[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 100 (Thursday, July 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S8948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CONGRATULATING KATRINA RUIZ AND MARCO CAKNESELLA

 Mr. MACK. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and 
congratulate Katrina Ruiz and Marco Caknesella of Miami, Florida. 
Katrina and Marco were selected as national finalists in the 1998 Do 
the Write Thing Challenge Program sponsored by the National Campaign to 
Stop Violence. The National Campaign to Stop Violence is a coalition of 
businesses and nonprofit organizations who have joined together in an 
effort to work with young people to end youth violence in America.
  Katrina, Marco and hundreds of other middle school students in Miami 
took part in the Do the Write Thing Challenge Program this year. The Do 
the Write Thing Challenge Program asks middle school students in 12 
cities across the United States to provide a written commitment to 
reducing violence in their lives by submitting a written answer to the 
question ``What can I do about the violence in my life?''
  It is always a pleasure to hear about programs, like the Do the Write 
Thing Challenge Program, which encourage young people to begin to think 
about the ways that they, as individuals, can have an impact upon the 
problems which confront their community. I am confident that Katrina, 
Marco and the thousands of other young people across the nation who 
participated in the program will set a positive example for their peers 
as they fulfill their written commitment to reduce violence in their 
own lives.
  I commend Katrina Ruiz and Marco Caknesella for their selection for 
this high honor and wish them all the best for their continued 
success.

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