    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [June 24, 1993]
    [Pages 929-930]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the United States Academic Decathlon Winners and an Exchange
    With Reporters
    June 24, 1993

        The President. I hope you enjoyed your tour of the White House. And
    I'm sorry we had to start a little late, but as I'm sure you know, a
    very important debate is now occurring in the United States Senate on
    the administration's economic plan, and I had to make a call or two.
        Congressman Beilenson, it's good to see you. I bet you're glad
    you're not involved in that this afternoon and glad to be here with your
    folks.
        It's a real honor for me to welcome to the White House a group of
    true student athletes: the gold, silver, and bronze medal-winning teams
    in the 1992-93 United States Academic Decathlon. The gold medalists are
    from Plano East High School of Plano, Texas; the silver medalists from
    Taft High of Los Angeles; the bronze medal winners of Mountain View High
    School of Mesa, Arizona.
        These students have experienced the excitement of competition and
    the thrill of victory. And they should be a source of pride for young
    people all across our country. They've competed for medals in 10
    different events, from math and science to language and literature, in
    an innovative and inclusive program which fosters competition, enhances
    self-image, and shows how truly exciting the pursuit of knowledge can
    be.
        As I understand it, the team members also are required to give
    speeches, both prepared and impromptu--that's a good preparation for
    being President--write essays and experience interviews. These young
    people are equipped not with javelins or shotputs but with intellect and
    knowledge and the ability to think creatively but with discipline.
        The importance of this kind of pursuit of educational excellence
    cannot be overemphasized. We're at a moment in our history when we have
    to increase the educational ability of all Americans and in which it is
    not simply important how much our people know but what they are capable
    of learning and how quickly and well they are capable of thinking
    through complex problems that may face them tomorrow but are even
    unpredictable today. Because of these kinds of challenges, we cannot
    meet our educational excellence goals through Government mandates. We
    have to meet them through incentives and through environments which
    promote excellence and leadership from teachers and principals, the kind
    of group work that we see in this academic decathlon.
        I applaud the academic decathlon, its president, John Foley, and its
    executive director, Ann Joynt. At this time, I want to say a special
    word of congratulations to the national champions, Plano Senior High
    School from Plano, Texas--Plano East. They're right behind me, right? In
    the center. When I was in high school, Plano had a great high school
    band. Do you still have a good band? It won a lot of national awards.

    [[Page 930]]

    Of course, that was back in the dark ages, but anyway. Under the
    coaching of Joyce Gillam and Jack Worsham, Plano East amassed the
    highest total score, capturing seven gold and five silver medals. One
    particular youngster, Sunny Chu, deserves special mention. Sunny's
    father suffered a severe stroke just days before the national
    competition. Nonetheless, Sunny still managed to win the gold medal for
    highest overall score in the Nation. And I'm pleased to report that
    Sunny's dad is back home recovering. Congratulations to you. Let's give
    him a hand. [Applause]
        Now, the group from Taft High in Los Angeles. That's you, right?
    Coached by Michael Wilson, Taft High pulled in seven gold and six silver
    medals. Mara Weiss achieved the second highest total score in the
    Nation, earning a gold medal in the essay event and a bronze in fine
    arts. In fact, I understand Mara recently wrote to my wife expressing
    her frustration that intellectual pursuits in high school are still seen
    as the domain of the male student. Mara, where are you? Did you really
    do that?
        Ms. Weiss. Yes, I did.
        The President. Good for you. I'll hear more about that as time goes
    on. [Laughter] Let me say that I think that is a real problem. And there
    is actual documented evidence of that, particularly in the math and
    sciences areas, as young people move out of grade school into junior
    high and high school. And you deserve a lot of credit for pointing it
    out. Just a few days ago in the Rose Garden, however, I appointed
    another distinguished student and scholar, Judge Ruth Ginsburg, to the
    Supreme Court. I think those kinds of things should do something to
    shatter the myth that intellectual pursuits should remain the exclusive
    domain of men. And I'm sure you'll have a lot to do with that as you go
    through your life.
        I want to congratulate, finally, the Mountain View High School team
    from Mesa, Arizona. They're here to my left. Under the watchful eye of
    coach Mary McGovern, Mountain View netted four gold and seven silver
    medals. Senior Tagg Grant amassed the highest individual point total for
    his team with the best event being economics. Where are you, Tagg? I
    order you to stay here for the next 2 or 3 months. [Laughter] This
    country needs your help.
        I understand that the scholarships are awarded to the top three
    overall medal winners in each of three divisions. It just so happens
    that eight of those nine scholarship winners are on these three teams.
    But we've indicted the ninth scholarship winner to be with us today as
    well. He's Dan Casey, from Lower Merion High School in Bala Cynwyd,
    Pennsylvania. Where are you, Dan? Welcome. I'm glad they took you in
    over there. I looked up there and counted; I thought they had an unfair
    advantage. [Laughter] Dan took the silver medal for the second highest
    point total in the varsity division.
        Each of these young people represents our best future, our best
    hopes. They have proven how much people can do when they put their minds
    to it, and I am very proud of them.
        I'd like now to invite John Foley to say a few words, and then I'd
    like to have some pictures taken with the teams and say hello to them.
    But first, Mr. Foley, thank you for your work, and come up and have a
    platform.

    [At this point, Mr. Foley thanked the President and explained the
    history of the program.]

        The President.  Thank you.

    Super Collider

        Q.  Mr. President, the House has voted to kill the super collider
    program. Do you have any reaction, sir?
        The President.  They did last year. Maybe the Senate will save it,
    and we can save it in conference. I'm not surprised. You know, I'm
    grateful to them for saving the space station. That was headed for
    defeat, and we did a lot of work on it, and I'm glad we were able to
    save it. I always anticipated that if we were going to save the super
    collider, it would have to come in a conference after the Senate did it.
    So it's really up to the Senate now to decide on the super collider.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:33 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.