[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2875-S2876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                VERMONT STATE OF THE UNION ESSAY WINNERS

 Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, since 2010 I have sponsored a 
State of the Union essay contest for Vermont high school students. This 
contest gives students in my State the opportunity to articulate what 
issues they would prioritize if they were President of the United 
States.
  This is the contest's 10th year, and I would like to congratulate the 
536 students who participated. It is truly heartening to see so many 
young people engaged in finding solutions for the problems that face 
our country. To my mind, this is what democracy is all about.
  A volunteer panel of Vermont teachers reviewed the essays, and chose 
Isabelle Hiller as this year's winner. Isabelle, a junior at Woodstock 
Union High School, wrote about reforming our incarceration system. 
Lucas Whitaker, a sophomore at Hazen Union High School, was the second 
place winner. Lucas wrote about youth suicide and the need for 
comprehensive mental health care. Maya Marcy, a junior at Long Trail 
School, was the third place winner, with an essay on the cost of 
college.
  I am very proud to enter into the Congressional Record the essays 
submitted by Isabelle, Lucas and Maya:


Winner, Isabelle Hiller, Woodstock Union High School, Junior, Education 
                            in Incarceration

       Our country's federal prison system is stuck in an ethical 
     rut. We seem to focus on securing institutions and confining 
     offenders like savage dogs in a pound to ``protect the 
     public,'' and disregard the fact that 44,000 prisoners return 
     to society each year. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) 
     claims that public safety is the goal of detention, but 
     without any mental shift in convicts, all we do is press 
     pause on their potential harm to society until their release. 
     Currently, we have one of the highest prison populations in 
     the world. Unless we plan to incarcerate all convicts for 
     life, our approach to detainment should shift from `prison' 
     to `rehabilitation', focusing on equipping prisoners with the 
     skills to be mentally stable and financially and lawfully 
     successful.
       To do so, all prisoners should not only have access to 
     academic resources, but be required to attend a set number of 
     courses each year. Just a few decades ago, Finland had one of 
     the highest imprisonment rates in Europe. Because of this, 
     researchers started investigating its cause. They concluded 
     that punishment does not help reduce crime. As a result, 
     Finland began `decarceration,' which was better for the 
     prisoners and crime rates didn't increase. Without teaching 
     prisoners skills or continuing their education, we merely 
     take them out of their lives and throw them back with no 
     change, and no basis to be stable in any realm.
       In the United States, prisoners have a higher likelihood of 
     returning to illegal markets and returning to prison. As of 
     October 2017, the BOP found that only 32 percent of the 
     entire designated inmate population was enrolled in one or 
     more education or recreation programs. Furthermore, 
     participation decreases 16 percent in the recidivism 
     population. The only academic requirement in our federal 
     prison system is that inmates without a high school diploma 
     or a General Education Development have to enroll in a 
     literacy program, and need to be successful for good conduct 
     time. However, even for this requirement alone, there is a 
     stoppage to access the program due to overflow of over 16,000 
     inmates--that's a lot of potential students. Plus, although 
     mock job and resume builder courses are offered, inmates do 
     not take advantage of them-even with the knowledge that 
     occupational training program participants are 33 percent 
     less likely to recidivate.
       By increasing funding of education, we ensure equal 
     accessibility to all courses for those 16,000 or more inmates 
     wanting to take courses. Consequently the recidivism rate 
     will reduce, decreasing our total prison population, and 
     lower the overall government spending on imprisonment as a 
     whole. By treating inmates like humans in their time of 
     rehabilitation, with a lower recidivism rate, we more 
     confidently ensure public safety when 44,000 convicts are 
     released each year, strengthening the Department of Justice's 
     prison system core ideologies. Although we have the right end 
     goal, we need to rethink the process by which we get there 
     for the sake of the public's safety and security.


