Advocacy Progress:
Current Issues
TA has been working on multiple issues since its founding, July 2023. We have worked on raising awareness on the harms of KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act), raising funds for the Maui Wildfires, supporting the Dhaka protests in Bangladesh, fundraising for food banks in NYC, and fighting against Seclusion and Restraint practices. Our current fight is banning Seclusion and Restraint in NYS and implementing safer disciplinary actions for children.
Seclusion and Restraint
It is a harmful practice used in schools and facilities for children who “act out”. Staff restrain them using tools like handcuffs or rope or themselves and seclude them in a room, often locking the door, and leaving them there for hours on end. Children are often physically abused by staff during this such as kicking, choking, dragging, etc. Many children suffer trauma, PTSD, and many have died from this practice or committed suicide. Most of the children are disabled, 80% of victims. Disabled children have less control over their behavior meaning they experience this practice the most. Over 100 children have died or committed suicide from this practice, with more being subjected to lasting injuries. There has been a bill to ban this practice but it was denied. No state has made any further action to ban this practice or address it. We are currently working to educate people on this issue, employ safer disciplinary actions for children, and ban this practice in NY and the U.S.A.
Dhaka Protests
A quota system (a hiring system that gives preference to a protected group of people) reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought against Pakistan in Bangladesh’s independence war. Citizens are protesting to get rid of this system as they say it’s discriminatory and benefits the Prime Minister’s Awami League Party. They want the system to be based on merit. Although jobs have grown with time in the private sector, citizens prefer government jobs as they are more secure and offer more money. However, there aren’t many of them. These jobs are saved for women, disabled people and members of ethnic minorities, but students have mainly protested against jobs reserved for veterans’ families. This is the second protest held against this system. Students were holding peaceful protests until security forces turned it into a war zone. They were hit with tear gas shells and rubber bullets, harming many students. They eventually trapped the protesters on their campus, denying any access to medical care for the many who were injured. On July 19th, the campus turned into war. Protesters were defending themselves by throwing bricks and stones at the officers who responded with shotguns, tear gas, and sound grenades. Burnt and vandalized property as well as barriers officers and protesters had put up were ruined. Large numbers of injured protesters ended up walking to city hospitals drenched in blood. Over 200 people were killed in the protests. The protests calmed once Prime Minister Sheika Hasina stepped down.
KOSA
KOSA is a bill that was written by Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Marsha Blackburn in February of 2022. The purpose of the bill was to create a national policy across the United States to help enforce online protection rules for children. Though there are many good intentions within this bill, it also creates huge holes in the internet where information is available for kids. The bill bans the mention of "harmful" topics stated in the bill, however, this system makes it so it can't differentiate between bad speech and good speech. The KOSA bill passed by Congress directly affects children and teenagers. KOSA essentially tries to "protect" kids from the harmful contents of social media but in reality, they are just sheltering them from the truth of life. Children can be sheltered from societal issues and topics on social media and in schools however, nothing can shelter nor protect them from the truth of reality when they walk out into the real world. The world is full of harmful content that creates an even bigger risk to kids if they are not educated on these contents beforehand. KOSA is like giving a kid a test but not teaching them any of the material for it. They will fail because they are uneducated. The same thing applies to this. Kids will end up worse with KOSA than without it because they will have no exposure prior to setting foot into the real world and won't know how to handle issues as well as they should because of it. KOSA sets kids up for failure and more risks than any amount of social media exposure could. In 2024, the bill was revised and passed into law.
Maui Wildfires
In early August of 2023, multiple wildfires broke out in Hawaii, mainly in Maui. The fires forced many families to evacuate the island. However, many were left behind and even more were killed or badly injured. The fires caused damage across the Island. Over 100 people were killed and over 2200 buildings were destroyed or damaged. The Maui wildfires are the deadliest fires in US history since 1918. Repairs to the island will cost at least $5.5 billion. Residents were struggling to rebuild their homes and get healthcare for their families. About $189 million was raised to aid residents and families in Maui.