[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E995-E996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               1998 SIXTH DISTRICT ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

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                           HON. HENRY J. HYDE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 18, 1999

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, please permit me to share with my colleagues 
the tremendous work of some diligent young men and women in my 
district.
  Each year, my office--in cooperation with junior and senior high 
schools in Northern Illinois--sponsors an essay writing contest. The 
contest's board, chaired by my good friend Vivian Turner, a former 
principal of Blackhawk Junior High School in Bensenville, Illinois, 
chooses a topic and judges the entries. Winners of the contest share in 
more than $1,000 in scholarship funds.
  Today, I have the honor of naming for the Record the winners of the 
1998 contest.
  Last year, Peter Meyer led Mary, Seat of Wisdom School in Park Ridge, 
Illinois, to a junior high division sweep by winning with an essay 
titled, ``Ban Smoking in Restaurants,'' a text of which I include in 
the Record. Placing second last year in the junior high division was 
James Troken, followed in third place by Eva Schiave, both of whom also 
attended Mary, Seat of Wisdom School.
  In the Senior High School Division, the first place award went to 
Julie Kostuj of Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison for her essay, 
``Freedom of the Press,'' a text of which I include in the Record. 
Shahzan Akber of Blenbard North High School in Glen Ellyn took the 
second place prize, and Nicole Beck of St. Francis High School in 
Wheaton placed third.

                       Ban Smoking in Restaurants

                            (By Peter Meyer)

       Did you know that most of your taste comes from your sense 
     of smell? If you are in a restaurant where people are 
     smoking, how can you taste your food? Although you can 
     request a nonsmoking section for your seating, the harmful 
     smoke from the smoking section is still present in the air 
     you are breathing. That air can cause cancer. A law banning 
     smoking in all restaurants in Illinois will make your meal 
     more pleasant while keeping you healthy.
       Laws are very important. Laws protect us from harm, help us 
     when in need, and preserve our rights and freedoms as United 
     States citizens. When citizens feel the need for additional 
     protection, laws are passed. Currently there is no law 
     protecting people completely from secondhand smoke in 
     restaurants, yet, secondhand smoke is the third leading cause 
     of preventable death in this country, killing 53,000 
     nonsmokers in the U.S. each year.
       We need a law banning smoking completely in all restaurants 
     in Illinois. The current Illinois law bans smoking in public 
     places except in designated smoking areas. It says a smoking 
     area should be designed to minimize the intrusion of smoke 
     into areas where smoking is not permitted. Nonsmoking 
     sections do not eliminate nonsmokers' exposure to secondhand 
     smoke, the smoke does not remain in the smoking section. 
     Secondhand smoke has been proven to be a serious health risk. 
     Even the Illinois General Assembly finds that tobacco smoke 
     is annoying, harmful, and dangerous to human beings and a 
     hazard to public health.
       Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by a 
     cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled from the 
     lungs of smokers. The Environmental Protection Agency has 
     classified secondhand smoke a Group A Carcinogen--a substance 
     known to cause cancer in humans. There is no safe level of 
     exposure for Group A toxins. Nicotine is not the only toxin 
     nonsmokers are exposed to in secondhand smoke. Smoke from the 
     burning end of a cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals and 
     forty carcinogens including: formaldehyde, cyanide, 
     arsenic, carbon monoxide, methane, and benzene.
       Smoke-filled rooms can have up to six times the air 
     pollution as a busy highway. Second-hand smoke does not 
     quickly clear from a room. It takes about two weeks for 
     nicotine to clear from the air in a room where smoking has 
     occurred. In addition to being a carcinogen, second-had smoke 
     causes irritation of the eye, nose, and throat. Passive 
     smoking can also irritate the lungs leading to coughing, 
     excess phlegm, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function 
     especially in children. Secondhand smoke may effect the 
     cardiovascular system, and some studies have linked exposure 
     to secondhand smoke with the onset of chest pain.
       When smoking is banned in restaurants, customers will not 
     be exposed to secondhand smoke. They will be able to eat 
     without suffering from the irritation of smoke, increasing 
     their ability to enjoy their meal. Developing children will 
     have healthier lungs. Restaurants will no longer have to pay 
     to operate expensive ventilation systems and will be able to 
     seat more people by not having to maintain separate sections. 
     People who find smoke offensive will not be doomed to eat in 
     the fast-food restaurants that have banned smoking. Smoke-
     free restaurants may discourage people from starting or 
     continuing to smoke.
       Smoking is already banned in most public buildings. Current 
     laws allowing a smoking section in restaurants do not prevent 
     exposure to secondhand smoke. People are involuntarily 
     exposed to smoke which is a carcinogen and a health hazard. 
     Banning smoking in restaurants will continue the effort to 
     improve public health and reduce health costs. Food in 
     restaurants will taste better and eating will be more 
     enjoyable.


