[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4030-S4031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           VERMONT STATE OF THE UNION ESSAY CONTEST FINALISTS

 Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask to have printed in the 
Record some of the finalist essays written by Vermont High School 
students as part of the 10th annual ``State of the Union'', essay 
contest conducted by my office.
  The material follows:

              Hussein Amuri, Winooski High School, Junior

       ``Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses 
     yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming 
     shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift 
     my lamp beside the golden door!''
       Emma Lazarus, a native-born American, included these 
     sentiments in the sonnet ``The New Colossus'' engraved on the 
     pedestal that supports the Statue of Liberty. The words and 
     the statue embody the greatness and intellect of this 
     country. I am a teenage immigrant from Tanzania, whose family 
     fled the Second Congo Civil War to enter the ``golden door.'' 
     Those words are not just words to me, they represent my 
     reality. Yet, I think America is moving away from these 
     values, dishonoring the hard-won identity of countless 
     immigrants. I think America needs to reclaim these values 
     because diversity forms this country's strength and its path 
     to renaissance.
       People fleeing wars, persecution, and conflict founded the 
     United States to build better lives. Our founders, like my 
     family, arrived poor and desperate. Today, however, Americans 
     attack newcomers, blame them for economic tribulations and 
     cultural disruption. Do we steal jobs and fail to pay taxes? 
     No, these so-called beliefs are myths. According to the 
     National Foundation for American Policy, 55% of the country's 
     $1 billion start-up companies-such as Uber, SpaceX, and 
     Avant--had at least one immigrant founder and each start-up 
     created more than 760 jobs. In my hometown of Winooski, we 
     have popular ethnic restaurants like Pho Dang Vietnamese Cafe 
     and Tiny Thai; grocery stores like Sagarthama Grocery and 
     Asian Market; businesses built and owned by immigrants, the 
     ``huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'' Many people from 
     around Vermont find job opportunities here, including myself. 
     Native-born Americans come to shop and enjoy themselves at 
     these shops and restaurants.
       In 2017, working immigrant households paid $405 billion 
     dollars in taxes; DACAeligible residents paid $4 billion, 
     according to the New America Economy Coalition. Legal and 
     unauthorized immigrants pay taxes. Poor, ``wretched refuse,'' 
     struggling in our home countries, we decided that America 
     offered more opportunities, and brought our cultures, ways of 
     life, and strong wills here. We enhance the economy and 
     introduce new perspectives to American life. My beautiful 
     mother hardly speaks English and works two jobs to support 
     herself and my brothers. She pays taxes. We see her seldom 
     because she's usually at work. From where we sit, she's 
     contributing a lot to the economy.
       We are ``your tired, your poor.'' We are ``the homeless, 
     tempest-tost.'' We are here today and contributing to this 
     country. We are the New Colossus and represent the words 
     engraved on the pedestal supporting the Statue of Liberty. 
     Can we keep the legacy of this sonnet alive, a legacy that 
     truly defines this country's strength, roots to renaissance, 
     and diversity? Listen and acknowledge stories from my mother 
     and thousands of other immigrants. Those stories are full of 
     hardship and revitalization. In despair, we came to ``lift 
     our lamps, beside the golden door,'' and we found hope for 
     ourselves and the United States of America.

