[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6260]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE ROCKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RAMPAGE

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate a group of 
young constituents and journalists at Rockville High School's 
newspaper, The Rampage. This year, the students on the staff of The 
Rampage and their journalism teacher, Kevin Keegan, won recognition as 
the best student newspaper in Maryland for the seventh year in a row. I 
am proud of these students for putting their minds and their hearts 
into creating a first-rate newspaper for the Rockville community.
  More than 200 years ago, when the Framers of the United States 
Constitution created the First Amendment, they recognized and enshrined 
the importance of a free press in a democratic society. With its 
declaration that no law could abridge the freedom of the press, the 
First Amendment also bestowed on our Nation's journalists a unique and 
special role. The Nation has given reporters the awesome responsibility 
to help communicate the needs of the Nation, report on and analyze the 
functioning of government, and chronicle the day-to-day events that 
affect our communities. In return, we hope those journalists recognize 
the importance of their responsibility and carefully tend their role as 
stewards of public information.
  To maintain this profoundly important and delicate relationship, it 
is essential that journalists have strong training in writing, 
investigation, and ethics. That is why I am so proud of The Rampage, 
its staff, and its advisor. Mr. Keegan is teaching the important 
fundamentals of journalism, instilling in these young people the power 
and obligation of a free press, and encouraging them to grow personally 
and professionally in the process. Along the way, their hard work and 
commitment has earned these young journalists great respect and renown.
  I would like to say a special word of thanks to The Rampage advisor, 
Mr. Keegan. He is well-known in Rockville and across the state for his 
commitment to teaching and to his students. As a journalism teacher and 
advisor for 20 years and coach of Team Maryland, a state all-star 
academic team, Mr. Keegan embodies all that is great and good about 
education in America. He inspires students personally, challenges them 
academically, and donates enormous amounts of energy and time to give 
kids the extra attention and encouragement they need to succeed. In 
1997, he was recognized statewide when Hood College in Frederick 
honored him with its Maryland Distinguished Teacher award.
  Mr. President, I have worked with quite a few journalists in my years 
of public service. I have been proud that many Maryland reporters and 
news outlets have earned national reputations and honors. But I am 
uniquely proud of The Rampage today because they represent great hope 
for maintaining a strong free press and a strong democratic society. In 
their ranks we may well find some of the next generation's Pulitzer 
Prize winners. I congratulate them today on their tremendous 
accomplishments and wish them all the best for their future endeavors. 
Maryland is very proud of them.

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