Even as teenagers, we all have the power and the right to make changes in this world. We all have the ability to help others see the world differently and in a more positive way. At this moment, we have the power to change everyday issues like poverty, racism, violence, and even education. If we put our minds to it, we can change these situations by doing things such as rioting, marching, and writing letters to people with more power. Understanding Human Rights is both about understanding when they are violated and how to fulfill them. Human rights are like ideals. This is what we all aspire for and this is how we would fulfill them if we could. If we had the power to completely change the world, these would be our solutions. (Ashley & Nia)
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If I had the power over things as such as the class pyramid and the economic structure, I would make sure that every person who wants to have a job while still mentally maintaining a healthy lifestyle would be able to have a job. I also would make sure no person in the United States had less than $20,000 attached to their name for a rainy day, or maybe they couldn't even let that account slip under $15,000. This way we know that everyone is financially stable and able to take care of things such as life insurance and other necessities that they need in order to live. People often go bankrupt because of medical assistance. For example, one bottle of insulin is almost $300 in the United States. In other places, such as Canada, it is only $6. People with other illnesses that are even more severe than diabetes suffer by having to spend almost half a million dollars just on treatments alone. This isn’t counting medicine and hospital bills. Everybody deserves a good chance at life. Why not make it equal as well. (Ashley)
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The lower class has a lot of problems with police, poverty, and segregation, while the upper class often does not have to experience these problems due to status, race, and economical value. I feel that one possible solution for the lower class is that these people could receive help from people in the upper class. For example, people who are generally wealthier could give lump sums of money to poor people every year. If the state made and enforced a law like this, then the world’s wealth could be shared with other people and nobody would be in need. This law would be hard to integrate into our current society, but it would not impossible. With help from our city’s mayor, a large change could be made. If we make her aware of more of the problems in the lower class neighborhoods, she could appeal to the people who make laws in government.
Another solution that could help the lower class does not include the rich but includes the government. This solution would increase the monthly amount on welfare checks. Checks would increase enough in order to support families who can’t otherwise afford to buy essentials and amenities. The government has billions of dollars, so this solution is simple enough for them. This will also help more people own properties and decrease the homeless population. By doing this, millions of impoverished people who qualify for welfare would recieve more help, which would make a huge change in chicago.
Lastly, a third solution that could help the lower class is to create a test designed for police officers to see if they are prejudice before they are hired. If the police force were able to see if an officer has grudges against another race, the problems of minority killings and abuse due to race could be prevented. This test could consist of multiple questions and written responses about how the person has previously reacted with people of color and how important they feel that those people are to the society that we live in. Officers who don’t pass this test would not be hired and officers that do pass this test should be hired and given a trial period to see if they actually behave the way that they answered on the test. This is another small thing that could impact the Chicago area a lot. (Jennifer)
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If I had more power, I would open all of the schools back up and give every school enough money for 10 years, give people access to a Link card even if they make a lot of money, make it easier to get a job, take all the homeless off the streets, and try to help prevent people from getting to the point that they are homeless. I would make it a law that if somebody did something racist I would give them 20 years of jail. I would also make it that people who are not from the United States are free to travel here. (Shaquite)
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If I had the power, I would have the country focus on collaboration instead of competition. Where every one can have a home of their own. Where poverty is reduced tremendously and every one can find a job. Where drug trafficking and guns don’t terrorize the streets and get into kids hands. I would make an education system that gives every kid a chance. And I’d make a prison system that doesn’t force people in. I’d make a place where anyone can come for refuge and accept anyone no matter what race, nationality, gender, age, or sexual orientation. (Ladarrien)
