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Medstart speakers inspire child advocates with stories

Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, associate dean of Harvard's School of Public Health, began the fourth annual Medstart Conference on Friday with the words of a young mother named Tonya who wrote: "Within each and every one of us there is a fear. Maybe a fear of flying, a fear of an animal, or even the fear of death. My worst fear is dying in the street."

Prothrow-Stith remarked on the community's role in caring for children.

"This problem of preventing violence in America is not the problem of taking care of my child but also the others," she said. "It reminds me that children will get my time, attention, money and resources one way or the other. It is up to me to decide whether it is at 4 a.m., (when they are) throwing bottles at cars just to hear the alarms go off."

Joining Prothrow-Stith in last weekend's Medstart conference were former U.S. surgeon general nominee Dr. Henry Foster, Children's Defense Fund founder and President Marian Wright Edelman, and Joseph Sudbay, a representative from the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. All four speakers described options against violence toward America's children.

The two days of events focused on children's issues, varying from health care to violence prevention.

Prothrow-Stith also commented on the absurdity of an indifferent culture after relating the story of a 17-year-old in Milwaukee sentenced to 73 years in prison for a double homicide.

"It struck me that we are a society willing to spend $35,000 for 73 years instead of $2,000 for a summer job," she said.

Foster, founder of the "I Have a Future Program," which works to reduce teen pregnancy, shared his hope with a filled Dow Auditorium in Towsley Center on the Medical Campus.

"I remain most sanguine about our youth," Foster said. "My best success story is 24 kids in college (from the program). We have a choice because the youth of today will surely be our leaders tomorrow."

Edelman charged the audience with her determined spirit of revolution.

"I believe protecting our children is the moral litmus test of our nation," she said. "The failure to place our children first is our Achilles' heel, and will be the undoing of our country."

Four sessions were integrated between speakers. The topics ranged from the poor conditions of migrant workers' children to the effects of media violence on children.

Nancy Buirski, foreign picture editor for The New York Times, presented one of Saturday's sessions. She said the problems of migrant workers' families persist even though they are employed.

"Children work as an economic necessity. The fact that they should do this says a lot about this culture," said Buirski, who published a book on her four years of travel across America with migrant worker families. "These people are living in poverty because they work."

Mary Assenmacher, a second-year Nursing student, said the presentations changed her outlook on certain issues.

"This is giving me a perspective outside the University," Assenmacher said. "Now what I'm concerned about is what can I do as a student."

Toan Leung, a Rackham student who volunteered at his first Medstart Conference, said he was impressed by the conference.

"I was involved with a lot of projects my undergraduate years; this is by far the most organized," Leung said. "I definitely want to be here next year."

Justin Johnson, who drove 3 1/2 hours with a group of students from the University of Notre Dame, said, "I already volunteer in tutoring children. It makes me appreciate what I do and if possible take another step."