[[Page E996]]

     
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                          Freedom of the Press

                           (By Julie Kostrj)

       Although, according to the United States Constitution, 
     everyone in America has the right of free speech, I believe 
     that in some ways the press abuses its right to free speech. 
     The writers of the Constitution intended everyone to have a 
     right to voice their opinions without being prosecuted by the 
     law. Today, however, the press does more than just profess 
     their views. Publicists often tell lies and proclaim them as 
     facts. As a strong influence in the lives of every American, 
     the media can easily sway public sentiment and ruin the 
     reputation of celebrities.
       The media has a right to report facts. It is also 
     acceptable to broadcast opinions as long as it is made clear 
     that what is printed or said is one's own views and not a 
     proven fact. The press has the right to address social 
     grievances, but publicists must be informed on the issues. It 
     would cause much confusion in the public if a distinction was 
     not made between truths and personal views. The population 
     would never know what to believe, and there would be chaos. 
     The media has crossed the line when it uses misleading 
     propaganda or defames a celebrity. In one's own home, around 
     close family and friends, it is acceptable to state whatever 
     one wants. However, there is a difference between sharing 
     your views with a group of friends and printing your opinions 
     in a newspaper or broadcasting them on national television. 
     Publicists should use prudence and common sense when 
     determining what is acceptable to be read or hear by 
     millions. The media often does not realize its great power 
     and the trust that Americans have in the media. It is 
     detrimental to use this power without discretion. Celebrities 
     especially can have an injured reputation and be 
     discriminated against by something the media declared about 
     them.
       It is very difficult for the government to prevent abuses 
     by the press without violating a constitutional right. The 
     government has passed laws outlawing libel, but libel is very 
     hard to prove in court. The press can find a loophole in just 
     about everything that they print. The First Amendment 
     basically gives the media the right to say anything and 
     assemble whenever it wants.
       The press morally has an obligation to print the truth, but 
     the media more often than not cares more about sales than 
     ethics. As long as the American population continues to read 
     these stories in the newspaper or listen to them on the news, 
     the problem will not stop. The general public has the liberty 
     to buy what it wants. People should not purchase newspapers 
     and magazines in which there are articles in poor taste. The 
     media tailors to the public. The population should not be 
     controlled by the media. The people of this nation have a 
     right to call for higher standards of workmanship.
       Individuals have a right to privacy that the media should 
     not invade. According to the Fifth Amendment to the 
     Constitution, every citizen has the ``right to life, liberty, 
     and property.'' People's individual rights are often violated 
     by the media. Journalists are many times guilty of 
     harassment. They cannot take ``no'' for an answer. Some of 
     the most tenacious journalists will go to great lengths to 
     get a story. Reporters will trespass on private property and 
     harass people until they get what they want.
       I do not believe that celebrities are less entitled to 
     privacy than the general public. Every American is equal in 
     the eyes of the law. Celebrities do not have any less rights 
     than the common resident. However, celebrities do usually 
     tolerate the media better than the commoner because 
     celebrities have an image to worry about. Celebrities know 
     that if they are rude to the press, the media could easily 
     destroy them.
       Although the press is given freedom of speech in the 
     Constitution, I believe that the rights of the individual 
     precede the rights of the press. When personal rights are 
     being violated by the media, then the government has to 
     intervene. The American population should demand that more 
     laws be passed to protect them from the injustices of the 
     media. The press can be regulated by the government without 
     violating a Constitutional right. Just as written in the 
     Second Amendment to the Constitution, every individual has a 
     right to bear arms. However, for the protection of the 
     majority of people, the government has limited the kinds of 
     arms that civilians can own, and it is illegal to carry a 
     concealed weapon. With limits, United States citizens are 
     still allowed to bear arms. There is no reason why the 
     government cannot regulate the freedom of speech of the press 
     without taking their Constitutional liberties away.

     

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