[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 123 (Thursday, October 5, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H8894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING IDAHO STUDENTS FOR TAKING THE PLEDGE TO SAVE OUR SCHOOLS 
                             FROM VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, tragic events often imprint on our minds 
vivid memories. Most Americans remember exactly where they were when 
President John F. Kennedy was killed or when the Challenger spaceship 
exploded. I believe Americans will remember where they were when two 
high school students in Littleton, Colorado, killed 13 innocent people.
  As the Representative for Idaho's Second Congressional District, I 
clearly remember when I learned of the Columbine massacre. I was voting 
on a series of bills when a member of my staff pulled me to the 
television. I watched as students ran out of the school accompanied by 
SWAT teams. I witnessed a young man breaking a second store library 
window and falling into a fireman's arms in order to escape the 
rampage. These images will haunt America forever.
  Unfortunately, school violence is too common today. In 1940, public 
school teachers ranked the top seven disciplinary problems in public 
schools. They were talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise, 
running in the hall, cutting in line, dress code violations and 
littering. In 1990, the problems had changed to drug and alcohol abuse, 
pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery and assault. In the last 12 months 
alone the number of children bringing weapons to schools in Idaho is up 
more than 25 percent. Our problems have changed significantly and so 
must our solutions.
  After the Columbine tragedy, I decided a dialogue must begin on the 
local level to bring about positive change rather than focusing on 
Federal legislation. I organized three town hall meetings in my 
district called Saving Our Schools, or SOS meetings. I invited the 
student body presidents to participate in a panel about school 
violence. Each president from the surrounding schools also signed an 
antiviolence pledge that they took back to their high schools.
  Today, it is my pleasure to report that more than 5,000 students from 
over 40 Idaho high schools in my district took the pledge. The pledge 
reads: ``I pledge to keep my school and community safe by never using 
violence to solve my disagreements and taking personal responsibility 
for my actions.'' Some of those Idaho high schools include Aberdeen 
High School, Blackfoot High School from which I graduated, Buhl, 
Burley, Butte, Castleford, Firth, and on and on.
  The maturity and perception of the students during the town hall 
meetings and assemblies impressed me. Idaho holds top-notch students 
who care about their schools. School violence is not going away, and 
there is not just one answer. But my hope is that schools and 
communities will look for answers tailored to their needs to ensure 
schools are places of learning, not of fear.
  I encourage my colleagues to initiate similar dialogues with the 
students, parents and school officials in the communities of their 
districts before tragedy strikes, not after. As we begin another school 
year, I hope my House colleagues will urge the students in their 
districts to take the pledge against violence in our Nation's schools.

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