May 25, 2006
The right choice for District 20
It was 1997, and Blair Network Communications (BNC) needed help. The organization was scrambling after the Board of Education censored an October 1996 episode of the current events show "Shades of Grey," which featured a debate about same-sex marriage. Student First Amendment rights were in question, and Jamie Raskin was the choice for legal counsel.
Now, he's the choice for State Senate.
His defense of Blair students, coupled with his history of supporting education at all levels, makes Raskin's campaign for State Senate in District 20, which includes Blair, very appealing for students, teachers and parents alike. Raskin's steadfast dedication to protecting the voices of students, especially our own Blazers, makes him the ideal choice for students in the State Senate race.
Raskin, a law professor at American University, discovered through his work in the "Shades of Grey" case that high school administrators were quashing the very rights they championed in their Civics classes. With the initiative that makes him such a promising candidate for students, Raskin pursued the issue even further, founding the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project in 1999.
The program, which has been introduced at 20 area high schools, organizes area law-school students to teach high-school students about their constitutional rights. The program is taught using Raskin's book, "We the Students: Supreme Court Cases For and About Students." Raskin drew inspiration from the "Shades of Grey" case in writing his book, which details 50 crucial cases as they affect student rights.
While his history within the Blair community is clear, Raskin's other appeal to Blazers is his emphasis on education. Raskin recognizes that the large immigrant minority in Blair's district needs help adjusting to life in the U.S., especially in dealing with rigorous high-school courses. By supporting increased funding for county English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs, Raskin aims to ensure that all MCPS students can receive an equal-opportunity education.
This kind of progressive thinking is just what District 20 needs. Considering that current Senator Ida Ruben represents one of the most diverse and liberal legislative districts in our state, her repeatedly conservative decisions are reason enough for change.
In 2003, for instance, she sponsored the pro-Iraq resolution introduced in the State Senate, much to the chagrin of her constituency in Takoma Park. Ruben also has been a death penalty advocate and has asked fellow senators to double campaign finance limits to expand the role of corporate investors in state political campaigns.
Not surprisingly, Raskin lacks any sort of large corporate funding. At a recent event, Raskin made it clear that big business wants nothing to do with his grassroots campaign: "Of course, they're not offering me any [money]," he said.
This continued attention to the interests of his constituents, especially students, sets Raskin apart. His campaign has shown that Raskin is a new kind of candidate for District 20: one who cares about student voices. In his defense of First Amendment rights in the "Shades of Grey" case an his subsequent national campaign for students' constitutional rights, Raskin worked to improve the educational environment. His progressive platform should not be ignored; the education of future Blair students may depend on it.
Now, he's the choice for State Senate.
His defense of Blair students, coupled with his history of supporting education at all levels, makes Raskin's campaign for State Senate in District 20, which includes Blair, very appealing for students, teachers and parents alike. Raskin's steadfast dedication to protecting the voices of students, especially our own Blazers, makes him the ideal choice for students in the State Senate race.
Raskin, a law professor at American University, discovered through his work in the "Shades of Grey" case that high school administrators were quashing the very rights they championed in their Civics classes. With the initiative that makes him such a promising candidate for students, Raskin pursued the issue even further, founding the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project in 1999.
The program, which has been introduced at 20 area high schools, organizes area law-school students to teach high-school students about their constitutional rights. The program is taught using Raskin's book, "We the Students: Supreme Court Cases For and About Students." Raskin drew inspiration from the "Shades of Grey" case in writing his book, which details 50 crucial cases as they affect student rights.
While his history within the Blair community is clear, Raskin's other appeal to Blazers is his emphasis on education. Raskin recognizes that the large immigrant minority in Blair's district needs help adjusting to life in the U.S., especially in dealing with rigorous high-school courses. By supporting increased funding for county English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs, Raskin aims to ensure that all MCPS students can receive an equal-opportunity education.
This kind of progressive thinking is just what District 20 needs. Considering that current Senator Ida Ruben represents one of the most diverse and liberal legislative districts in our state, her repeatedly conservative decisions are reason enough for change.