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If I was on a higher scale of power I would have more of a secure system for people to become police officers, lawyers, judges, or any department of law. New members to the police will be reviewed before they can become police officers because often in our society you hear about police officers killing people who may not have been armed or who don’t pose a threat to them. They also sometimes sexually harass young ladies. I feel like this behavior could go way down and probably won’t happen at all anymore if we could keep officers and employees of this department more accountable for what they do and have deeper requirements for them to get jobs like this. People in positions of power in our society should be more monitored daily and they should also should have deeper background checks. They should have more requirements to go through then the people who have jobs at stores, offices, or tech companies because they are accountable for a lot people lives. Lives are on the line and all these jobs require these employees to do there jobs right to help protect us. (Gabriel)
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If I had the power, I would eradicate pollution. I would make it easier for people to live their lives by making the world healthier. If I had the power, I would also eradicate processed food. The murder of species in order to package them and pump them full of chemicals that are actually extremely detrimental to human health is completely unacceptable and as more and more technologies are being made, more and more foods are being processed. Many species are going extinct and we need to make sure that we are cherishing the ones we have left instead of killing them and eating them. I would like to provide fresh produce and have more farms than factories in communities. If I had the power, I would make sure that every child, ages 5-18 is in school. After high school, students should be allowed to choose whether or not they want to go to college, but college should be made affordable for those who would like to attend because they deserve it. If I had the power, I would make sure that everyone is sheltered and has food, water, and clothing. I would ensure that everyone is safe and is treated fairly. I would give people the opportunity to do what it is they would like to, in regards to their career path and the amount of money they want to make. (Joshlyn)
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If I had the power, I would make sure everyone has the same education. It would be accessible for all people of any race, age, sexuality, and more. Around 57 million children don’t have the right access to education. This means that these children haven’t finished school or even started school. Looking at the whole world, only 43.74 % of the world is educated. More than half of the world’s population is not educated and did not go to school. I would also make college cheaper for all people. People would be able to afford the education they deserve. They would be able to have jobs that they would actually want to do. If college was cheaper, there would be more successful people with good paying jobs (doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.) and student debt wouldn’t be extreme. The average student loan debt is about $29,800. People wouldn’t live the rest of their lives with student debt and would be financially stable enough to buy the basic necessities that every human deserves. (Nia)
If I had the power…I would make sure everyone is less judgemental and accepts people for their character and not their sexual preference or the color of their skin. Everyone would be treated equal. I feel as if in my era, we still go through segregation. Although our era might be better than the era of slavery, I feel like we’re still seperate. One issue that I think needs to be fixed is homelessness. Homeless people are disadvantaged and aren't able to take advantage of human rights. Homeless people are forgotten and I think that one way we could fix this is having more empathy for each other. Put yourself in their shoes to see how hard life is. That’s how you get your blessings. People should help others without expecting anything in return. Nowadays, society is based on “well what’s in it for me,” or “how is that beneitfitting me?” People only think about themselves and how helping someone is going to help them. (Nyja)
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If I had the power, I would make sure everyone in all communities would be equal in every way. No one in the world would have a head start in the world. Everyone would have an equal opportunity to be successful. No one would be judged by their skin color of what they look like or who they like. Everyone would be able to get an affordable education and access to everything any person would need on a daily basis. Everyone would be able to have shelter, no one would be on the streets. (Sanniah)
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If I had the power, I would change the amount of gang violence and the amount of killings going on. Everyone would have the right to a free education, equal rights, and there would be no racism allowed. Everyone has the right to freedom, fair treatment, a right to housing, and also a right to life. No one should be getting treated unfairly because nobody is perfect or better than anyone else. We all are human beings. (Darius)
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If I had the power, I would increase monthly welfare checks for the lower class so that they are able to afford things that are essential to their household. I would also give a larger amount to families with multiple children so that they could be raised in a stable environment and be able to grow up to be successful and get jobs. There’s no way to make people any less racist or prejudice, so I would just give minorities the things they need to be in places of power to make the changes that they want to see. (Jennifer)
