[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 9083-9084]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO THE FILM SCHOOL OF SAN ANTONIO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 17, 2007

  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate and recognize 
the accomplishments of The Film School of San Antonio, a magnet program 
on the campus of Harlandale High School in the Harlandale Independent 
School District of San Antonio, Texas.
  Utilizing a rigorous, sequential and customized curriculum, the Film 
School of San Antonio provides first hand experience in the 
collaborative arts of filmmaking, screenwriting, animation and drama. 
Additionally, the film school prepares students for job opportunities, 
scholarships and college admissions. With a strong foundation in media, 
students also compete in national contests and film festivals.
  The Film School of San Antonio and its students have earned a wealth 
of awards and accolades. In 2005, the program received an Emmy 
nomination for their film ``La Corrida,'' a documentary on the plight 
of illegal immigrants in ``No Mans Land'' just north of the U.S./
Mexican border. In 2006, the program's student produced film Mocha, 
made history when it won a non-student category Emmy Award. This is the 
first high school to be able to claim this achievement in Texas. Most 
recently, the school was invited by the Sundance Institute to attend 
the internationally recognized Sundance Film Festival to meet and 
network with Producers and Directors.
  The famous actor and filmmaker Orson Welles once said that, ``A film 
is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a 
poet.'' The students at the Film School of San Antonio are poets that 
through film find their expression. Through their engagement with the 
program and the assistance of their dedicated teachers, the students at 
the Film School of San Antonio are able to give their poetic visions a 
reality.
  I extend my most sincere congratulations to the program director 
George F. Ozuna; the school instructors: Pete Barcenez, Dagoberto 
Patlan, Daniel Garcia and Sharon Shuler; the school's students: Briana 
Baiz, Mercedes Casarez, Krysten Casias, Samuel Garcia, Michael Levine, 
Felix Perez and Raul Servin;

[[Page 9084]]

and their families. Their work is inspiring. I am proud of their 
success and hope that film continues to bring them much personal 
satisfaction.
                                    Van Junior Senior High School,
                                       Van, WV, February 22, 2007.
     Congressman Nick Rahall,
     Rayburn House Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Congressman Rahall: We are the Senior Civics class of Van 
     Jr/Sr High School in Boone County, West Virginia. We watched 
     President Bush's State of the Union Address and the 
     Democratic Response. We are writing to you to discuss our 
     concerns within the government today. Our Civics class 
     consists of all male students, who (if the draft is enabled) 
     would be sent to fight for a cause we don't understand.
       Our primary concern is the war in Iraq. We are in favor of 
     fighting terrorism, but America went into Iraq under false 
     pretenses. We now know that Iraq had nothing to do with the 
     attack on 9/11. We believe that the reason we went to Iraq is 
     to gain a stronghold on the oil fields. We are trading blood 
     for oil. We have strong feeling that America should have 
     never invaded Iraq because our presence there is breeding 
     more terrorism around the world. We are giving terrorists a 
     common foe to retaliate against. We are incubating more 
     hatred from other terrorists and now giving them a reason to 
     unite hence the statement, ``The enemy of my enemy is my 
     ally''.
       We highly oppose the sending of 2l,000 more soldiers to 
     Iraq. Instead, we must start bringing soldiers home, because 
     who is going to protect us while our soldiers are fighting 
     overseas? Some soldiers are serving their third tour of duty 
     against their will, compliments of the Backdoor Draft. 
     America should have never gone further than Afghanistan. We 
     have forgotten about Osama Bin Laden in our rush to topple 
     Saddam Hussein.
       All we are doing right now is debating while our soldiers 
     are loosing their lives. Let us quit talking and do 
     something! Young lives and futures depend on your actions. 
     Please take into consideration the lives you can save instead 
     of destroy.
       Another of our concerns is the way our economy is being 
     affected by the war. Just think of what 2.9 trillion dollars 
     could have done for this nation. Then look at this figure, 
     oil companies are making an annual profit of 39.5 billion 
     dollars while many people in this nation are suffering in 
     poverty. They are suffering because in today's society one 
     cannot support a family on the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. 
     Only three percent of Americans today are financially well 
     off. The outsourcing of good paying American jobs is causing 
     our unemployment rate to rise. If this trend continues, 
     poverty will become more common and our society will become 
     even more unstable.
       The money spent on the Iraq war has put a tremendous amount 
     of pressure on the recipients of Social Security. Many older 
     Americans have to choose between medication and food because 
     they cannot afford both. Add to this the fact that thousands 
     of Americans still do not have any health insurance.
       America has become greedy and corrupt. When did America 
     stop caring about the common people? The Civics Class of Van 
     High School wants the voice of the common man to be heard in 
     Washington, D.C. We are the future of this great nation and 
     our representatives must consider this while debating the 
     course our country will take, not only in Iraq, but also at 
     home.
       Sincerely,
         The Senior Civics Class of Van Jr.-Sr. High School: 
           Justin Gent, Christopher Boulet, Robert Burnett, Joshua 
           Cook, Jason Hoosier, Matthew Kuhn, Terry Legg, Gregory 
           O'Dell, Jonathan Simms, Robert Valle, Scott White, 
           Kasey Whitman.

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