I am currently working on three stories which require me to wait for information from sources. However, I just want to give an update – mostly for my accountability purpose.
School to Prison Pipeline
I read that schools in a many states were having young people locked up for fighting in school. This is understandable depending on the severity of the incident? Or, is it? And, does this happen in schools in certain areas only? How quickly do Chicago Public Schools students get to prison for fighting and other crimes? I don’t know, which is why I submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to find out.
Gap, Inc.’s Stance on Minorities
In an earlier post, I mentioned that Gap is extending their marketing reach to minorities. I know this is because of the economic times we’re in. So, if their bottom line weren’t affected by the economy, would Gap really look to sell to minorities? They haven’t responded to my two requests for information. We’ll see what happens.
Lack of Summer Jobs for Minority Students Youth
The City of Chicago has a Youth Ready employment program and I would like to know
- Of all the students hired, how many students were hired because of someone they knew?
- Into which racial category did these students fall?
- Do numbers 1 and 2 have anything to do with the high unemployment rate among minority youth (excluding challenging economic times)?
Those are just a few of my projects in the works. Did I mention how much it stinks to have to wait for other people to get the information I need? That’s okay. I’ll get what I need, and my stories are going to be “beastie.” I think that means “better than cool” according to my 12-year-old sister.
Image credits: byron clark, my smart trend.com, nyclu