Kids vote Following are the issues that those in grades 6 through 12 will be voting on in the General Election Nov. 3.
on the issues
Along with their
parents on Nov. 3Students responded to the first three topics last week, and to issues No. 4 and 5 today. Other topics will be covered in following weeks. As you read the student comments, do you feel persuaded by their arguments? How do you feel about the subjects?If you would like to voice your opinions -- in cartoons or words -- on topics 5 through 9, submit them to: Kids Voting, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, HI 96802.
Make sure to include your name, age, school and phone number. Deadlines are given after the issue topics below:
1. Do you feel that school is preparing you for the future?
2. Should juveniles be tried as adults for adult crimes?
3. Should the student representative on the Board of Education have voting rights on the board?
4. Should the driving age be raised from 15 to 18 years old?
5. Should it be unlawful for adults to smoke in confined areas with children under the age of 18 years old?
6. Do you feel safe at school? (Oct. 23)
7. Should a doctor be able to assist a terminally ill patient in taking his/her own life? (Oct. 23)
8. Cockfighting is illegal in Hawaii. Should it also be illegal to be a spectator at a cockfight? (Oct. 30)
9. Do you believe that there is a connection between people who are cruel to animals and people who are violent to humans? (Oct. 30)
QUESTION: Should the driving age be raised from 15 to 18 years old? Driving’s not a right
YES: For as long as I can remember, the legal driving age in Hawaii has been 15 years old. This election year the question of raising the legal driving age boggles many minds. Because of an increasing number of teen fatalities and careless teen-agers, I believe the driving age should be raised from 15 to 18.
Every year, an increasing number of teen-agers die in car crashes. For the most part, it is because the driver is a careless, irresponsible individual. I am only 16, but feel I have seen it all, like those stunts some teens pull: challenging other cars to race on the highway, drinking under the influence, cutting off cars, the list goes on.
Maybe they do it to show off, to bring out that rebel in them that is dying to come out. I surely do not know. If only those daredevil teen-agers knew that what they are doing could cost them their lives or others' lives, maybe they would stop. Raising the driving age will probably cause a decrease in teen-ager fatalities due to car accidents.
We have to prove to legislators here and now that we will not tolerate the irresponsible teens on the road right this minute. In order to decrease the number of teen driving fatalities, create more responsible teens and prove to the legislature that we care about what goes on in our state, we need to approve the law increasing the legal driving age from 15 to 18.
-- Charlene Fajardo, Pearl City High, grade 11
MAYBE: As a teen, driving is something that I have been looking forward to, but I have also been taught that driving is a privilege, not a right, and that it is something that must be earned.
I do not feel that it is knowledge that young drivers lack, but the maturity and responsibility that goes along with driving. I think that 15 is a suitable age to learn to drive, as long as you realize that driving is a task which requires a large amount of maturity.
I am also aware that many states have laws that only allow teens under a certain age to drive during the day, thereby allowing them to use their car for transportation, but lowering the rate of teen driving fatalities at night. I feel that this system would have a positive effect on Hawaii's driving community.
-- Brian Fields, Kailua Intermediate School, grade 8
NO: I have been looking forward to driving ever since 6th grade. But to my horror, I now hear that some people are thinking of raising the driving age to 18. I strongly disagree with this. I believe that those who want to raise the driving age do not realize the advantages of teens driving. Teen drivers help parents
Teens nowadays have busy lifestyles. School, part-time jobs and extra-curricular activities are some examples. Having a car is an advantage in going to school and work. Parents benefit from having a child that drives. The family has another person who can assist in tasks requiring use of a car, such as picking up siblings or going out on grocery store errands. By 18, a person would probably be on their own and too absorbed in their own affairs to assist.
People may say that an 18 year old drives better than a 15 year old because an 18 year old is more mature. But if you compare an 18 year old with three years of road experience to one who has just gotten a license, the experienced teen would probably drive a lot better. Experience is life's best teacher. If a teen starts driving at 15, it would provide him or her with more on-road experience.
