[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             DO THE WRITE THING WRITING CHALLENGE FINALISTS

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the Do the Write Thing Challenge, or 
DtWT, is a national program that provides middle school students across 
the country with the opportunity to examine some of the most pressing 
issues facing their community. It encourages students to examine and 
confront the causes and the effects of youth violence through classroom 
discussions and writings. The focus is on preventative measures with an 
emphasis on personal responsibility. Since the program's founding in 
1994, hundreds of thousands of students have reaped benefits from this 
community-based approach to addressing these complex and tragic issues.
  Middle school students from cities across the Nation participated in 
DtWT. These students submitted creative and poignant essays, poems, 
plays, or songs about their personal experiences with youth violence. 
They wrote about the effect of violence in their lives and about how 
they can contribute to efforts to eradicate it. Students also pledged 
to carry out their ideas in their daily lives. This strategy, which 
empowers young people to make positive changes in their lives and 
communities, has surely had a positive impact on the communities in 
which these students reside.
  Each year, a DtWT Committee made up of business, community, and 
government leaders from each participating jurisdiction reviews the 
writing samples and selects two national finalists. I am pleased to 
recognize this year's national finalists from Detroit, Karan Patrick 
and KeJaun Williams. Their creative pieces about youth violence are 
heart-wrenching and timely. Karan and KeJaun wrote personal pieces 
about the profound impact violence has had on their young lives and 
about the lasting consequences of their choices. They conveyed a deep 
understanding of the result of youth violence. I am impressed by the 
maturity they displayed in confronting this topic and congratulate them 
on being selected as national finalists.
  This summer, they will join other DtWT national finalists in 
Washington, DC, for National Recognition Week. While here, they will 
attend a ceremony in their honor. Their work also will be placed 
permanently in the Library of Congress.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in celebrating the work of the DtWT 
finalists and the many organizers across the country who facilitated 
open discussions in schools about youth violence. Their work is an 
essential element in the development of local solutions to youth 
violence in Michigan and across the Nation, and I applaud their 
efforts.

                          ____________________