[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 52 (Friday, May 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S4131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          WE THE PEOPLE . . . THE CITIZEN AND THE CONSTITUTION

 Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, on May 2-4, 1998, more than 1200 
students from across the nation will be in Washington, D.C. to compete 
in the national finals of the We the People . . . The Citizen and the 
Constitution program. I am proud to announce that a class from 
Lahainaluna High School from Lahaina, Maui will represent the State of 
Hawaii. These young scholars have worked diligently to reach the 
national finals by winning competitions in their home state.
  The distinguished students representing Hawaii are: Iao Eisenberg, 
Tiffany Fujiwara, Jasmine Hentz, Erin Lockhart, William Myers, Leah 
Nakamura, Ryan Ott, Michael Prieto, Julie Reed, Sal Saribay, Justin 
Serrano, Jeffrey Shelton, Yee Ning Tay, Kerry Tsubaki.
  I would also like to recognize their teacher, Ms. Ruth Hill, who 
deserves much of the credit for the success of the class. The district 
coordinator, Ms. Jane Kinoshita, also contributed a significant amount 
of time and effort to help these students reach the national finals.
  The We the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution program is 
the most extensive educational program in the country developed 
specifically to educate young people about the Constitution and the 
Bill of Rights. The three-day national competition simulates a 
congressional hearing whereby students are given the opportunity to 
demonstrate their knowledge while they evaluate, take, and defend 
positions on relevant historical and contemporary constitutional 
issues. The simulated congressional hearing consists of oral 
presentations by the students before panels of adult judges.
  Administered by the Center for Civic Education, the We the People . . 
. program, has provided curricular materials at upper elementary, 
middle, and high school levels for more than 75,000 teachers and 24 
million students nationwide. Members of Congress and their staff 
enhance the program by discussing current constitutional issues with 
students and teachers.
  The We the People . . . program is designed to help students achieve 
a reasoned commitment to the fundamental values and principals that 
bind Americans together as a people. The program also fosters civic 
dispositions or traits of public and private character conducive to 
effective and responsible participation in politics and government.
  I wish to extend my best wishes to these constitutional scholars in 
the upcoming We the People . . . national finals and commend them for 
their great achievement of reaching this level of competition.

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