Before yesterday’s climate march in New York City, protesters waited in line outside of St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan to prepare for the strike. It was an interfaith gathering of parents, teenagers and children.

 They were handed buttons that said, “Your on Holy Ground. Act like it”.  They were given supplies to create posters and a light breakfast before hitting the streets.

Azalea Danes, 16, a climate activist, member of Trinity Church choir, and co-organizer of the strike, brought the attention of the climate crisis to the church leaders. She asked them if they would try and mobilize the Trinity community and others for this cause.  And they did.

After being introduced to the excited crowd in the church, Danez thanked everyone for taking action. 

“I am so hopeful and overjoyed with the prospect of all of you coming here and mobilizing for justice and for the justice of our planet,” said Danez.  “I am positive that the mobilization of youth and adults that will be coming together today, will be able to inspire every single person in New York City and all of you become true climate justice activists. If your here today you already are a leader because you are standing up in your community to be a force of change.”

Students decided to skip class to make a clear statement about climate change. They  felt the responsibility of fighting for the world that would be passed onto future generations

Roselani Beguero, 17, a senior and president of student government at Murray Hill High School  in Manhattan, was waiting at Foley Square when she heard that the church was providing breakfast and posters and decided to join in.

“Our world is dying and nobody is doing anything about it,” Beguero said as she worked on her poster. “If we all stand as one then we can possibly make some kind of change. If they don’t change the laws then they can’t change the world.”  

Beguero does not see the actions she believes should be taken. She wants a world where her children and great grandchildren can live. 

“A lot of people ask me what I want to do in the future,” Beguero said. “But if there’s no future in this world then there’s no future for me.”

As the crowd began to finish their posters. A priest walked to the front of the church and provided directions and safety measures before the group stepped out in the street. Children were asked to bow their heads for a moment of silence. 

Afterwords, a group of volunteers walked to the front holding a poster. The crowd was asked to repeat each verse after them. 

 “We’re gonna strike because our waters are rising. We’re gonna strike because our people are dying. We’re gonna strike for like and everything we love. We’re gonna strike for you. Will you strike for us?”

Sk Doyle, 24, works for Trinity  Church’s  Justice and Reconciliation department and was managing the poster station. The young people  were able to pick from a variety of colors to paint their signs. 

“I’ve been really hopefully being here and seeing all these young people doing the work,” said Doyle. 

The group left together for the rally at nearby Foley Square. When crossing the street on Broadway and Barclay, the priest and two volunteers grabbed each others hands creating a human chain to stop traffic and allow everyone to cross together. 

After the rally at Foley Square, the group joined the estimated 60,000 marchers, who chanted and carried signs that pleaded to save the environment.

“Climate change is a real thing it’s affecting us all in our daily lives,” said Elena Mendoza, 17, a senior and Green Team President at Forest Hills High School in Queens. “Even if some people might not see it. They need to look closer and realize that we don’t have much time.“

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With teens checking their phones over 150 times per day, the younger generation is consuming news in a very different way than their parents.

For teens, much of that time is spent on social media apps. A national survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research stated that 75% of American teens are on Snapchat, a messaging app that has evolved into many users’ source for news and entertainment.

“I get my news on Snapchat, while I’m discovering people,” Jake Gomez, 15, said. “My mom, she be watching the news and she be on TV and stuff.”

Josie Murmann, 15, and a student at the United Nations International School, noticed the same generational gap. She said that most of her peers used Snapchat as their main news source, and that none of them watched the evening news as their parents did.

“I watch it (Snapchat) because it’s so short, and it gives me enough information that I can actually talk about the news,” Murmann said. “They just get to the point really quickly.

In 2015, Snapchat introduced their Discover feed, which mixes hard news content with entertainment and celebrity updates. Featuring content from major news outlets, it appeals to younger generations because it’s of it’s short and direct nature.

“The media is all about eye-catching things at this point, so they (Snapchat) focus on the things that you want to hear and they say it really quickly,” Murmann said. “That’s why I think a lot of kids my age actually listen to it.”

According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, the percentage of Snapchat users who get their news from the app increased from 17% to 27% between 2016 and 2017. Competitors such as Facebook and Instagram are also major news sources for teens, but experienced much smaller increases over this same time period. The jump for Snapchat followed an update that aimed at giving the Discover page an even more prominent and distinct role within the app. The new and improved feed placed news sources next to a variety of other engaging content,   which drives increased engagement among young users.

“They make it easy to understand,” Chris Jake, 15, said when speaking about why he prefers Snapchat over other apps. “There’s a bunch of channels that you can watch on Youtube and stuff, but on Snapchat you don’t have to watch a whole 25 minute video. It’s just the the basics.”

Emerson College professor, Vincent Raynauld, has studied social media and journalism and observed several trends among teens regarding how they get their news. It turns out, the “how,” “when,” and “why” of teens consuming news are all different from their parents’ generation.

“Teens increasingly rely on mobile media,” Raynauld said. “The second thing that’s important to keep in mind, is that they tend to provide bite-sized information. So, it’s less about long-form articles and its much more about bite-sized pieces of information.”

