Different generations discussed their takes on news during Chinese American Service League’s graduation for its Why News Matters program held on Aug. 13 and 14.

For immigrant communities cultural and language are often barriers between different generations, but that wasn’t the case for Chinese Americans during the graduation of the Why News Matters program held Aug. 13 and 14 at Chinese American Service League in Chicago’s Chinatown.

Youth and seniors used different methods to present a wide range of topics from a discussion on obesity to the consequences of cyber bullying. The youth presented more on national headline news while the seniors focused more on local community news.

“The liveliest aspect of this program was the exchange between seniors and youth,” said Jennifer Choi, program officer for the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, which provided the grant for the program. “The seniors seemed to be teaching the youth about news literacy principles and the importance of context.”

Using poster boards, the seniors focused on news affecting the local community, mainly referencing news articles from the local Chinese daily paper, such as robberies in Chinatown, the death of a 2-year-old Chinese girl during a parking rage, but also discussed homosexuality and cyber bullying.

The youth took a more digital approach in their presentations using some video and slideshows to share their views on the link between obesity, poverty and food deserts, as well as why people frequent McDonald’s. The bilingual youths also discussed the case of , a former Central Intelligence Agency computer specialist, who leaked details of several top-secret United States mass surveillance programs to the press.

Here are some of the questions posed by the presenters:

• Gay: Yay or Nay?

• Edward Snowden: Right or Wrong?

• What Caused People to Go to McDonald’s?

Want to be more news literate? Join the discussion and share your views below.

Categories: Good to Know, News & Updates, Program Updates