We have recently reached what is known as the “fat draft” deadline here at 110 Degrees. For us, fat drafts mean writing at least 2000 words if we’re are doing a personal essay and 1000 if we’re doing a photo essay. These fat drafts must also include 7-10 photos. Shortly afterward we turn our fat drafts in, we begin formal writing and photography critiques.

I feel that one of the high points of 110 is when the youth start critiquing each other’s work. For some of us, the critiques are especially interesting because we are working on personal essays—and the critiques allow us to reveal some of our most intimate experiences. Many of us are also shocked when we realize the extent of our fellow staff members’ talent and insight. But somehow, the critiques bring us together even more; we are in awe of each other and what we can do.

I recently had a conversation with one of the youth staff members, and she told me she loved the idea of the fat draft because she got to express herself as thoroughly as possible. Some writers find that as a result of the fat draft, they get a whole new story. But some youth also hate the fat drafts, and believe it’s unnecessary to write as much as possible when the writing is just going to be edited to fit the limited space that the magazine offers. Even with these differences of opinion, everyone seems to become so attached to the writing, because it becomes a piece of him or her. For the vets of 110, including myself, this attachment is no surprise.

Whether or not they hate the drafts, this is the time when the youth truly start to get a feel for their writing, and learning how to “paint a scene” by using as much detail as possible. I sense the sparks of enlightenment during this time, as the staff starts delving into territory they never thought they would go before. The youth are beginning to tease their limits and talent for writing.

I have asked a few of the youth if I could peek into their fat draft so I may get a perspective of what the fat drafts look like this year. Below are some examples of some of the youth’s work.

“So pure and cold; the snow outside and the paper clippings on the ground contrasted so nicely with the warmth of everyone’s smiles and the warm waxy candles being passed around from person to person.”- Arayah Larson

“It was an exhilarating experience to see people belonging to different colors, races, and nationalities. Kings, head of states and ordinary men from very poor countries all dressed in simple white sheets, praying to God without any sense of either pride or arrogance. It was a practical display of the concept of equality in Islam.” Roxy Alansary

“Crinkled, blue eyes gaze up and down the street searching for approaching vehicles. In confidence the man holds the stop sign high as he steps to the middle of the crosswalk often signaling it was safe to go. As you pass the man you can see his face clearly, though his strands of hair below his cap were withered his beard shows no sign of weariness.”
-Reyes Suarez

“My eyelids began to droop and my stomach turned. I attempted to stand, but I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed, fixed onto my bed like a mouse in a snake’s jaw. The suffocating blanket of my own guilt covered me, tucked me in, and left me to the monsters of my mind.”- Melinda Phipps

These are examples of some of the beautiful descriptions that are included in fat drafts. They help me, as well as fellow coworkers understand how the youth view their experiences. And then, we are able to see through the eyes of the writer.

I’m sitting down with a cup of coffee in my hand, staring at a laptop propped up on my knees. The reluctance to continue working scratches at my attention span.. I stretch my limbs and I walk towards the main work area of the Voices building. I start to hear the chattering sounds of teenagers: a happy, complaining, good-natured cacophony.

I approach the heart of 110 Degrees, and kids are everywhere, squeezed on the couch with their laptops on their knees, others crowded around the tables we use for work area. One youth staff member is talking to a volunteer mentor in the far corner in a low voice. Another youth is situated at one of the desktops, transcribing equipment fully decked out, furiously typing out an interview they’ve done and completely shut off from the chatter behind them. I notice there are some youth missing today, and I know they’re on interviews that they arrange themselves, with minimal help from the editors. This is my job. This is my life and my salvation from the mundane system of high school.

This is my second year working at Voices, and despite certain technological upgrades and the distinctly younger apprentices this year, not much has changed. The new hires come from backgrounds that are the very definition of diversity: some are from Tucson, others from across the globe. It still amazes me that such a diverse group of teenagers can sit in one room, get crumbs on the floor, and work and laugh together like they’ve got years behind them. But Voices has just that effect on whoever walks through the door.

Overall, the process of becoming a youth journalist proves to be an endurance test for the mind and a search of the soul. I shouldn’t speak too soon about endurance in high stress times, as we are just barely into February and have only had our first out of many deadlines. The staff doesn’t know what being on edge is until they have survived March-May at 110 Degrees. This year our stories range from topics such as feminism to abstinence to Child Protective Services—and that’s not even covering half of the subjects the 110 Degrees staff is tackling this year. There are even youth researching topics I’ve never heard of before, like as Druidism.
 
And in all of these perspectives there’s a harmony in what we all have to say. And that harmony comes from common interests, common goals.

