14 June 2016
For Montana’s Democrats, “youth” means one second short of age 37
People who start families early can be grandparents at 36 years of age — but in Montana’s Democratic Party they are still considered “youth.” That so defies what I consider common sense that I was gobsmacked when I discovered the definition last week just before the Democrats held their county nominating conventions. Here’s the salient section of the Democratic Affirmation Statement (PDF) that every convention participant was required to sign:
The African Youth Charter (PDF) has a similar definition:
For the purposes of this Charter, youth or young people shall refer to every person between the ages of 15 and 35 years.
The United Nations has a youthier definition of youth:
The UN, for statistical consistency across regions, defines ‘youth’, as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years, without prejudice to other definitions by Member States. All UN statistics on youth are based on this definition, as illustrated by the annual yearbooks of statistics published by the United Nations system on demography, education, employment and health.
But the UN has exceptions to this rule (the UN is united by flexibility):
For activities at the national level, for example when implementing a local community youth programme, “youth” may be understood in a more flexible manner. UNESCO will then adopt the definition of “youth” as used by a particular Member State. It can be based for instance on the definition given in the African Youth Charter where “youth” means “every person between the ages of 15 and 35 years”.
Defining the upper bound of “youth” with the age of a young grandfather had uses during the Cold War, as it allowed hardened radicals in their thirties to enroll in universities and masquerade as students at international student conferences intended for undergraduates in their early twenties or younger.
The Oxford Dictionaries online avoid using numbers to define youth:
The period between childhood and adult age.
Merriman-Webster also avoids a number:
the time of life when one is young; especially: the period between childhood and maturity
The 2010 edition of the Associated Press Stylebook does use a number, but not the Montana Democrats’ number:
Applicable to boys and girls from age 13 until 18th birthday. Use man or woman for individuals 18 and older.
I’m sticking with the 2010 AP — and sticking it to Montana’s Democrats for defining youth as the age of a young grandfather.