In 2003, for instance, she sponsored the pro-Iraq resolution introduced in the State Senate, much to the chagrin of her constituency in Takoma Park. Ruben also has been a death penalty advocate and has asked fellow senators to double campaign finance limits to expand the role of corporate investors in state political campaigns.
Not surprisingly, Raskin lacks any sort of large corporate funding. At a recent event, Raskin made it clear that big business wants nothing to do with his grassroots campaign: "Of course, they're not offering me any [money]," he said.
This continued attention to the interests of his constituents, especially students, sets Raskin apart. His campaign has shown that Raskin is a new kind of candidate for District 20: one who cares about student voices. In his defense of First Amendment rights in the "Shades of Grey" case an his subsequent national campaign for students' constitutional rights, Raskin worked to improve the educational environment. His progressive platform should not be ignored; the education of future Blair students may depend on it.
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"When you were sworn in, you placed your hand on the bible and swore to uphold the Constitution, you didn't place your hand on the Constitution and swear to defend the bible".
This isn't an exact quote, but it's pretty close and I'm not sure who he was addressing, but I think he will do a great job and it's nice that someone without much money can get this much support. Gives me hope for the future.
GO RASKIN!!
Students, volunteer. Parents, vote. Jamie, kick butt.
It is laughable how this appears in a student newspaper where most of the population cannot vote or does not want to vote.
It is laughable how the only group of people Raskin appears to appeal to is the students.
Sure, he may be a democrat. Sure, almost everyone in Blair love democrats. Sure, we are students and he support us. But from what I see, Raskin does not have much of a resume. He'll become one of the 100 senators. His power would be huge. We should not let unqualified people into the Senate no matter how democrat he may be.
Read the article. I'm hardly a Democrat yet he sounds like a great guy to represent us. And this is not meant to be an advertisement, but informing us kids of the people who are representing us. So if for some reason he gets elected and doesn't keep any of his promises, when we turn 18 and have the chance to vote for or against him, we'll know more about him and what he said the last time he ran. Most politicians are in it for the money, this seems (note I said seems, I don't know him personally) to be an honest candidate not in it for the money, but in it to fight for a better country. Historically these types of people don't do too well in elections because money wins elections, but he has my full support. If only I lived in District 20.
1) Apparently our students don't really pay attention in NSL. Like "Hey Dumb Democrats" said, Raskin is running for the Maryland State Senate. Libertarian, you have no excuse. Anyone who paid an ounce of attention would know that Maryland has 8 representatives. So I don't know how you correlated District 20 with 8 representatives.
2) Since Silver Chips is not an independent newspaper, it's dangerous for it to be endorsing candidates. And don't tell me this isn't an endorsement. I don't see how clearer you can get than stating that Raskin is the "right choice for District 20" and "the choice for State Senate." SCO, you have to understand that your endorsement implicitly means MBHS's endorsement of Raskin. The Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun can go about endorsing because they are independent newspapers - not politically perhaps, but their organization and affiliations. SCO is not an independent paper - being a student newspaper, it is tied to MBHS and represents the views of MBHS unless there is a disclaimer. Make this an editorial, fine. Make this an endorsement, not fin.
"Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the school.
Are you implying that only Republicans pray and not Democrats? I was always under the impression that praying has more to do with a person's religious affiliation, not political. Between a Republican atheist and a Democratic Catholic, I would place money that the Democrat prays more often.
I love Silver Chips.
Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the ACLU of Nevada, had read the unedited version of McComb's speech and said district officials did the right thing by cutting McComb's speech short because her commentary promoted religion.
"There should be no controversy here," Lichtenstein said. "It's important for people to understand that a student was given a school-sponsored forum by a school and therefore, in essence, it was a school-sponsored speech."
Lichtenstein said that position was supported by two decisions by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in 2000 and 2003."
Promoting a religion, promoting a candidate, whats the difference? Either way its something that is controversial and will offend people. And, according to the ACLU, is an implicit approval of the school of the opinion presented.