[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 113 (Wednesday, August 4, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S10215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   BUILDING SAFE SCHOOLS AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: THE WEST VIRGINIA 
                                RESPONSE

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, stacks of spiral-bound notebooks and reams 
of paper, boxes of pencils and pens, lunch boxes and backpacks, are all 
making their way onto store shelves across the Nation as summer limps 
toward its hot, dry conclusion and the warm, crisp promise of autumn 
days, yellow school buses, and children walking to school closes in on 
us. A new school year is upon us, with all its bright potential for 
learning. Most students welcome the chance to see their friends again, 
and to again immerse themselves in the business of learning and 
growing. But sadly, some children are afraid to go to school. Some 
children must face and conquer the memories of sudden, violent death 
that have visited their schools in recent years.
  Mr. President, in the wake of the senseless atrocities that have 
ripped at the traditional calm of schools across the country, it has 
become increasingly evident that we must work together here in 
Congress, and with our state governments, to prevent this kind of 
terrible tragedy from striking yet another American schoolyard. I am 
pleased to have recently joined with Senators Lieberman and McCain in 
authoring legislation to create a National Commission on Youth 
Violence, which has been included in the Senate-passed juvenile justice 
legislation.
  With the new school year just around the corner, it seems an 
opportune time to refocus our energies on the work underway in each of 
our respective states, and to help the states craft even more effective 
prevention strategies for the upcoming academic year. And similarly, 
the states will serve as an invaluable resource for helping us to 
better strategize on federal solutions necessary for restoring peace 
and tranquility to our nation's schools. If we hope to have a school 
year free from the violence and emotional grief that rocked our nation 
last year, an equal exchange and dialogue is truly in order.
  Given the most serious nature of the challenge we face, it is 
important that we bring together a wide range of experts to seek 
solutions to school violence. In this vein, I am pleased, today, to 
announce my cosponsorship with West Virginia University of a day-long 
symposium on safe schools and communities. From representatives of the 
West Virginia State Police, to parents, students, and the church 
community, the symposium participants will focus on efforts already 
underway throughout the state to combat school violence, and what more 
needs to be done to better protect our teachers and students from 
classroom violence. I hope that this event will give participants the 
opportunity to highlight the progress that has already been made in 
school safety, while also helping to create a guide for what still 
needs to be accomplished. West Virginia University, with its wealth of 
research and expertise, is the ideal forum for this event, and I feel 
confident that its contribution in behalf of the higher education 
community will further strengthen this ongoing dialogue throughout the 
state.
  A school ought to be a place where students thrive on learning for 
learning's sake alone, and where teachers find true pleasure in 
explaining the details of the battle at Antietam or the Pythagorean 
theorem. It ought to be a place where students can frolic in the school 
playground with classmates during recess without a worry in the world. 
Mr. President, the events of the recent past work against this vision.
  It is my hope that this symposium will provide West Virginians with 
an opportunity to look for ways to prevent such violence from occurring 
in West Virginia schools. By bringing together West Virginia parents, 
educators, students, law enforcement officials, policy makers, and a 
variety of other experts to examine school- and community-based 
strategies to reduce youth violence, we, collectively, will bring 
greater clarity and wisdom to this troubling issue, both at the state 
and federal levels.
  As students and teachers prepare for another school year, we need to 
reflect on the violence that has taken place in so many other 
communities, and look for ways to prevent such violence from occurring 
in West Virginia schools. Through this symposium, it is my hope that we 
will take the time to find the strength to reach across the lines that 
serve to divide us and touch the common spirit that the Creator 
instilled in each of us. It is long past time for us to work together 
on common ground to achieve common dreams.

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