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Mountain Crest students in Washington
for national Constitution competition
By M. Cory Broussard
April 27, 2006 | HYRUM -- The Constitution might be
a mystery to the majority of citizens in America, but
for one class at Mountain Crest High School, the Constitution
is a ticket to Washington, D.C.
"Some of these kids would never get to go to Washington,
D.C. without this," Margaret Obray, the teacher for
the U.S. government class, said.
The students will be competing in a highly prestigious
competition on the U.S. Constitution entitled We
The People: The Citizen and the Constitution.To
get the opportunity to travel to D.C. for the national
competition the students defeated other schools to take
first place in the state competition.
"I'm intimidated," Lyssa Bevan said. "We are competing
with the best kids in the nation."
The competition involves groups from the class to
make four minute presentations on their designated categories,
such as the Bill of Rights. They will then face questions
from lawyers, government leaders and constitutional
scholars that have been recruited from across the country
to judge the competition.
Many of the students will return home after hours
of studying and stress, only to take the advanced placement
tests for comparative and American politics. It's strange
to see high school students working so hard, especially
when there is no extra credit as a bonus. But the students
are proud to be going.
"You get the benefit of knowing that you are an informed
citizen," Clint Hugie said. "You get to be an active
participant in American democracy."
For Obray, thats what she loves about the competition.
The students get to become "extra grade citizens".
"They study and bond," Obray said. "It's like an academic
team."
The Class raised around $17,000 in order to get enough
money to travel to D.C. The state donated some of the
money, but students sold ice cream and gathered donations
from the community to get the majority of it.
Obray's class left at 2 a.m. Thursday, and they were
excited to go.
"We get to go and do our best," Bevan said. "No matter
what happens, whether we take top ten or not, we will
have fun."
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