[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1387-E1388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ISSUES FACING YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 22, 1998

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record statements by high 
school students from my home state of Vermont, who were speaking at my 
recent town meeting on issues facing young people today:

       Statement by Nat White-Joyal regarding Medicinal Marijuana

       Hi. My name is Nat White-Joyal. I want to talk about the 
     legalization of marijuana for medical and homeopathic uses.
       I think that it is necessary, for people who suffer from 
     certain diseases where marijuana can be helpful to them, that 
     it be legal. For someone to always be knocking on your door 
     and wondering what that smell is and needing to have that to 
     be comfortable and to sort of have--I don't want to say 
     survival, but to have a more comfortable life.
       I know that in several states, California and Arizona, that 
     laws are either to be introduced or have been passed about 
     legalizing medical marijuana. I am also aware of the pressure 
     that these people who grow it and use it receive from the 
     authorities. And I think that it is very important for these 
     people not to have that pressure. I know from people that I 
     know with certain diseases, hepatitis C and AIDS, that they 
     need marijuana to improve their appetite so that they don't 
     starve, so they can actually have some sort of energy. And I 
     think that it needs to be passed, not only in certain states, 
     but in the entire country.
       I think it's something that is very important, and if you 
     were to look at actual numbers, it does actually help people 
     more than it hurts people. It is documented that marijuana 
     does kill brain cells, but so does alcohol and cigarettes, 
     and they are both legal, and they really don't provide any 
     use for any other purpose except for taste and addiction.
       Now, people would argue that marijuana is only used to--you 
     know, people would only use marijuana to get stoned, but that 
     is really not true. The people who I know who use it use it 
     so that they can go on with their daily lives and, you know, 
     hold down a job, not have to call in sick every other day. I 
     feel it would be very important to have it legalized in 
     Vermont as well, because, I mean, it is a very important crop 
     for Vermont, whether it is legal or not.

 Statement by Ewing Fox and Damien Wyzga Regarding Youth Group Centers

       EWING FOX: This room looks a lot bigger from up here.
       Many students have already mentioned the need for a safe 
     teen environment. We think that we have a healthy alternative 
     to some of the ideas that people have come up with so far. I 
     think people have some good ideas, but I know a lot of kids 
     feel that there is a stigmatism around community youth 
     centers, and they're boring. There are too many adults, all 
     you can do is sit on a couch and, you know, watch TV or 
     something, and I think that Burlington's youth needs more 
     than that to stay occupied.
       We are modeling a center, a youth group center, that is 
     called Main Street Park after a youth program that I visited 
     in Massachusetts several years ago. It was completely run by 
     students and volunteer parents. They had a snack bar, 
     concessions and vending, which paid for a lot of the cost. It 
     was housed in a public building. There were vending machines 
     that were donated, there was pool playing, and the parents 
     that would stay in an outer room that do the vending and 
     admissions, there was a small admissions fee, and the 
     majority of the center was run by the students. I think that 
     a program similar to that could work in Burlington.
       I think we can also address the issue around skateboarders 
     in Burlington. I know I was eating lunch in City Hall park, 
     and I was appalled by watching these skateboarders like, you 
     know, walk up, take a jump, and get off their skate board, 
     tiptoe down the street and walk back. I think that is so 
     ridiculous, that some people have to be reduced to breaking a 
     law to do something that is as simple as riding a skateboard.
       I think also, for a center like this to work, we need to 
     have a location. I know there is an empty building on lower 
     Main Street where the old flea market was. It has been like 
     that since I have been here, which isn't very long. And it is 
     useless property right

[[Page E1388]]

