High school students debate America’s role as a super power

Ed Koch and Heather Rawlyk

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2003 | 2:31 a.m.

Nov. 27, 2003

Death penalty

-- "People believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. (A person accused of a heinous crime) has a chance to prove their case. (If convicted) a lot of people would rather die than live in a cage for the rest of their lives." -- Kylee Bertram, Shadow Ridge High, junior.

-- "I'm strongly against the death penalty. I don't accept that you can put someone to death for killing someone else. It is not efficient. A punishment of life at hard labor working for the benefit of the community would be more efficient." -- Tara Poniewaz, Bishop Gorman High, senior.

-- "If we are going to give someone the death penalty, we kind of owe it to them to give them as many appeals as necessary to be sure." -- Kat Kirkey, Vo-Tech, senior.

Water conservation

-- "I believe there should be stricter enforcement of water waste. It should become a financial issue. People don't care about water, but if you raise the price after a certain point, they will care." -- Sebrina Painschab, Desert Pines High, senior.

-- "Las Vegas became a major city because it is considered an oasis in the desert. The water attractions bring people in and we need to keep bringing in tourists to keep the city going." -- Shane Handa, Silverado High, junior.

Homeland security

-- "The point of Homeland Security is for each individual person to look out for his neighbor and for (the neighbors) to do the same. The country is too big to protect everything all of the time. The airplanes may be safer, but there needs to be more." -- Jared Hall, Durango High, senior said.

-- "I'd rather stand in line for three hours than be stuck on a plane with a hijacker." -- Boniface Njorage, Trinity High, junior.

-- "I think a lot of people take their freedom for granted. I think Homeland Security should be ten times harsher." -- Michael Price, Valley High, senior.

With the United States being the preeminent power on the globe, Las Vegas high school students at the 48th annual Sun Youth Forum this week debated America's moral obligations to the world.

"Going to war against Iraq was a good thing," Monica Michaelson, a senior at Foothill High, said Tuesday during the forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "We had to stand up and not allow a little country like that to walk all over us."

But others like Mohave High senior Christina Johnson argued that the United States cannot on one hand invade another nation to protect its own interests while ignoring other plights in the world.

"We went into Iraq to free them (the people) from a tyrannical government, but isn't it also our responsibility to help the people with AIDS in Africa?" she said. "With so many people suffering and dying there, we have to ask if we are upholding our duty as a super power."

Anthony Gaskins, a senior at Desert Pines High, wonders just how far the United States can go before it is spread too thin.

"We have stuck our nose into everyone's business for so long now that (it appears) we have to take care of everyone else," he said.

A number of students made the point that we need to work on domestic problems such as the homeless before the United States tries to solve the problems of other countries.

Tuesday's forum drew 876 students from 41 high schools in Clark County -- the cream of the area's best and brightest young minds -- to debate many subjects related to seven topics: America, Nevada, world issues, law and crime, school days, teen issues and potpourri. The teens were divided into 21 groups moderated by community leaders.

Sun Youth Forum Director Brian Cram, former superintendent of schools and current director of education for the Greenspun Foundation, told the teens that what they have to say is vital.

"Never believe your voice is not important," Cram said. "Free speech is an important part of our society."

Late Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun and Sun Assistant to the Publisher Ruthe Deskin co-founded the Sun Youth Forum to give young people a voice in the community.

Tuesday's moderators included Hank's sons, Sun Editor and President Brian Greenspun and Greenspun Media Group President Danny Greenspun; School Board President Sheila Moulton; State Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins; and Chief U.S. District Judge for Las Vegas Philip Pro.

"The Sun Youth Forum restores my faith by seeing so many bright, typical young people sharing with each other interesting points of view," said Pro, who has been a moderator since the early 1980s. "In the not-too-distant future they will be voting, serving as jurors and being a big part of our community and our future."

Many forum participants said the United States has an obligation to do whatever it must to remain powerful.

"Our nation has an obligation to itself to protect its own interests," said Katrina Lewin, a senior at Green Valley High. "I don't think we can go too far in taking unilateral action. Yes, we might have upset the French by going into Iraq, but we gained support from so many other nations for the swift action we took."

Other students said that after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Americans were scared. Some said rightly so, while others argued we went too far to retaliate against unknown enemies.

"After Sept. 11, we didn't want to sit around to see what else would happen," said Rachael Riegert, a senior at Centennial High.

"Even if Iraq had an atomic bomb they had no way to get it to America," said Amy Farrow, a junior at the Las Vegas Academy.

"We never proved that they (Iraq) had anything to do with the (Sept. 11) attack," Cheyenne High senior Scott Smith said. "It (the invasion of Iraq) was overplay."

Another hot international issue discussed Tuesday was immigration. Some students said they were sons and daughters of immigrants who went through a lot of red tape to get here.

"In El Salvador many people stand in long lines but cannot get a visa for one political reason or another," said Carol Salume, a senior at Palo Verde High, whose parents came from that Central American nation. "A lot of people can't go through that so they come here illegally."

Isadora Nahmanson, a senior at Durango whose mother is from Brazil, said: "My uncle from Brazil cannot get a visa to visit us because he is a single man, and since Sept. 11, they (U.S. officials) look down on that (as a potential terrorist threat)."

Eldorado High senior Anjonet Beaupre said: "I do think we should send them (illegal aliens) back because some people fought and struggled to get their visas. We shouldn't let people stay that aren't willing to go through the same thing."

May Sas, a Chaparral High junior, said: "A lot of people (immigrants) just want to start a new life and press the restart button. They should not be kicked out for wanting to start a life here."

Centennial High senior Austin Arnold said: "If you want to come to America and get its benefits, then you should give back like it's giving to you. Illegal immigrants come over and they work and get full pay and don't pay taxes or give back to the country."

Each of the 21 groups, following two two-hour sessions, selected a representative who will either write a column for the Sun, appear on a roundtable discussion on University of Nevada, Las Vegas cable television Channel 70 or write a column for CLASS!, a nonprofit magazine for, by and about local high school students.

The representatives are:

-- Sun column writers: Andrew Chang, Green Valley High, senior; Kelly Sinnott, Valley High, senior; Antonio Zorrilla, Chaparral High, senior; Jarvis Graham, Las Vegas Academy, senior; Kirsten Garlock, Green Valley High, senior; Emily Powers, Bonanza High, senior; Emily Childress, Shadow Ridge High, junior.

-- UNLV TV roundtable participants: Grace Saez, Silverado High, senior; Janelle Dewey, Peterson High, senior; Christina Johnson, Mohave High, senior; Jessica Stroup, Cimarron-Memorial High, senior; Max Stevens, Green Valley High, senior; Siuming Lee, Green Valley High, junior; Joshua Tharp, Silverado High, senior.

-- CLASS! column writers: Blaire Schembari, Centennial High, senior; Cory Elder, Boulder City High, senior; Nicholas Grainger, Chaparral High, senior; Dan Reynolds, Bonanza High, junior; Ryan Hamilton, Chaparral High, senior; Sebastian Balint, Las Vegas Academy, senior; Nicholas Smith, Cimarron-Memorial High, senior.

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