'People' Names Two Teens To Watch

In its February issue, Teen People Magazine includes two Harvard first-years among its list of "20 Teens Who Will Change the World."

Tatyana M. Ali '02 and Meredith B. Osborn '02 were profiled in the issue, which chose one teen in each of 20 categories. Ali was named "The Entertainer" and Osborn "The Feminist."

"I thought it was great name recognition for my plans of being a politician," Osborn said.

Here at Harvard, people who know the two undergraduates say Osborn and Ali, who could not be reached for comment, deserve the honor.

"[Osborn] really wants to make a difference," said her proctor, Amitabh K. Bharadwaj '95. "I think she has a great leadership capacity."

Teen People's staff includes a team of teen reporters. Those reporters nominated peers, and the magazine used bureaus to compile a list of potential candidates, said Editorial Assistant Vickie Nam.

Then the staff gathered background information on each of the candidates and called them to determine if they should be included in the article.

As a member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) Young Feminist Task Force, Osborn, who hails from San Francisco, Calif., founded several equal-rights organizations.

According to the biography in Teen People, she once held a fund-raising bake sale at which she sold the same cookies to men for $1 and women for $0.75 to reflect the disparity of men's and women's hourly wages.

In ninth grade, Osborn convinced her school administrators to explain their new sexual harassment policy to students in a full-day information session.

In the article, Osborn said she hopes to pursue a political career.

"The only way [to] create change is to do it yourself," she told Teen People.

Osborn was elected a Crimson editor last December, and was the only member of the editorial board to complete the comp, the process by which students join The Crimson.

Ali, who plans to concentrate in anthropology, starred as Ashley Banks on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Her firstsolo recording, "Kiss the Sky," was released lastyear and became a gold single.

She recently came out with a new single, "BoyYou Knock Me Out."

"She's considerate and she's caring," saidLibby Shani '02, her roommate in Weld Hall.

"She's a great friend and she knows how to havefun and we have fun together. There are only goodthings to say, really."

Ali is also pictured in the magazine's 'startracks' section with Will Smith, the rap artistand executive producer of her album.

Ali began her acting career on "Sesame Street"at age four and performed in Broadway andoff-Broadway plays before joining "Fresh Prince."

She has also held roles in two movies andcameos on several television shows.

"Work is for my spirit, and school is for mymind," she told the magazine. "They're [both]aspects of who I am.

She recently came out with a new single, "BoyYou Knock Me Out."

"She's considerate and she's caring," saidLibby Shani '02, her roommate in Weld Hall.

"She's a great friend and she knows how to havefun and we have fun together. There are only goodthings to say, really."

Ali is also pictured in the magazine's 'startracks' section with Will Smith, the rap artistand executive producer of her album.

Ali began her acting career on "Sesame Street"at age four and performed in Broadway andoff-Broadway plays before joining "Fresh Prince."

She has also held roles in two movies andcameos on several television shows.

"Work is for my spirit, and school is for mymind," she told the magazine. "They're [both]aspects of who I am.