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Central Standard

Seg. 1: Young New Voters. Seg. 2: National Coming Out Day.

Segment 1: With age comes responsibility, and these 18 year-olds are exercising their right to vote.

We talk with college students who are looking forward to voting for the first time this November. But first, the president of Rock the Vote tells us what it takes to get young people to turn out to the polls.

  • Carolyn DeWitt, president of Rock the Vote
  • Suan Sonna, first-year at Kansas State University
  • Arielle Von Der Hyde, first-year at Johnson County Community College
  • Drew Simms, sophomore at University of Missouri
  • Emily Featherston, sophomore at Kansas State University

Segment 2, beginning at 40:25: If straight people don't have to come out as straight, why should LGBT people have to come out? 

National Coming Out Day is October 11th. Coming out means different things to different people. We discuss why it is important, and how the holiday has evolved since it was founded in 1988.

  • Jay-Marie Hill, Trans Education and Advocacy Program Coordinator, ACLU of Missouri
People don't make cameos in news stories; the human story is the story, with characters affected by news events, not defined by them. As a columnist and podcaster, I want to acknowledge what it feels like to live through this time in Kansas City, one vantage point at a time. Together, these weekly vignettes form a collage of daily life in Kansas City as it changes in some ways, and stubbornly resists change in others. You can follow me on Twitter @GinaKCUR or email me at gina@kcur.org.