[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 64 (Friday, May 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STUDENT CONGRESSIONAL TOWN MEETING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 2002

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the outstanding work done by 
participants in my Student Congressional Town Meeting held this spring 
at the University of Vermont. These participants were part of a group 
of high school students from around Vermont who testified about the 
concerns they have as teenagers, and about what they would like to see 
government do regarding these concerns.

                        Regarding School Choice

      (By Kristy Lamb, Peter Hicks, Halie Paradee, and Nick Smith)

       Kristy Lamb: School choice is an issue that our Vermont 
     legislature is currently voting on. What we are here to 
     discuss is how choice within school is as important as choice 
     between schools, and its importance on all levels.
       A school is made up of both faculty and students. As a part 
     of that school, students should be allowed to help in the 
     process of making decisions that affect us. Choices are made 
     every day about scheduling, open campus, and many other 
     things, but hardly ever are the students asked what they want 
     and how they feel. It seems as if no one thinks our opinions 
     are valid. But it is our education, it is our learning 
     environment, so we should have a choice.
       Peter Hicks: With this, we would like to have the statewide 
     student body count as one vote in Vermont in the House of 
     Representative.
       Halie Paradee: And we would also like the student body to 
     count as one vote in the local decision-making. And students 
     should receive credits for hours on incentives for any 
     involvement in the specific process, like being here today, 
     we should be recognized for it by our school.
       Nick Smith: I'm discussing another section of education 
     reform. High school students across the state and nation have 
     a serious lack of interest in interest and stamina in high 
     school that has encouraged a serious look at education 
     reform.
       The average day of a high school student about is about 
     seven hours long. This can be broken down into three parts: 
     Six hours and 45 minutes of sitting, sometimes sleeping; 13 
     minutes of moving; and 2 minutes of actual decision-making. 
     We are all familiar with the reading of boring books, reading 
     the seemingly useless notes, hand cramps, headaches, and 
     overall lack of stamina contribute to the long school day.
       No matter how many hours of sleep the night before, a day 
     like this is still tiring. What is the use of education if 
     the student is not awake? One may go to school with a 
     determined attitude to learn, but soon the constant work 
     causes them to give in and see school as a tedious chore.
       Opponents to the idea of recess will argue that free time 
     will encourage tardiness, illegal behaviors, or longer days. 
     But this isn't necessarily so. The proposed recess would 
     consist of a small break, maybe 15 minutes in length, in 
     which students could be somewhat free and active for one time 
     in their day. This activity would result in the 
     revitalization of energy, creating a higher interest in the 
     boring books and a higher stamina to take the seemingly 
     useless notes. These measures will reduce the headaches and 
     increase the effectiveness of education.
       Students are often told the high school is preparing us for 
     today's society. The President of UVM informed us this 
     morning that choices are an important part of today's 
     society. But how with can he prepare for reality if we're not 
     given the chance to make choices for ourselves. How can the 
     leaders of the group define themselves? How can we solve the 
     rising problem of lower test scores and higher dropout rates? 
     We can do it with a small reform reaping large benefits. We 
     can do it with a 15-minute recess.

                  Regarding Genetically Modified Foods

                            (By Travis Buck)

       TRAVIS BUCK: I am going to talk about genetically modified 
     foods, and also their organisms.
       Let's start out with a definition of what genetically 
     modified organisms are, to make sure everyone knows what I'm 
     talking about. They're plants that have been modified by 
     inserting genes of another organism that's been engineered to 
     change that original plant in some way.
       GMOs are quite dangerous to the environment and peoples' 
     health, and also to the rural economy of Vermont and other 
     states. GMO studies have shown that they damage good insects 
     that help plants grow, and create produce, and they also 
     pollute the ground and transport genetic pollution to other 
     plants around the area. And they create superweeds, and 
     superweeds can't be killed by conventional chemicals, so you 
     have this breed of plants that are taking over the crops.
       And in human health, there are many risks, such as allergic 
     reactions that are increased, and resistance to antibiotics. 
     And antibiotics are--it's been a lot of genetically 
     engineered plants and chemicals used in antibiotics, and 
     people aren't as resistant to them. And there has also been 
     some studies that proved that growth and internal organs of 
     humans have been damaged due to the intake of genetically 
     engineered products.
       With GMO seeds, which are the main concern, it increases 
     the cost of farming the seeds will be more expensive. And the 
     seeds are going to make more food, but in the end, that will 
     decrease the price of the produce, so the farmer can't make 
     as much money, putting him or her in a hardship.
       Other countries, many other countries, like Europe and 
     Asia, look to the United States for the effects of 
     genetically modified foods, and we have been sort of an 
     experimental subject, without our consent, which is illegal 
     and hasn't really been looked as an issue.
       Many markets for the U.S. farmers have decreased 
     significantly from the use of GMO products. The markets in 
     Europe and Asia reject these products, seeing what has 
     happened in the United States, and from their studies, they 
     found they have harmful effects.
       And another issue is, many people have said, or many 
     companies say we need to, or the GMOs will help stop world 
     hunger all over, and that is actually incorrect. Right at 
     this point, we are producing more food per person than ever 
     before, and all we need to do is make the food more 
     accessible to the people that need the food, rather than 
     trying to create more food, and wrongly use--create more food 
     with genetically engineered products. It is not going to help 
     anyone; it is just going to hurt the environment.
       And a metaphor similar to this is that the Pandora's box 
     has been opened, and now all these genetically engineered 
     products and foods and organisms have leaped out, and out 
     there to do bad, in most cases. And it is very hard to put it 
     back into the box. And if we would have waited many years and 
     done studies to learn more about what the effects could be, 
     it would be better, and we could bring the genetically 
     modified foods out into the community with more knowledge, 
     and it would help the community more than bringing them out 
     so early, at this point.

     

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