[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.