WHERE: University of California/ Berkeley
Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union Building (Bancroft @ Telegraph)

More then 900 students from all over Northern California will participate in the 9th Annual Youth Rights Conference at UC Berkeley on Tuesday, October 26, sponsored by the ACLU of Northern California. The one-day conference, organized and directed by students, will focus on issues including freedom of expression, privacy, minor's access to abortion, and juvenile justice.

"We will be focusing on the Juvenile Crime Initiative, which will be on the March 7th ballot, because it is a dangerous initiative that violates the privacy and civil liberties of youth," said Nancy Otto, Director of the Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project. "The statewide initiative, sponsored by ex-governor Pete Wilson, would place youth in adult prisons, expand the death penalty, and would allow wiretapping of those the government thinks are "gang" members, which is defined as an informal group of three or more. We think this is a dangerous and punitive initiative that will only harm California's youth."

The conference will also be focusing on the Knight Initiative which would make it legally impossible for any couple other than a man and a woman to marry in California. "Many gay youth and their friends fear that if this mean-spirited initiative passes they will become the target of increased harassment and violence," said Otto.

Workshops and presentations on Gangs and Gang Violence, the Prison Industrial Complex, Locker Searches, Standardized Testing, Censorship on Campus, Media Portrayal of Youth, Gay and Lesbian Rights, and Youth Homelessness will also be held.

"The conference gives students an opportunity to educate their peers about their rights and to learn about important issues regarding their civil liberties," said William Walker, a student organizer and Howard A. Friedman Fellow. " It is an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences and to be part of a larger debate on the issues we face."

The conference is also sponsored by the Student Advisory Committee, Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project, and the ACLU Berkeley Student Caucus.