           Maely Brightman, St. Johnsbury Academy, Sophomore

       Today in many schools, students are receiving inadequet sex 
     education and it's negatively impacting their health and 
     well-being. In the United States only 24 states require 
     public schools to have sex education and 20 of them require 
     it to be medically accurate. The lack of coverage on subjects 
     such as safe sex, LGBTQ topics, menstruation, and body image 
     is damaging the well-being of today's youths.
       Research shows that having accurate comprehensive sex 
     education classes leads to lower rates of teen pregnancy and 
     contracting an STI. Teens understand the importance of using 
     protection and contraceptives. In fact, NCLS states that 
     people age 15-25 make up 25% of the sexually active 
     population but the rate of them contracting is 
     disproportionately high. By teaching teens accurate 
     information, they have more knowledge to make safer 
     decisions. Medically accurate information has been shown to 
     have a higher influence than no sex education at all or 
     abstinence-until-marriage education.
       It is also important that we do not just teach about 
     heterosexual intercourse, but have an LGBTQ inclusive 
     ciriculum. The lack of awareness and information about the 
     LGBTQ community leads to teens and adults who don't know how 
     to have safe same-sex intercourse. A surprising amount of 
     people don't know what a dental dam is. It's a protection 
     from STis when performing oral sex. Furthermore, teaching 
     children about healthy, normal LGBTQ relationships would help 
     normalize same-sex relationships and non-cisgender 
     identities. It is an important component in supporting LGBTQ 
     youth.
       In addition, accurate sex education would help defeat the 
     stigma in teens, specifically boys, that surrounds 
     menstruation and other natural things that happen to girls 
     and boys during puberty. Because of society's influence, many 
     people end up believing that normal, healthy processes are 
     bad or gross. This can cause bullying, low self esteem, or 
     abuse. Sex education would help normalize these natural 
     occurances. That is why the government should require all 
     public schools to have medically accurate sex education 
     classes.
       While it would be a difficult and long process, the outcome 
     would be worth the effort. Many people are against this idea, 
     under beliefs that kids shouldn't be exposed to the world yet 
     or for religious reasons, however by shielding them from the 
     truth parents ensure that their children have less knowledge 
     and information to rely on when they reach adulthood. 
     Typically in schools that teach sex education, they start in 
     middle school. I feel that it is a good starting point for 
     schools. The law would have to be changed at a federal level, 
     so that it affects the whole nation. This would be a tedious 
     process, however I believe it would bring a much needed 
     improvement for American youths.

               Isabelle Chen, Oxbow High School, Freshman

       As everyone starts to shift into the next decade, there is 
     one prominent issue that can no longer be silenced. This 
     problem not only applies to Americans but includes every 
     living species who wanders this earth. Despite our state of 
     ignorance, earth has continuously given us telltale signs 
     that climate change is quickly altering our planet. Yet many 
     of us still refuse to see the consequences that climate 
     change has created thus far. Unstable air quality, increase 
     in hotter temperatures, and the rise of sea levels are a few 
     of the repercussions that mankind has generated. Before we 
     can solve other pressing matters like gun control or 
     inequality, we must make global warming our top priority, for 
     it is destroying the very ground we stand on.
       According to NASA, the exploitation of fossil fuels is the 
     main driving force in the production of atmospheric carbon 
     dioxide. The action of burning fossil fuels leads to the 
     consolidation of carbon and oxygen in the air to forge CO2. 
     The depositing of excess CO2 in the atmosphere is solely 
     based upon human activities. We lack the action needed from 
     the government to prevent such happenings.

[[Page S4031]]

     Additional grants and federal funding should go towards 
     companies whose mission is to use sustainable energy sources. 
     Those companies will improve further with the increased 
     funding and influence others to reject coal and oil for the 
     more sustainable utilization of solar energy, geothermal 
     energy, hydroelectric energy, etc. The cessation of fossil 
     fuel use will decrease stock and mass production for oil and 
     coal companies, ultimately weakening the usage of greenhouse 
     gases.
       What also needs special attention drawn to is the 
     deliberation of entering America back into the Paris Climate 
     Agreement. The agreement states that all countries signed 
     into the arrangement will focus their efforts on the 
     prevention of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. 
     Nearly 200 countries plus the European Union are currently in 
     the agreement. If America joins back into the Paris 
     Agreement, not only would we be establishing trust and a 
     working relationship alongside other countries, but America 
     would be delivering a message to all citizens living in it 
     that fighting climate change is crucial to the outcome of our 
     future. Not to mention, the United States is one of the most 
     vigorous advocates for climate action. We must not abandon 
     our efforts now in a time like this.
       The world cannot prosper with the threat of climate change 
     looming over our heads. In the words of President Obama, 
     ``Climate change is no longer some far-off problem; it is 
     happening here, and it is happening now.'' Denial of the 
     present and our own ignorance to believe the earth will fix 
     itself will simply not stand. Acknowledging that climate 
     change is legitimate would be an essential element in 
     hindering the ongoing growth of global warming. Switching 
     over to viable energy sources and providing government 
     funding to sustainable corporations will decrease the 
     advancements of CO2 emissions by a large sum. This is our 
     planet, and we must protect our only home.

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