[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 9, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S3686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SALUTE TO WE THE PEOPLE STUDENTS

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, over the past several days, more 
than 1,200 students from across the United States are in Washington to 
compete in the national finals of the We the People . . . The Citizen 
and the Constitution program. I am proud to announce that the class 
from Wyndmere High School from Wyndmere, North Dakota represents my 
state in this national event. These young scholars have worked 
diligently to reach the national finals and through their experience 
have gained a deep knowledge and understanding of the fundamental 
principles and values of our constitutional democracy.
  The names of these students are: Brian Boyer, Mandy David, Julie 
Dotzenrod, Elizabeth Foertsch, Alissa Haberman, Lindsey Heitkamp, Lori 
Heitkamp, Daniel Hodgson, Jesse Nelson, Kari Schultz, Amy Score, John 
Totenhagen, and Bobbi Ann Ulvestad. I would also like to recognize 
their teacher, Dave Hodgson, who deserves much of the credit for the 
success of the class, Phil Harmeson, North Dakota's dedicated state 
coordinator, district coordinator Dan Vainonen, and Kirk Smith, who 
serves as a judge for this year's competition.
  One of the most memorable experiences of my life was when I was one 
of 55 people chosen to represent all Americans at a ceremony in the 
Assembly Room in Constitution Hall in Philadelphia to commemorate the 
200th anniversary of the writing of the Constitution. Our Constitution 
was written by 55 white men, including some of the most revered men in 
our nation's history. In the Assembly Room, George Washington's chair 
is still sitting at the front of the room where he presided over the 
Constitutional Convention, along with Ben Franklin and James Madison.
  Two hundred years later, the gathering was noticeably different--this 
time it was 55 men, women, minorities. I got chills sitting in this 
room because I had studied in a very small school the history about Ben 
Franklin, Madison, Mason, George Washington--just like those students 
participating in the We the People . . . program are doing now--and 
there I was sitting in the very room where they wrote the Constitution 
of the United States.
  I wish every American could have the same opportunity to visit 
Constitution Hall the way I did, but at the very least, every young 
American student should learn about the history and importance of our 
Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The We the People . . . The 
Citizen and the Constitution program is the most extensive educational 
program in the country developed specifically to educate young people 
about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Columnist David Broder 
described the national finals as ``the place to have your faith in the 
younger generation restored.''
  The class from Wyndmere High School has worked hard to become 
``constitutional experts,'' and on behalf of my fellow North Dakotans 
and my colleagues in the Senate, I want them to know we are proud of 
their hard work and dedication.

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