Youth panel has
ideas for future

The Youth Legislature's bills
will be passed along to the
state's Legislature

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

To work on a tan during spring break is productive, said 16-year-old Cherisse Kent, Hawaii's youth governor.

But to pass along ideas for reform, change and progress to the state Legislature -- now that's really productive, she said.

More than 60 teens from the state's public and private high schools opened the 49th Hawaii State YMCA Youth Legislature yesterday. They sat in the seats of their real-life state senators at the Capitol.

"These are our ideas for the future of Hawaii," said Kent, a junior at Waiakea High School. "This is our time to speak out."

The bills the Youth Legislature passes by the week's end will be forwarded to the state Legislature for consideration.

The Youth Legislature plans to focus on the state's education and financial status, Kent said.

The teens plan to consider bills such as raising alcohol taxes by 25 percent to pay for rehabilitation programs, making drug testing mandatory to obtain a drivers license, establishing teacher evaluations for continued employment, requiring seniors to pass a literacy test before graduating, and instituting uniforms for all public-school students. Those are just a few.

"Now you can get away with a lot of things," said Kent, interested in studying law. "If you make the laws more specific, it's harder to get away with them."

Gov. Benjamin Cayetano told the Youth Legislature they have "a truly awesome responsibility." The process "isn't a cut-and-dry meeting of the minds. It involves balancing the needs of the people. In the end the buck stops with you."

Great leaders enter the servant's door first, meaning they serve first before they lead, said Michael Chun, Kamehameha Schools leader and chairman of the board for the YMCA of Honolulu.

"Don't ever be afraid to speak with your heart," Chun told them. "Stand up and speak what is right and true."

Serving her fifth year in the Youth Legislature, Marissa Kimura, 17, said the experience has made her think a lot more of state politicians.

"It's a job, a career. It requires so much work," the Roosevelt High School senior said. But Kimura loves it enough to do it on her spring break.

"I'm totally excited," she said. "It's a really good program. We learn so much. And I love seeing my friends I made last year."