"Which group of youth does your program primarily serve?" 

Our 110 Degrees Magazine hires 85-100% of our 14-21 year-old youth staff from low-income households, half or more of which also consider themselves minority youth.

"How many youth does your program serve annually?"  

For the last six program years (Fiscal Year 2000-2001 through Fiscal Year 2005-2006), we served 20 youth each year. The program is all about long-term, in-depth mentoring (4 days a week for nine months). Youth demand has grown exponentially over the last three years especially. Last year, for example, 120+ low-income youth applied for 20 spots. This Fiscal Year (2006-2007), we are increasing the youth spots to 30—a capacity growth of 50%. We were able to do this after a successful fundraising campaign that sought to grow the number of youth we could serve with without sacrificing program quality and therefore the positive long-term impact on the youth.

"What geographical area(s) does your program serve?"

Most youth we serve via the 110º program live within city limits but some have lived in Sells, Oro Valley, and Sahuarita.  We recruit youth from all over Tucson in public high schools, charter high schools, GED programs and other community institutions. 

"During what hours does your program serve youth?"

Program hours are 2-6pm Monday through Thursday for youth to come in and work 9 hours a week with their adult mentors and youth  colleagues.  Most youth come to our office after they get out of school and work 4-6pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 3-6pm on Wednesday.

"Do youth participate in your program on a recurring basis?"

Veteran youth participants are hired back each Fall if they want to take on more leadership responsibilities and peer mentoring, as well as improve their skills in writing, photography, researching, interviewing, and professionalism.                                                               

Program History: "Describe the origins of your program and greatest accomplishments to date."

ORIGINS—In the beginning of VOICES, during planning meetings in 98-99, and 99-00, many youth talked about how sick they were of people being afraid of them. One  Hispanic youth told the story of seeing an elderly white woman drop her bag and how he picked it up and ran after her and how she ran away from him and cowered in a corner. Another young Hispanic man talked about walking through a mall parking lot with his friends and hearing the sounds of car doors being locked.  In those early VOICES planning meetings, the youth  came up with the idea of bringing together youth throughout Tucson to create an annual magazine that would destroy negative stereotypes by telling the whole stories of their lives. “I want people in this town to see what I see, feel what I feel,” said one of the youth participants.  The 110º   Program continues to be about helping low-income youth be heard and seen—on their terms, in their words, through their photographs.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS—1) Consistent success over the last six program years in achieving   positive outcomes for youth in the areas of cognitive, artistic, emotional, leadership, professional and higher education skills. 2) Distinctions—inclusion in the 2006 report, Urban Youth Programs in America: A Study of Youth, Community, and Social Justice Conducted for the Ford Foundation; the 2005 Dynamic Duo/Making A Difference Award for 110º Program Writing and Photography Directors; and the 2004 International Reading Association Award for Excellence in Promoting Literacy.

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Program Philosophy: "Describe the mission/vision and goals of your organization."

VOICES  mission is to document Tucson’s community stories and inspire individuals to explore themselves and their connection to place.  Participants train in the documentary arts through collaborative mentoring relationships.  We produce professional work that celebrates diverse perspectives.

VOICES  goals are: to increase people’s abilities to examine and express their personal and community stories so they can more deeply explore their identity, their culture, and their possibilities; to improve people’s artistic, intellectual, professional, and emotional skills through documentary arts mentoring; to deepen intergenerational connections by sharing stories, breaking down stereotypes, and creating an authentic youth/adult collaboration culture; to strengthen our sense of community by bringing people together, sharing experiences, breaking invisible barriers, and increasing awareness of community issues—past, present, and future.

VOICES exists for many different reasons, the most important of which is the facilitation of youth development through in-depth mentoring in the documentary and media arts.  VOICES  mentors focus on strengthening the artistic, emotional, intellectual, civic and professional skills of the youth they work with.  VOICES mentors uphold a philosophy of “collaborative mentoring” which pushes the skilled adults to base their teaching on principles of inquiry, dialogue and youth participation.  These principles were established to institutionalize the belief that youth have as much to teach the adult mentors as the adult mentors have to teach the youth.  These principles empower the youth to produce work that expresses themselves in the most articulate way possible because the adult mentors established a foundation of trust through an egalitarian spirit, nurturing and consistency.  

Program Qualities:"How does your program serve youth? What makes your program unique?"

A Youth POV. We ask low-income teens to tell personal and community stories from their point of view—a point of view we rarely hear in the mainstream press.  Publishing is an act of affirmation for the youth that readers are interested in hearing what they have to say.

