School's Activism in Rally Should Motivate Others
To the Editor:

In April, most of us were very proud of students at the Les Cheneaux Community Schools as our Trojans won the Class D State Basketball Championship. This past Wednesday should make us equally proud of them.

Led by Elementary Principal Eric Cardwell and a number of dedicated teachers, staff members, and parents, nearly 90 elementary and high school students went to Lansing to lend their voices to the debate over school funding, and actively engage in the democratic process.

At the capitol they held up signs and banners and chanted slogans in support of funding for education, especially for Upper Peninsula schools. They met with Representative Gary McDowell and State Senator Jason Allen for over an hour of questions and answers.

They asked some tough and pointed questions! They learned the clear differences between Mr. Allen's position of budget cutting to assure school funding and Mr. McDowell's willingness to seek new revenue along with cuts and reforms, especially looking at changes in Proposal A.

Next, many of them read well written and thought-out essays on the capitol steps, expressing their belief in the value of education. Finally, a quick tour led them to the Capitol Gallery, where Representative McDowell recognized them in front of the whole House of Representatives.

Joined by a group from the R.J. Wallis School of Rudyard Area Schools District, this was an important and powerful example of the youth and citizen activism and participation in democracy.

I believe that this experience opened the eyes and minds of many of the youth and adults who went. I hope their example of activism will motivate the rest of us to get involved in the process, to express ourselves, and to demand that the legislature quit playing around and get on with addressing the issues that affect our lives so deeply.

I am proud of our youth and the folks who privately funded this trip. Now let's all do our part and let our voices be heard in Lansing and Washington.

Rick Shapero,

Cedarville