If I had the power...I would have free healthcare, free education, and help bring people who are down financially get back up on their feet. I’d make it harder to get a gun. Nobody who is mentally ill can have one unless they give consent to be assisted by a medical doctor. I believe people should be free and should not be controlled, however, I think the root causes of racism need to be addressed. The root causes, I believe, are fear, segregation, and kids’ upbringing. If racism were lessened and society was more integrated, people would benefit. I think one way to do this is to reverse stereotypes about people of color. If people of all races knew they were so alike, racism would not be as bad. More black owned businesses should be promoted as a way to show this. (Harihson)
--
If I had the power over things as such as the class pyramid and the economic structure, I would make sure that every person who wants to have a job while still mentally maintaining a healthy lifestyle would be able to have a job. I also would make sure no person in the United States had less than $20,000 attached to their name for a rainy day, or maybe they couldn't even let that account slip under $15,000. This way we know that everyone is financially stable and able to take care of things such as life insurance and other necessities that they need in order to live. People often go bankrupt because of medical assistance. For example, one bottle of insulin is almost $300 in the United States. In other places, such as Canada, it is only $6. People with other illnesses that are even more severe than diabetes suffer by having to spend almost half a million dollars just on treatments alone. This isn’t counting medicine and hospital bills. Everybody deserves a good chance at life. Why not make it equal as well. (Ashley)
--
The lower class has a lot of problems with police, poverty, and segregation, while the upper class often does not have to experience these problems due to status, race, and economical value. I feel that one possible solution for the lower class is that these people could receive help from people in the upper class. For example, people who are generally wealthier could give lump sums of money to poor people every year. If the state made and enforced a law like this, then the world’s wealth could be shared with other people and nobody would be in need. This law would be hard to integrate into our current society, but it would not impossible. With help from our city’s mayor, a large change could be made. If we make her aware of more of the problems in the lower class neighborhoods, she could appeal to the people who make laws in government.
Another solution that could help the lower class does not include the rich but includes the government. This solution would increase the monthly amount on welfare checks. Checks would increase enough in order to support families who can’t otherwise afford to buy essentials and amenities. The government has billions of dollars, so this solution is simple enough for them. This will also help more people own properties and decrease the homeless population. By doing this, millions of impoverished people who qualify for welfare would recieve more help, which would make a huge change in chicago.
Lastly, a third solution that could help the lower class is to create a test designed for police officers to see if they are prejudice before they are hired. If the police force were able to see if an officer has grudges against another race, the problems of minority killings and abuse due to race could be prevented. This test could consist of multiple questions and written responses about how the person has previously reacted with people of color and how important they feel that those people are to the society that we live in. Officers who don’t pass this test would not be hired and officers that do pass this test should be hired and given a trial period to see if they actually behave the way that they answered on the test. This is another small thing that could impact the Chicago area a lot. (Jennifer)
--
If I had more power, I would open all of the schools back up and give every school enough money for 10 years, give people access to a Link card even if they make a lot of money, make it easier to get a job, take all the homeless off the streets, and try to help prevent people from getting to the point that they are homeless. I would make it a law that if somebody did something racist I would give them 20 years of jail. I would also make it that people who are not from the United States are free to travel here. (Shaquite)
--
If I had the power, I would have the country focus on collaboration instead of competition. Where every one can have a home of their own. Where poverty is reduced tremendously and every one can find a job. Where drug trafficking and guns don’t terrorize the streets and get into kids hands. I would make an education system that gives every kid a chance. And I’d make a prison system that doesn’t force people in. I’d make a place where anyone can come for refuge and accept anyone no matter what race, nationality, gender, age, or sexual orientation. (Ladarrien)
--
If I was on a higher scale of power I would have more of a secure system for people to become police officers, lawyers, judges, or any department of law. New members to the police will be reviewed before they can become police officers because often in our society you hear about police officers killing people who may not have been armed or who don’t pose a threat to them. They also sometimes sexually harass young ladies. I feel like this behavior could go way down and probably won’t happen at all anymore if we could keep officers and employees of this department more accountable for what they do and have deeper requirements for them to get jobs like this. People in positions of power in our society should be more monitored daily and they should also should have deeper background checks. They should have more requirements to go through then the people who have jobs at stores, offices, or tech companies because they are accountable for a lot people lives. Lives are on the line and all these jobs require these employees to do there jobs right to help protect us. (Gabriel)
