00 pm. Project completion requires your commitment for the entire day. Lunch will be provided by the agency at the site. Work clothes and sturdy shoes are a must

Registering to vote at college may be complicated, and there may be consequences. Here is a story that appeared in the Times today.

As registration deadline approaches for the 2008 general elections, make sure you find out about voter registration in your area.

If you are a student in Pennsylvania that deadline is October 6th. You can find out more information here. To register to vote, print off and mail in this form to the county election office. You can complete that form electronically here.

If you are already registered and will not be present for the elections, you can mail in this absentee ballot application.

If you plan on voting in Pike County and have any questions, call the Elections Department at (570) 296-3426.

Update: Current voter statistics in Pike County show 2,971 people registered who are under the age of 24, 6.6% of the total electorate. Statewide, young voters make up 9.4% of the total electorate.