     now, it's been sitting there and is pretty ugly, and nobody 
     does anything with it. It is close enough to downtown where 
     it would be, people who are downtown, hanging out, it is a 
     safe option for people, yet it is not so far from the 
     residential areas that it would be impossible to get to.
       Our facility would have a movie room, pool tables, a skate 
     park, and vending machines to help pay for these things. The 
     reason for the skate park that I think is a really good idea 
     is we have a lot of skaters in Burlington, and there is no 
     skate parks in Vermont. I have a friend, josh, who was 
     supposed to be here, but could not. He traveled to Montreal, 
     travels like two and a half hours and pays $15 to $20 to go 
     skating to ride a skateboard. And I think that, the town 
     could charge $5, which would help cover maintenance costs and 
     things like that. And we can cut costs also by being indoors. 
     You might think that indoors is more expensive, but with an 
     outdoor facility you have to store all the ramps. You can't 
     just leave them out.
       CONGRESSMAN SANDERS: Let me just jump in there. Damien, do 
     you have something you wanted to add to that?
       DAMIEN WYZGA: No.
       CONGRESSMAN SANDERS: Okay. You are here for company.
       EWING FOX: I think this would allow kids to have a safe 
     place to be after school, even in the winter, because it goes 
     all the way through. We also have some safety requirements 
     like helmets and safety gear, and legal waivers.
       It will be expensive though, it won't be cheap, and will 
     require the town's support, and Damien has some ideas on how 
     to finance it.
       DAMIEN WYZGA: To finance this endeavor, we are going to 
     draw upon the city skate park fund. As far as I know, I think 
     there is about $60,000 in it. Once the center is open, we are 
     going to maintain it with revenue from vending machines, 
     video games, dollar movies, and a small entrance fee. We will 
     also promote local skate shops in Burton. Burton has excelled 
     in community outreach, programs, including its CHILL program, 
     which I was in. This is a program designed to give youth the 
     chance to snowboard.
       We believe that, to begin this program, we will require 
     about $100,000 to build the ramps, jumps and half pipes. This 
     would also include the upkeep. We believe we will receive the 
     support from the community at large, and companies like 
     Burton, Original Sin. Cherry Bone, B Side, Snow School, Snow 
     Board Attic, and the American Ski Corporation.

          Statement by Abby Krasner Regarding Student Activism

       ABBY KRASNER: I am presenting the need for government 
     support for student activism and involvement in politics. 
     This issue is of great importance, because we have the lowest 
     voter turnout in any industrialized nation. Since the voting 
     age is 18, the best time to start to engage people in our 
     political system is in high school. Now, few 18-year-olds 
     know enough about policy issues beyond the sex lives of their 
     politicians.
       Our involvement ensures a reversal in the trend of low 
     voter turnout. If this generation started to be involved, our 
     voter registration rates would increase as we got older. Soon 
     almost everyone would have a sense of responsibility for the 
     political and social state of our nation. Also, perhaps our 
     idealism can counteract the cynicism of the older people, to 
     put a positive slant on politics. If we become involved, the 
     word ``politics'' might not just mean a spectator sport in 
     which people are expected only to care about the winning and 
     losing sides; it might become a word that connotes caring 
     about other people and the condition of our society.
       My experience shows that getting young people involved is 
     much less difficult than is ordinarily supposed. I am the co-
     chair in Vermont for an organization called the International 
     Student Activism Alliance, a nationwide group dedicated to 
     helping students find a voice and express their concerns. In 
     this role, I have discovered many students in the state and 
     county who deeply care about the world around them. They 
     simply lack the resources to connect with each other, and 
     therefore often find it difficult to make a difference.
       Since the student activism groups that exist have limited 
     funding, they are unable to reach the number of students they 
     would like to. I propose that state and/or national 
     governments support activism through several methods, 
     including funding. This student/congressional town meeting is 
     a good first step. If every state could have a comparable 
     meeting or conference put together by their Congressperson or 
     other elected official, students around the country would 
     have a forum to exchange their ideas.
       The goal would be to involve as many students as possible. 
     Local groups of students would meet more frequently to focus 
     on what their involvement means to their community, state and 
     country. The statewide coalition of groups created by the 
     conference or meeting would communicate regularly. Delegates 
     from the state group would come together in a national 
     conference, where they would be able to share their opinions 
     with people from around the country. Their lawmakers would be 
     requested to meet with the group or with delegates privately, 
     to advise them. This would provide a link to the political 
     system, that would encourage the students to attempt to solve 
     their problems through the system. Another way to connect 
     students around the country is through electronic media. 
     Funding from the state could allow for a central web site to 
     be set up, an E-mail mailing list, or a national database 
     that listed the names and issues of socially active youth 
     around the country.
       In all these efforts, we need the advice and support of our 
     lawmakers. We are fledgling activists, and are often so 
     unsure we can change anything that we don't attempt to. If 
     every politician were like Bernie and supported youth 
     involvement through involvements like this, the country would 
     be invigorated by young activists. We need financial support 
     to extend the research of organizations; but we also need 
     moral support to disprove the myth of teen apathy to the 
     world.

     

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