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“NATIONAL SCHOOL VIOLENCE VICTIMS' MEMORIAL DAY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S3180-S3182 on March 24, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL SCHOOL VIOLENCE VICTIMS' MEMORIAL DAY
Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. Res. 53 be discharged from the Judiciary Committee and the Senate now proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the resolution.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 53) to designate March 24, 1999, as
``National School Violence Victims' Memorial Day.''
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for Senate Resolution 53, which declares March 24, 1999 as ``National School Violence Victims' Memorial Day.''
As a number of my colleagues noted, the past year has been a grim one for educators, parents, and students. The tragic events in schools in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Oregon shocked the conscience. I'm thankful that in my home state of Virginia, no one was killed at school in 1998. But this past summer in Richmond, a volunteer and teacher were wounded by gun fire from a fourteen-year-old student. All of these events were terrible blows to families and friends in each community. I hope today's resolution will give some solace to those communities, who will know that the Congress has not forgotten them.
For the nation as a whole, these events were a terrible blow as well, and I believe Congress has an obligation to follow up with a commitment to preventing future school violence because while schools are a relatively safe place for our children, the events of the past year have shaken our confidence. School children have written to me expressing the fear that they will be attacked, and I know their parents have similar fears. We cannot expect our children to achieve their best in such an environment.
We've already taken a number of steps that I hope will help allay these fears. Later this year, more than $165 million in school safety grants will be awarded by the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services program. I want to thank my colleagues, particularly Senators Gregg and Hollings, for supporting efforts last year to increase funding for this program, which I initiated in 1997. I ask my colleagues to support funding for this important program again this year.
Later this year, as we consider juvenile justice reform legislation and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act, I will be looking at other ways to help make our schools safer, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on that effort as well. Students should worry about their next test, not about their safety. Fear should not be a part of any school's curriculum.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I want to take just a brief moment to thank my colleagues for passing this resolution marking today as National School Violence Victims Memorial Day.
Let me tell you why this day is so important to me and to the citizens of Butte, Montana.
Butte fifth grader Jeremy Bullock was 11 years old when he and his twin brother Joshua left for school together as they always did. The day was April 12, 1994. Jeremy didn't come home from school that day. He was shot and killed on the playground, leaving family and a community forever changed.
By recognizing March 24th as National School Violence Victims Memorial Day we will be honoring the memory of Jeremy Bullock and countless other children, families and communities by saying clearly, with one voice that we as Americans will meet the challenge of eradicating violence from our schools.
So, today and every day, let us always remember Jeremy Bullock. For, though he is gone, his memory will always linger and help to fuel our work.
Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, I rise this evening to join my colleague, Senator Lincoln, my other colleague in the Senate, to honor our Nation's children and citizens who have been victimized by school violence.
The Senate just adopted Senate Resolution 53 which designates March 24, today, as ``National School Violence Victims Memorial Day.'' As you know, 1 year ago today at the Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, AR, five children and one teacher lost their lives to an inexplicable and cowardly act of violence. Ten others were left wounded, and countless parents, relatives, and friends were left permanently scarred. In addition, the entire State of Arkansas was left numb with shock, horror, and grief.
I cannot express the loss and the pain that we feel as a result of this tragedy. But I ask you and my fellow colleagues in the Senate to reflect on the loss of Natalie Brooks, Paige Ann Herring, Stephanie Johnson, Britthney Verner, and Shannon Wright.
We hurt for these families. I know that the simplest things in life will forever cause them pain. For instance, I know that Floyd Brooks will never see another frog without thinking of the frog collection which his daughter Natalie was so proud of.
We remember that Paige Ann Herring was a very bright, intelligent 12-
year-old girl who loved life and enjoyed it to the fullest through such activities as playing the piano, softball, volleyball, basketball, singing in the school choir. It saddens me, and I think all of us, so much that we will no longer hear her voice.
It is the little things. Stephanie Johnson believed that a ladybug's landing on her brought her good luck. And her mother knew that her prayers for peace were answered when she asked God for a sign that Steph was OK and then upon her next visit saw ladybugs on Stephanie's gravestone.
We remember today that Britthney Varner was an extremely caring and loving little girl who got good grades and loved daffodils.
I know that Mitchell Wright will never look at his son, Zane, without thinking of Zane's mother, Shannon, who gave her life to save the lives of her students.
I want these families to know that while we can never fully know the pain they feel today, we will certainly never forget their loved ones.
