Danielle Shimotakahara
At Age 13
Campaigning Against Violent Video Games

Danielle Shimotakahara takes the violence in video games seriously.

"If you watch someone play a video game, they get excited," she says. "They want to win and get the points, and I don't think you should get that kind of excitement from killing."

The 13-year-old started the Cool-No-Violence Peace Project, a campaign to prevent children from being exposed to violent video games. A resident of North Bend, Ore., Shimotakahara urges businesses to remove violent video games from their property. If they won't do that, she wants them to place rating stickers on games so kids will know which ones are violent. Shimotakahara has voiced her concerns before a U.S. Senate committee. She has also been featured in national magazines and TV shows. She is a winner of the Prudential Spirit of the Community award.

"I didn't think anybody would pay any attention to me," Shimotakahara said. "I didn't think the world would care. But I have found that so many people agree with me. If you have an idea, try it."

To read Danielle's tips on reducing media violence, visit:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/2714-3111.html

See Danielle's letter to the Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/~brownback/FinishedDocs/MediaViloence/000321shi.pdf