[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 110 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1697-E1698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SCHOOL VIOLENCE AND TEEN VIOLENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 1999

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I submit for printing in the Record this 
statement by high school students from my home State of Vermont, who 
were speaking at my recent town meeting on issues facing young people 
today. I believe that the views of these young people will benefit my 
colleagues.

                       Regarding School Violence

   (On behalf of Sarah Mayer, Jessica Normand and Colleen McCormick)

       Jessica Normand: Set aside the accusations, the anger and 
     the 20-20 hindsight about the massacre of twelve students and 
     one teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, 
     on April 20th. The fact remains that Eric Harris and Dylan 
     Klebold's disturbed states of mind are the result of problems 
     that our society has a responsibility to acknowledge and 
     change.
       This event has broken the already damaged national spirit, 
     but it has brought to our attention the moral decline in 
     American society. The lack of spiritual guidance among the 
     nation's youth that was once thought to be politically 
     correct has only made it easier for young Americans to feel 
     lost. Why did Eric Harris believe so strongly that life held 
     no value, and why did Dylan Klebold feel so alone that he 
     followed the demonic beliefs of his friend? These are the 
     questions America must ask itself. Parents, teachers, 
     administrators, friends, relatives, religious leaders, and 
     especially our government need to take an active role in the 
     lives of young Americans if future tragedies like the one at 
     Columbine High are to be avoided.
       Sarah Mayer: Why is it that prayer is forbidden in public 
     schools, yet at the memorial service for those who died in 
     Littleton, the theme of every speech was that the only way to 
     heal such a wound was through faith in God and prayers of the 
     spiritual community?
       My fellow classmates and I at Rice Memorial High School are 
     privileged to have prayer in our everyday lives. We feel that 
     teaching kids about their spirituality gives them a stronger 
     moral base to make better decisions throughout their 
     lifetime. An anonymous student from a Catholic high school 
     once said, ``We do not kill together because we pray 
     together.''
       Colleen McCormick: Kids need to be able to differentiate 
     between fantasy and reality. But can they do this when video 
     games like Doom, which teaches children how to kill people, 
     are readily available? In order to curb the availability of 
     those games, greater restrictions need to be placed on the 
     Internet and sale of home games. Although the Internet has a 
     lot faster communication and is an effective learning tool, 
     it has also made unhealthy influences such as pornography and 
     deadly games to be at the fingertips of the young.
       The media is another aspect of our society that needs to be 
     more careful about what images they present to children in 
     this country. While freedom of the press is a trademark right 
     of Americans, perhaps that right needs to be restricted in 
     terms of violence and sex.
       Our proposal is that legislation be passed to more strictly 
     enforce the age limits at movie theaters, and all television 
     channels be required to rate their shows according to a 
     government rating system.
       Jessica Normand: Besides the media and schools, the most 
     important influence every child has are their parents. As a 
     society, we need to implore all parents to be involved in 
     their children's lives, and to keep track of the outside 
     influences, such as the Internet and the harmful media we 
     mentioned earlier.
       Sarah Mayer: Kids need to understand that this isn't a 
     video game, it's life, and there is no reset button.
       Thank you.
                                  ____


                        Regarding Teen Violence

                      (On behalf of Alicia Prince)

       ALICIA PRINCE: I am Alicia Prince, here to speak on 
     reducing teen violence.
       I think we are all ready affected by what happened in 
     Littleton. It has definitely given me the passion to come up 
     here to say it.
       I am originally from East Los Angeles, California, and I 
     experienced firsthand the type of violence that happens 
     throughout our neighborhoods, communities, and in our 
     schools. I think that firearms are a really big part of that, 
     and I think that that should be discussed. I'm not antigun; I 
     understand peoples' rights to carry firearms, private 
     collectors, and households as well. But when they're in the 
     wrong hands, there is trouble, there is a problem there. And 
     a child's hands are the wrong hands, and there is no reason 
     why they should even be accessible.
       My specific suggestion would be that there is absolutely no 
     reason why every gun in this country, in this state, cannot 
     be locked up, and ammunition locked up separately. There is 
     no reason to have a loaded gun in your car, in your house. I 
     understand where it is an issue in big cities. But it is not 
     an issue where you have to carry a 9 millimeter strapped to 
     your ankle and walk into a school in Vermont.
       I think that this also goes to a deep-rooted problem of the 
     way our parenting is in this society. Too many times, I have 
     seen people perpetuate these cycles of poverty and violence 
     because they just don't know any better. They don't know how 
     to direct children in a different direction, because that's 
     the way they have been taught. I think that mandatory 
     parenting classes are absolutely essential. It is very 
     important, and no harm can be done in it. I think it should 
     be mandatory, and I think it is very important that parents 
     know how to take care of their kids and know how to prevent 
     this from happening.
       There is no reason why these kids, especially in Littleton, 
     should not have been--you know, this couldn't have gone 
     unnoticed. Okay? They were in the garage five hours, you 
     know, working on bombs, and they had it written in diaries. 
     This was accumulating for the past year and a half before it 
     was, you know, executed. And I think that that is a direct, 
     you know, obvious thing, that the parenting is just not 
     happening adequately enough.
       I am also a ward of the state. I am a foster kid. And all 
     of the foster parents in which I live in their homes, every 
     gun that is in their house and ammunition must be locked up 
     separately. There is no reason it should not be done in every 
     other house throughout this country.
       So my two main suggestions would be, really good family 
     counseling. Parents need to know how to create safe families, 
     so that a teenager or a child has a sense of safety and 
     belonging in their home and in school, instead of having to 
     fight or shoot their way out of safety in school or in the 
     community. And I think it is absolutely ludicrous this is 
     happening when we have every power of preventing it.
       CONGRESSMAN SANDERS. Thank you, Alicia.


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