[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 156 (Wednesday, December 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING STUDENTS AT LAKE SHORE MIDDLE SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 7, 2005

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, November 30, I was invited to 
address a gathering of students and faculty at the Lake Shore Middle 
School, located in the town of Evans in the 27th Congressional 
District. In addition to having the honor of speaking to a group of 
very attentive and inquisitive middle school students, I was honored 
with a presentation of writings in a ``memory folder'' that I want to 
talk about here today.
  Students in the eighth grade government class of Mr. Keith Dash, a 
Lake Shore teacher--and former Buffalo State College graduate school 
classmate of mine--asked his students to write about freedom, and about 
what they think about when they think of freedom and life in America. A 
collection of these writings was bound and presented to me at this 
gathering, and I wanted to take this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to enter 
these writings into the Congressional Record.
  The students contributing to this project are: Joshua Allen, Kelly 
Carlson, Cody Catalano, Katherine Dinkuhn, Rebecca Swatsworth, Kim 
Vona, Kalie Weinheimer, and Jessica Westley. I am honored to have 
received the writings that these students have labored on for so long, 
and am delighted to enter each student's contribution into the Record, 
as follows:

       The most important element in social studies is the U.S. 
     government. I mean we have all these freedoms; write 
     anything, say anything, do anything. We get a fair trial no 
     mater what the odds are. I am trying to say there isn't any 
     place in the world as good as the USA. In the world it is 
     chaos. I mean wars, fights, and riots. I mean we basically 
     are the translators of many languages like English. We are 
     strong and I don't want it to crash.--Joshua Allen
                                  ____


                               Government

                           (By Kelly Carlson)

       The United States' Constitution is the foundation of our 
     country, what we've built our lives around. To me the most 
     important part of it is the first Amendment in the Bill of 
     Rights. To have freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the 
     very concept that we, the people of America can voice our 
     opinions, is comforting. I value this amendment because, in 
     most countries you're not allowed opinions, let alone to 
     share those opinions with people around you. To me, what I 
     believe in is more important to me than a lot of things.
                                  ____

       The most important right that the Constitution gave me is 
     the right to bear arms. My father and I are both hunters. It 
     is important that the animal population is controlled so deer 
     don't get hit by cars and animals don't have to fight each 
     other for food. It is also a good source of food because we 
     eat all the meat of our kill. The right to bear arms is 
     definitely the most important right to me.--Cody Catalano
                                  ____


                           The American Life

     We see the obvious differences between,
     Us and the citizens of other countries.
     Some are industrialized,
     While others are third world.

     We say what we want to in Maine,
     We publish in California.
     And worship in Pennsylvania,
     In Texas we gather

     We buy a gun in Nevada
     We drive through Ohio
     And vote in New York

     Marriage and voting
     It's all the same
     In the U.S. we can do it all

     The constitution states our rights
     It says what we can do
     It protects us all
     And lets us have a view
                                  ____


                         (By Katherine Dinkuhn)

       Voting is the most important to me in Democracy because it 
     lets me have a say in the government. It also allows me to 
     say my opinion and how I feel about my future. For example 
     the person I feel appropriate to run for government, I would 
     vote for. Voting may be an option but I feel that its 
     everyones job but even better its everyones duty.--Rebecca 
     Swatsworth
                                  ____

       I think the most important thing in our government is our 
     laws. This is the most important because they keep order 
     within our community and make it a safer place to live.--Kim 
     Vona
                                  ____

       When I think of government, I think of the three branches, 
     the constitution and lots of laws. To me, the most important 
     part of the government is laws. The laws I lead my life by, 
     the laws I follow and the laws I can look up to when I need 
     to be pointed in the right direction. They show me right and 
     wrong, good and bad. They let me understand our society 
     today. They explain things like how we became a free country 
     or how slaves became free. But most important, they hold up 
     our society. So, when I think of our government, I think of 
     laws.--Kalie Weinheimer
                                  ____

       There are many important ideas in the Constitution of the 
     United States of America. But there is a very important one 
     that means a lot to me. I think the most important thing in 
     the Constitution is the 15th Amendment. This amendment states 
     that all citizens are given equal rights. This is very 
     important to me because I think regardless of race and color 
     all people should be equal--as the Constitution states. Just 
     because people have a different race they should not be 
     treated different. The Constitution protects this right. The 
     Constitution is the guideline to the government of the United 
     States of America. All people should put others' race and 
     color aside. All people are created equal and should be 
     treated equal as well. Living in America would not be as 
     wonderful without that right. Because of this great 
     Constitution many people came to America and this should 
     always be a part of the United States way of life.--Jessica 
     Westley


     
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