Young People

Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a method that seems to address the major hurdles — a website that supplies free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

For someone in their 20s, retirement is something their parents are talking about. It is almost impossible for them to imagine their own lives 50 years out. Telling kids to save for that day - when student loans and car payments and fixed expenses are eating up their paychecks - does seem laughable. When she talks to young people about planning for retirement, Gail MarksJarvis , who writes about personal finance for the Chicago Tribune, likes to use the $20 lesson. "If you ask them if they can save $20 a week, they say, sure.

It was a few days after Christmas when 16-year-old Amanda Custer and her mom made a rare stop for a takeout burger. The indulgence ended badly for Amanda. Soon after, she said, "I felt real nauseous. Food was, like, gross. I got really bad cramps, a whole bunch of heartburn and an upset stomach. " And it didn't go away. "I would feel OK and try to eat something, and then I'd regret it," she recalled. "The pain afterwards was horrible. A couple of hours after I ate, I'd be going to the bathroom, feeling nauseous.

It's as hard to talk your 20-somethings about money as it is talk to them about sex. Maybe harder. "They are probably having the sex," said Eleanor Blayney, a certified financial planner who often talks to the young adult children of her clients. She was laughing. "But they don't have the money. " Our 20-somethings - perhaps starting out in their first real jobs - don't want to hear us say they are spending too much on the clothes and the car and not saving enough. And they'd rather live on Ramen noodles Monday through Friday than give up going out on weekends with friends.

Half-man, half-horse and altogether drunk, the Preakness' newest pitchman, introduced Tuesday, is a "party manimal" with one job: reassuring young people that this year's infield festivities will indeed be rowdy, raunchy and booze-soaked. Kegasus, a centaur with a nipple ring, body hair and ample beer gut, is the centerpiece of the new ad campaign for Maryland's leg of the Triple Crown. Starting this week, he'll be spreading his hard-partying message on television, radio and social media outlets that cater to the 21- to 40-year-olds the race hopes to reach.

William S. Reese's excellent op-ed ("A welcome focus on global youth," March 9) about the Global Youth Jobs Alliance speaks to the powerful role young people can play when public policy leaders reserve a place for them at the policymaking table. This strategy rings true for Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP), a national and international non-profit organization that delivers cost-effective alternatives to the incarceration or other institutional placement of high-risk youth. YAP, with programs in 25 major cities, including Baltimore, achieves this by connecting caring advocates to work with young people from their communities.

Look closely at the faces of protestors surging into the streets of Cairo and you'll see that many of them are strikingly young. Their passionate demands for freedom, democracy and an end to corruption and autocratic rule ring out loud and clear. Yet only when we look at the cold, hard numbers of youth unemployment and social marginalization in Egypt can we fully understand the powerful underlying causes driving these young people to topple their government. In Egypt — a country of 78 million people — the median age is 24. The vast majority of these Egyptian youths are struggling to find a job, support their families and help shape the future of their country.

I recently had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to visit Washington, D.C. to talk to lawmakers about the need to support legislation that helps young people get on — and stay on — the right track. I spoke at a briefing on Capitol Hill with young people and program directors from across the country — from rural, urban and Native American communities — who all had the same message: Programs that serve out-of-school, out-of-work young people change lives, and with more funding they could help even more struggling young Americans.

Two new government studies show young people are still putting themselves at risk for skin cancer by getting sunburned and going to indoor tanning beds. One study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that half of those aged 18 to 29 had at least one sunburn it the past year, though they were increasingly using sunscreen, seeking shade and wearing protective clothing. The other study by the National Cancer Institute found 32 percent of those 18 to 21 were going to indoor tanning salons and 30 percent of those 22 to 25 were.

After the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, what's needed is more gun control, according to columnist Dan Rodricks ("The massacre this time," Dec. 15). Yet a story in the same edition described a man in China who used a knife to attack some 20 children. The problem is not the weapon, but the troubled young men who wield them. It is a daunting, if not impossible task for psychiatrists, psychologists and others to take the first step in situations where even parents are frustrated and helpless in dealing with a troubled child.

Joseph "Zastrow" Simms, known as a colorful and compassionate community activist who helped bridge racial and social gaps in Annapolis from as far back as the turbulent 1960s, died Monday. Simms' niece Stacey Gaskin said Simms died of congestive heart failure, one month shy of his 79th birthday. He had been in home hospice care at her Arnold residence, she said. Simms grew up in Annapolis in the 1930s and 1940s, when the state capital was separated along racial lines, but became popular throughout the city because of his athletic prowess at Bates High School.