Being able to drive symbolizes independence. It is a rite of passage into adulthood. The driving age is all right as it is. Please don't prolong our wait to drive.
-- Linda Ho, Pearl City High School, 9th grade
QUESTION: Should it be unlawful for adults to smoke in confined areas with children under the age of 18 years old? Protect us from your
dirty smoking habitYES: With all the warnings and new studies that keep popping up about smoking and its effects, one would think that adults would have the common sense to quit their nasty habit, or at the very least not expose their children to its dangers.
However, many caring and loving parents light up day after day in the car or at home and expose their precious children to the even deadlier second-hand smoke. Where is the logic in this? It is one thing to cause harm to oneself, but when one endangers a child it is a horrific act.
No one in their right mind would leave a million-dollar painting to the elements, yet some think nothing of it when it comes to damaging a child's lungs and exposing them to a bad habit.
Parents or adults who always feel they know what is best light up over and over in already suffocating rooms. Children's cells constantly duplicate, and when those fresh, developing cells are exposed to smoke they become possibly prone to cancerous growths.
Each time a young child sees his or her parent or idol light up, he or she is introduced to the bad habit of smoking. The child may try to emulate his or her elders, so it is only natural that they would want to smoke too. Older children may see smoking as a sign of adulthood, or even a sign of sophistication.
Smoking can cause cancer, an illness which could be terminal. We know its harmful effects and know about nicotine addiction. A child's lifespan decreases with every smoke-filled breath drawn. This is just plain murder. When will lawmakers do the right thing and forget how unpopular the law will be and put an end to the killing?
-- Aimee Takaki, Pearl City High School, 11th grade
I don't think that smoking should be allowed in confined areas when there are children under the age of 18 present.
I think that smoking is dumb and gross and children should not be introduced to this life-taking drug. I wish that smoking had never been invented. It costs a lot of money, it kills people, pollutes the air, results in litter and affects innocent people. These are only some of the problems caused by smoking.
Smoking should be stopped period! Take all the tobacco money used to produce cigarettes and use it to cure a disease. Help cure all the people with lung cancer.
-- Kim Otsuka, Pearl City High School, 11th grade
Who will you be
voting for?Here's a sample Candidate Ballot
for practice voting:
All students with Candidate Ballots will be voting in the categories of:
Governor and Lt. Governor
ALOHA Kids! By now you have learned that voting is a right that only adult American citizens can exercise in this country. Thanks to many adults, however, YOU, as a young person, will be allowed to experience the voting process on Nov. 3. KIDS VOTING MESSAGE
By Lyla Berg
What happens at the polls?
Days until the General Election: 14
Imagine! YOU may go to the same place as adults to practice the same adult responsibility of American citizenship! And after you vote during the daytime, you'll have the opportunity to hear the election results -- just like the grownups -- at the KIDS VOTING HAWAII headquarters at Restaurant Row.
Think of Election Day like Christmas. We know that we're going to be surprised, but we don't know exactly what we're going to get! One thing we know for sure, though ... Nov. 3 is a day of Celebration! Come and share the excitement of Election Night with your families, friends and many others who made your voting possible.
Here is the information you need to know:
KIDS VOTING HAWAII will be at Restaurant Row, 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 3. There you will:
Get firsthand results of the KIDS VOTING HAWAII election, announced by student reporters.
We are counting on you to show the importance of voting. We are relying on you to bring your parent, guardian or adult friends to the polls with you on Election Day! We invite you to enjoy the evening together at our headquarters as all of us cheer for our choices!
Lyla Berg, Ph.D., is the executive director for Kids Voting Hawaii. For more information about Kids Voting, call 523-VOTE (8683), or on neighbor islands call 1-(877)-543-VOTE. Or access the Kids Voting Hawaii web site at http://www.kidsvotinghawaii.org.