Raynauld noted a contrast between parents watching the news while sitting down at home, and students consuming the news through the same platforms they use throughout the day for socializing. According to Raynauld, teens are checking their phones from the very first moment that they wake up.

“When you look at Snapchat, there’s an overlap between the social and the news,” said Raynauld. “Now, with the news organizations, it’s less about delivering content but it’s more about delivering content that will fit well within the social life of news consumers.”

 Successful news sources that are unique to Snapchat, such as MSNBC’s Stay Tuned, have been careful to keep these trends in mind. With up to 35 million unique viewers per day, and 75% of those being under the age of 25, Stay Tuned appeals to young consumers by adapting their content accordingly. According to Raynauld, the key to success for modern news sources is cracking the news feed.

“So, what you want to do as a news organization is be able to penetrate that daily media routine,” said Raynauld. “By, for example, enticing these news consumers to subscribe and add them to their feed.”

With over 4 million subscribers and counting, Stay Tuned has succeeded in that goal. Targeting teens through style and strategy, they have reached young viewers in a way that traditional news sources are unable to. According to the executive producer, Andrew Springer, Stay  Tuned takes aim at younger consumers by having their hosts speak with casual language, keeping the reports concise, and including catchy titles and pictures. It’s these kinds of strategies that have driven it’s success over competitors such as CNN’s failed show called The Update, which flopped in under 5 months.

Despite differing sources, students and parents are still able to discuss top stories and current events. Traditional news sources like the New York Times and the Economist now offer mediums for every generation, from the touch screen to the printed page.

“We find out about [new stories] in different ways, but then we talk about them a lot at home all together,” said Cesaretti. “So in the end we all have the same information.”

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Eric Schubert 8, shows off a sticker his tutor gave him at after school program, Hotdogs and Homework at 128th Street and Lenonx Avenue in Harlem. Eric and his tutor practice flashcards but also take time to be silly. Photo by Dayna Clark.

Three young brothers, wrestled with each other, struggling for possession of a basketball. Two girls giggled and screamed as they ran down the hall, trying to avoid the fray. Other teens stepped out of the elevator, laden with winter coats and backpacks as young adults steered them toward the gymnasium.

Such unrestrained chaos is not usually considered an ideal work environment. But at a Mormon church on the corner of 128th Street and Lenox Avenue, one tutoring program has found a way to capitalize on the mayhem.

Hotdogs and Homework, a tutoring program that meets once a week at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Harlem, offers teens a homework-friendly environment where they can work on school projects with young adults who act as both tutors and mentors.

Jessica Allred, 30, a middle school ESL teacher, founded the program in 2002, hoping to help teens with academics and give them positive role models.

“It all started with a Christmas gift drive,” Allred said, referring to her church’s efforts in 2002 to collect donations for schoolchildren in the neighborhood. “There was a moment when I looked at the volunteers wrapping gifts and I said to myself, this isn’t what these kids need. These kids need help with homework and they need positive adult role models who can spend time with them and express interest in their lives.”

Allred coined the phrase “Hotdogs and Homework” to summarize two teenage necessities, adding that she wanted to give them at least one meal a week—and hotdogs were just simple and easy.

“A lot of these kids don’t eat,” Allred said. “They have parents that work all day and kids have to fend for themselves.”

After she moved to Texas, Allred handed the program over to Kristin Robinson, 29, a Hot Dogs and Homework tutor since 2008.

“Every week it’s a hot mess,” said Robinson as she peeled a child off her mid-hug and gently pushed them towards a chair. “I’ve worked with the same girl for two years and we helped her graduate from high school. She had a lot of family drama and she was really worried about [graduating]. There were weeks where it was a little touch and go, but we got her staying after school and then involved in a summer school program and she finally graduated last September. Those experiences are really gratifying.”

According to the 2009-2010 New York City Department of Education progress report, the student graduation rate at some Harlem high schools such as Frederick Douglass Academy is about 41 percent—more than 30 percent below the city average. Although other area schools such as Thurgood Marshall Academy and Mott Hall High School rank much higher, they still fall under the 77 percent city average.

Yet Allred said it’s not only the graduation stats that are against Harlem students.

“Some of these kids that we tutor have parents who were having them at 14, 15, and 16.” Allred said. “These are kids raising kids and they don’t have the skills to be able to teach their children discipline.”

Hotdogs and Homework focuses on preparing teen students for the college workload. But there are a few exceptions, Allred said, including Eric Schubert,8, whose two older brothers attend the program and whose mother felt he needed one-on-one attention.

“She just wanted someone to read with him every week,” said Elle Ponder, 28, Schubert’s tutor for the past two years, adding that he struggled with English since both parents are non-native speakers. “He wasn’t picking up reading skills like his other classmates. But with the extra help every week, those in the program have seen Eric’s improvement.”

Schubert and Ponder’s relationship now extends beyond the student-tutor relationship. Schubert made her a keychain for Christmas and considered her to be a good friend.

It’s these relationships, said tutor Loren Thomas, 28, that keep her coming back week after week.

“I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity Hotdogs and Homework has provided to get involved with my community and to have something in my week that is outside the realm of my daily routine,” he said. “When you see a student who’s been struggling make incremental improvements because of the time and efforts you’ve made, there’s really no better feeling.”

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