As many of you know, I was born and raised in solidly working class Arbutus. My family's Protestantism qualified us as an anomaly; the majority of the neighborhood kids were Catholic. Most attended local Catholic schools such as Ascension, Our Lady of Victory, and St. Mark's. A majority of them went on to graduate high school at Cardinal Gibbons, Mount St. Joe, or Seton. This school experience provided parents an attractive "three-fer": religious instruction, challenging academics and excellent athletics - at a reasonable price, to boot.

I am grateful that the 17-year-old boy who was shot last year at Perry Hall High School is recovering ("Perry Hall High School shooter Gladden gets 35 years in prison" Feb. 26 2013). And we can all agree that the defendant, Robert Gladden, deserves to be held accountable for injuring a fellow student. But the 35-year prison sentence handed down to a 15-year-old for attempted murder - with no loss of life - should give us all pause and remind us of the danger of trying young people in adult courts.

There are so many violent tragedies every day - I'm thinking specifically about the deaths of young people, and particularly those by gun - it's impossible to process it all, much less give our hearts to it. If we tried, our heads would burst. I remember hearing Joe Ehrmann, the life coach and minister who once played football for the Baltimore Colts, say the nation suffers from an "empathy-deficit disorder. " He believes human beings need more than ever to be trained to be empathetic, perhaps because self-interest is so powerfully innate.

Years ago, I accompanied James Cardinal Hickey, then the archbishop of Washington, to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, where then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was to give a lecture. After his lecture and after fielding questions from his audience, Cardinal Ratzinger boarded a small plane that would take him and five other passengers to Washington, where he would attend a dinner and then give another lecture. Even though he was suffering from a bad cold and the flight was quite turbulent, Cardinal Ratzinger remained calm and serene.

Sometimes, Richard "Rico" White says, parents get so strung out and desperate that they push their kids to join gangs to guarantee a supply of drugs. The kids go along, White says, but most don't want any part of the gang life. That's where he comes in. He'll catch wind of a boy or a girl in trouble - someone who joined a gang but now wants out - and he'll negotiate deals with a gang leader allowing them to leave. White, who is 44, developed a talent for this several years ago. He's the new operator of the Hollywood Diner in downtown Baltimore.

In the late hours of Labor Day, 2006, on Interstate 64 near Sand Springs, Okla., Thomas Kirby Jr. lost control of his vehicle, crossed the median and slammed head-on into another vehicle carrying four. The impact triggered a fiery and fatal explosion, killing Mr. Kirby, 47, and his passenger Lisa Adams, 38. Sarah Foster, 19; Steven Dillion, 18; Isaac King, 20; and Aaron Davis, 20, were also killed in the crash. Mr. Kirby was later found to have been under the influence of a practically lethal amount of alcohol and methamphetamine at the time of the crash.

Last week the Associated Press ran a story about New York City officials dispensing morning after pills to girls at 50 local high schools. In the article, Dr. Cora Breuner, an advocate for teen use of birth control, was quoted as saying that "if you use it in a timely fashion, It provides relief or solace to a young woman or man who has made a mistake but doesn't want to have to live with that mistake for the rest of their lives. " The callous and selfish nature of this statement is unbelievable.

For someone who didn't much consider himself a writer, Hayward Putnam certainly had a long career in the field. Roughly 40 years ago, he and Joseph Zimmer Jr. approached The Aegis about the paper's coverage of outdoors issues. Shortly thereafter, they became responsible for the newspaper's outdoors coverage, mainly hunting and fishing. Mr. Zimmer would do the writing and Mr. Putnam, a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, would put together a drawing to go with the text.

I was excited to read about Austin Altman in the Columbia Flier ("Hawks' Altman passes for a pro," Jan. 3), not because I'm a sports fan (I'm not) but because I met Austin earlier that same day.   As a college marketing rep, I speak to students in schools across Maryland. Friday, Jan. 4 I was waiting in the River Hill High School office for a student to guide me to the classroom.  My escort was Austin; he was accompanied by a young man with special needs. Apparently Austin gets credit for helping this young man, but what I observed went way above and beyond the call of duty. As we walked back to the classroom, I observed Austin engaging this young man in a playful banter. It was charming. Back in the classroom, this banter continued but I noticed that Austin was helping his charge work on an assignment.