    Second Place, Lucas Whitaker, Hazen Union High School, Sophomore

       One of the biggest issues in America's society today is the 
     mental health crisis in our youth, relating back to the lack 
     of mental health services in our schools. In many cases, this 
     leads to preventable death by suicide. According to a 2017 
     study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 
     (AFSP), suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the 
     U.S.
       Paula Clayton, medical director of AFSP, states that 90% of 
     youth that kill themselves have a treatable psychiatric 
     disorder. She explains that even in suicide clusters, there's 
     almost always an underlying disorder, whether it's due to at-
     home issues or anything else that may be going on, suicide is 
     the last straw. From this information we can gather that 
     mental health is a big part of losing students to suicide. 
     There are several steps that can be taken to ensure that 
     our youth are getting the help they need.
       First of all, mental health professionals on campus is a 
     priority. If funds are an issue, as they usually are, 
     fundraisers are always an option. Schools tend to raise funds 
     for their athletic and music departments, as well as others, 
     but typically not for mental health. Money can be raised in 
     fundraisers not unlike the ones that are used to raise money 
     for extracurricular activities. This way mental health 
     professionals can be on campus for students to speak with at 
     any time, and having the money for this wouldn't be such an 
     issue. Fundraising aside, mental health services are 
     important enough to be state/government-funded.
       Another step that can be taken is the steady normalization 
     of mental health discussions. In society today as a whole 
     mental health is a touchy topic. But with proper approach, 
     these conversations can be normalized so that people are 
     comfortable asking for help without being faced with 
     stereotypes or fear of judgment. This can start with general 
     annual assemblies about the topic and good coverage of the 
     topic in classes. Even a unit in health classes or 
     professionals coming in to speak with students on the subject 
     for a few days can be beneficial.
       In a lot of cases, a student will end their life and it 
     will result in suicide clusters, or what is more commonly 
     known as `copycat suicides'. It's like a trigger that sets 
     off a line of students attempting suicide after another 
     student succeeds. If there is ever a situation in a community 
     where someone ends their life, schoolwide mental health 
     screenings are crucial. There are many non-profit 
     organizations that offer screening kits that ultimately lower 
     suicide rates. These kits usually include short, non-
     diagnostic screens for signs of depression and suicide that 
     could even be beneficial as an annual subject. These are 
     usually completely anonymous and encourage students to seek 
     help.
       Mental health issues are undoubtedly crucial in our youth 
     today. There are several ways we as a country can improve the 
     quality of mental health services in our schools for a 
     brighter future for our generation.


           Third Place, Maya Marcy, Long Trail School, Junior

       For many, college is a liberating opportunity to further 
     one's academic career and pursue a lifelong passion, as well 
     as create a substantial base to obtain an income and begin 
     life in adulthood. As well, with the increasingly competitive 
     workforce, a college degree is almost mandatory to make a 
     living wage. However, accessibility to attend a post-high 
     school institution continues to prove difficult for not only 
     marginalized groups, but also students coming from the middle 
     class. This difficulty arises from the injustice embedded 
     within the education system, a lack of government 
     responsibility, and the senseless and excessive cost 
     attributed to college in the present day.
       According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 
     undergraduate enrollment in any post-secondary educational 
     institution has increased from 53% to 94% in just the past 40 
     years. Accompanying the growth in attendance is the 
     skyrocketing of tuition, a near 260% overall increase 
     compared to a 120% average inflation consumer product 
     increase, according to Business Insider. With this disparity 
     in tuition cost vs. income, the difference has resulted in 
     the form of $1.5 trillion of student debt among more than 40 
     million Americans, as reported by TIME.
       With this, why is so little of the federal budget set aside 
     for such a vital part of our society? There is a simple 
     solution. There is no reason, that in a time of peace, The 
     United States should be spending upwards of $690 billion per 
     year on the military. According to the annual fiscal 
     Department of Defense budget report, in the most recent 
     proposal to Congress, President Donald Trump has introduced 
     an almost 10% increase in military spending, increasing the 
     budget to an astonishing $750 billion. To put facts along 
     with numbers, with a little over 10% of the entirety of the 
     military spending budget--approximately $80 billion--the 
     United States could cover the cost of public 4-year college 
     education for every aspiring student in the country. Putting 
     this plan into action

[[Page S2876]]

     would provide an opportunity for millions of deserving, 
     hardworking students.
       The opportunity to obtain an education is one that many in 
     the United States take for granted. We are fortunate enough 
     in the United States to have many of the most distinguished 
     Universities, programs, and professors in the world. However, 
     the inability to acknowledge and tackle the underlying 
     factors of how economic disparity affects the education 
     system remains apparent. Too often marginalized groups are 
     kept from succeeding in comparison to their privileged peers. 
     Wealth and the quality of schooling have collided for too 
     long. Every young adult has the right to a deserving and 
     fulfilling academic career, regardless of their upbringing. 
     We must realize now that the only way to fix the education 
     system is to approach it as an economic matter. From then on, 
     we will achieve equity and prosperity through the American 
     college system.

                          ____________________