The Interdisciplinary Arts. VOICES  staff and volunteer mentors help youth to express their stories using a unique blend of the literary, photographic, and documentary arts.  VOICES  mentors encourage the youth to explore the genres of literary journalism and creative non-fiction.  The mentoring is in-depth and long-term and based heavily on field work.  Mentors are professionals in the fields of journalism, the documentary arts, and/or photography.

A Big, Authentic Audience for Youth Voices. The 110º youth voices and visions reach a huge audience of 115,000+ because they are published in Tucson’s largest daily newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star, as a magazine—110°: Tucson Youth Tell Tucson’s Stories.  The Arizona Daily Star has made available to all the youth on the staff the opportunity to publish their work not just in the 110º Magazine, but whenever they have produced publishable work—which means that the youth are able to publish more than just one story in The Star if they work hard to produce professional-quality work.

Pima Community College credit.  Youth who complete the 110º Program receive three free credits from Pima Community College/Downtown Campus in “Introduction to Community and Oral History.” These 100-level credits are directly applicable to their associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. 

Donnamarie Miranda: “What I like most about 110º and VOICES is the open and friendly, supportive, and goal-oriented environment that is created.  I feel as though we were celebrated for who we were and weren’t allowed to give up on ourselves . . . I learned how different people could be from one another but still be so similar . . . I learned not to give up so easily on myself. I had a tendency to run away or quit when things got tough, but working at voices forced me to take give myself the time and attention I needed to finish projects and finish them well done.”

Isabella Soto:  “One thing I will cherish is finding out that there are other youth who, like me, want to make a difference in the world.  That human compassion is there after all among youth and other people.  I’ve learned to let my guard down and not pass judgement . . . This place is truly a light in the darkness.  It shines hope for those of us who are frustrated and angry with the way things are today.”

Esther Blue: “I feel so fortunate to have been able to tell my personal story, because I believe that the people who read it will be able to learn and grow from my insight and experiences . . . Writing a personal essay was a process that required a lot of soul searching and self evaluation, but one thing that definetly came from it was actually being able to tell a story that came straight from my heart . . . I also enjoyed working with this year’s staff because so many people were telling in depth personal stories, that really influenced to me to tell more and more of my story.”

Jennifer Thall: “ My life is predictable. It’s not necessarily dull or mundane, but I am not often given the opportunity to step out of my daily routines and experience new people, places, or ideologies. Voices, and specifically the story I chose to write on Al Garza and the Minutemen, challenged me to journey beyond my normal range of experiences and to question my existing beliefs and perspectives. I went from a safe and comfortable existence to witnessing and documenting the capture and arrest of twelve people crossing the United States-Mexico border illegally.”

Jonathan Schoffel: “I worked with a brilliant group of people in doing so, and I learned about the many social and political causes within our community. In a sense, working with such a diverse staff made me more sensitive to issues different from the ones I normally deal with.”

Hector Moreno:  In response to the question “What has been the most valuable thing you’ve learned through your work at VOICES so far?”  Hector responded: “That words are very powerful.  And if you voice yourself you will be heard.”

Caitlyn Myers:  In response to the question “What has been the most valuable thing you’ve learned through your work at VOICES so far?”  Caitlyn responded: “About being honest, even when it’s hard . . . I have been encouraged to constantly be explore my creativity, my expectations, and the human condition.”

Alexandrea Duran: “My favorite part of working here was being able to meet all kinds of people . . . Through Voices I’ve learned that the best pictures will tell you stories and the best stories will paint you pictures.”

Today the rallies continued at Armory Park. A counter-protestor burned the Mexican flag, causing an uproar from the pro-immigration marchers. A crowd rushed onto 6th Avenue, then Scott, where a conflict broke out. A police officer maced two young women who were immediately rushed by photographers. They doused themselves in water, gagging and choking in front of the cameras.

Up above, a helicopter circled downtown.
I imagined the sight of it:
    a multi-colored sea of people
    splashing into itself
    like an organic-rainbow

I looked up again and there was a multi-colored neon blimp, also circling downtown.
It was a pretty distraction from the chaos below.

Click on the images below to read the entire article online.

If you look at it, we’re doing the same things (a bit differently).

"Young Chicago Authors encourages self-expression and literacy among Chicago’s youth through creative writing, performance, and publication.  YCA provides student-centered, artist-led workshops, free to youth ages 13-19 in schools and communities. Our process emphasizes artistic development, mentorship and creating safe spaces where a young person’s life matters. We believe that through their words, young people can promote tolerance and remove barriers, transforming their lives and society."

- kristen