As I close, I want to give a special message to Zane Wright, Shannon Wright's infant son Zane.
Your mother was a genuine heroine. Scripture teaches us that there is no greater love than the love it takes to lay down your life for another. So whenever you wonder what you mother was like, remember her as an incredibly brave woman who loved others like few others in this world ever have.
In addition, to the families of the victims of school violence in Bethel, AK; Pearl, MS; West Paducah, KY; Edinboro, PA; Pomona, CA; Springfield, OR; and the rest of the Nation--we want them to know that we stand today to honor their loved ones.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I yield the floor to my colleague from Arkansas.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
Mrs. LINCOLN. Thank you, Mr. President. And I thank my colleague from Arkansas.
Mr. President, I join my colleagues, all of my colleagues, here today, but especially my fellow colleague from Arkansas, Senator Hutchinson, in a very special effort to designate March 24, 1999, as National School Violence Victims Day.
As mentioned by my colleague, a year ago today the peaceful routine of a small middle school just outside of Jonesboro, in my home State of Arkansas, was forever changed. People across our country still grieve over the tragic shooting of four 11-year-old children and one 32-year-
old schoolteacher of Westside Middle School.
The heartbroken families of victims Natalie Brooks, Paige Ann Herring, Stephanie Johnson, Britthney Varner, and teacher Shannon Wright still question why it happened. What prompted two boys at the tender ages of 13 and 11 to violence? What spurred them to shoot their schoolmates and their teacher? The answers may be beyond our comprehension.
Mr. President, the shooting at Westside Middle School is one of the gravest tragedies in the history of our State and our country. Though time has evoked some healing and renewed confidence, the children and teachers of Westside Middle School were apprehensive when returning to school last fall. Teachers had to comfort nervous children. Parents had misgivings. And playmates longed for their young friends. Having seen such young children fall to their death at the hands of classmates right before their very eyes, this brave community is having a hard time making sense of it all. We all are having a hard time making sense of it all.
Sadly, last year's tragedy in my home State is not an isolated event. Over the past 18 months, gun violence has claimed lives at schools in Pearl, MS, as mentioned by my colleague; West Paducah, KY; Edinboro, PA; Fayetteville, TN; Springfield, OR; and Richmond, VA. Each time as our country watched in horror, we wondered if this senseless violence would ever stop.
Mr. President, the picture painted by these images is ghastly indeed. Our Nation's schools are not just buildings where children and teachers spend their days. They are the cornerstones of our communities and the centers of young precious lives. Parents send their children to school day after day with the expectation that they will learn and that they will be safe. There are many things we can do in the Senate to curb school violence. We must not allow schools to become places to fear.
I urge this body to examine this escalating problem. And I urge each Senator to use National School Violence Victims Day to create a dialogue with school communities in their States. When an entire community works together to improve its schools, everyone benefits. Every child deserves the opportunity to attend a safe school where he or she may worry about math and science, not guns and violence.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I yield back the remainder of our time.
Mr. DODD addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. DODD. I ask unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor on the resolution offered by both of our colleagues from Arkansas. I commend them highly for this. I hope all of our colleagues will join them.
This is the kind of issue we need to speak out on. Incidents like these have caused great pain across the country. Yet, too often, the problem of school violence only receives attention at the moment a tragedy occurs.
So I commend both of my colleagues and ask to be added as a cosponsor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to S.Res. 53 appear at the appropriate place in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S.Res. 53) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 53
Whereas approximately 10 percent of all public schools reported at least 1 serious violent crime to a law enforcement agency over the course of the 1996-97 school year;
Whereas in 1996, approximately 225,000 students between the ages of 12 and 18 were victims of nonfatal violent crime in schools in the United States;
Whereas during 1992 through 1994, 76 students and 29 non-students were victims of murders or suicides that were committed in schools in the United States;
Whereas because of escalating school violence, the children of the United States are increasingly afraid that they will be attacked or harmed at school;
Whereas efforts must be made to decrease incidences of school violence through an annual remembrance and prevention education; and
Whereas the Senate encourages school administrators in the United States to develop school violence awareness activities and programs for implementation on March 24, 1999: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates March 24, 1999, as ``National School Violence Victims' Memorial Day''; and
(2) requests the President to issue a proclamation designating March 24, 1999, as ``National School Violence Victims' Memorial Day'' and calling on the people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
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