--
If I had the power, I would eradicate pollution. I would make it easier for people to live their lives by making the world healthier. If I had the power, I would also eradicate processed food. The murder of species in order to package them and pump them full of chemicals that are actually extremely detrimental to human health is completely unacceptable and as more and more technologies are being made, more and more foods are being processed. Many species are going extinct and we need to make sure that we are cherishing the ones we have left instead of killing them and eating them. I would like to provide fresh produce and have more farms than factories in communities. If I had the power, I would make sure that every child, ages 5-18 is in school. After high school, students should be allowed to choose whether or not they want to go to college, but college should be made affordable for those who would like to attend because they deserve it. If I had the power, I would make sure that everyone is sheltered and has food, water, and clothing. I would ensure that everyone is safe and is treated fairly. I would give people the opportunity to do what it is they would like to, in regards to their career path and the amount of money they want to make. (Joshlyn)
--
If I had the power, I would make sure everyone has the same education. It would be accessible for all people of any race, age, sexuality, and more. Around 57 million children don’t have the right access to education. This means that these children haven’t finished school or even started school. Looking at the whole world, only 43.74 % of the world is educated. More than half of the world’s population is not educated and did not go to school. I would also make college cheaper for all people. People would be able to afford the education they deserve. They would be able to have jobs that they would actually want to do. If college was cheaper, there would be more successful people with good paying jobs (doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.) and student debt wouldn’t be extreme. The average student loan debt is about $29,800. People wouldn’t live the rest of their lives with student debt and would be financially stable enough to buy the basic necessities that every human deserves. (Nia)
If I had the power…I would make sure everyone is less judgemental and accepts people for their character and not their sexual preference or the color of their skin. Everyone would be treated equal. I feel as if in my era, we still go through segregation. Although our era might be better than the era of slavery, I feel like we’re still seperate. One issue that I think needs to be fixed is homelessness. Homeless people are disadvantaged and aren't able to take advantage of human rights. Homeless people are forgotten and I think that one way we could fix this is having more empathy for each other. Put yourself in their shoes to see how hard life is. That’s how you get your blessings. People should help others without expecting anything in return. Nowadays, society is based on “well what’s in it for me,” or “how is that beneitfitting me?” People only think about themselves and how helping someone is going to help them. (Nyja)
--
If I had the power, I would make sure everyone in all communities would be equal in every way. No one in the world would have a head start in the world. Everyone would have an equal opportunity to be successful. No one would be judged by their skin color of what they look like or who they like. Everyone would be able to get an affordable education and access to everything any person would need on a daily basis. Everyone would be able to have shelter, no one would be on the streets. (Sanniah)
--
If I had the power, I would change the amount of gang violence and the amount of killings going on. Everyone would have the right to a free education, equal rights, and there would be no racism allowed. Everyone has the right to freedom, fair treatment, a right to housing, and also a right to life. No one should be getting treated unfairly because nobody is perfect or better than anyone else. We all are human beings. (Darius)
--
If I had the power, I would increase monthly welfare checks for the lower class so that they are able to afford things that are essential to their household. I would also give a larger amount to families with multiple children so that they could be raised in a stable environment and be able to grow up to be successful and get jobs. There’s no way to make people any less racist or prejudice, so I would just give minorities the things they need to be in places of power to make the changes that they want to see. (Jennifer)
If I had the power...I would have free healthcare, free education, and help bring people who are down financially get back up on their feet. I’d make it harder to get a gun. Nobody who is mentally ill can have one unless they give consent to be assisted by a medical doctor. I believe people should be free and should not be controlled, however, I think the root causes of racism need to be addressed. The root causes, I believe, are fear, segregation, and kids’ upbringing. If racism were lessened and society was more integrated, people would benefit. I think one way to do this is to reverse stereotypes about people of color. If people of all races knew they were so alike, racism would not be as bad. More black owned businesses should be promoted as a way to show this. (Harihson)