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OPINION

Jan. 27, 1997

IN MARI'S
CORNER
By Mari Maldonado

Teen interview a refreshing experience


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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing four high school seniors.

I chose this for my topic because the word "pleasure" is not often used
when describing an encounter with a group of high school students.

The four 12th graders were nominated for the Pecos Chamber of
Commerce's Student of the Year Award and thanks to a committed teacher,
I was informed that nothing has ever been done regarding the nominees,
only the recipient.

And I too felt it noteworthy of publicizing the traits that invoked
their nomination.

So I mosied on over to the high school Thursday afternoon, expecting to
conduct an interview that would compare to pulling teeth. But such was
not the case.

It's always really difficult to interview teenagers because they have
so much to explore and consider before conforming to some sort of answer
and even then it seems they feel it necessary to only say what others
want to hear.

This has only been my experience and should in no way be considered an
accurate generalization of teenagers.

Anyhow, what I found was four very dedicated students who all seem to
be aware of what they want, how to achieve it and the obstacles that may
lie before them.

It was a refreshing encounter, and I have to admit that there are times
when I, or other reporters, are called to take school pictures and the
experience is hardly one we'd like to repeat.

It's really nobody's fault, because I realize they're going through a
time in their lives that we, as adults, contend that we wouldn't want to
go through it twice in one lifetime.

Not me anyway.

We say sometimes, "those were the days," but the phrase is more often
than not followed by, "if I knew then, what I know now."

As I walked away from the auditorium after the interview, I thought
about all sorts of rumors about the local school system and thought to
myself, "It can't be all that bad to have generated these four kids."

Of course their parents should share the credit.

I'm sure the nominee selection for such a prestigious title was a tough
one, as I'm aware that there are a good number of students out there
with hard choices and difficult decisions to make, but continue to
endure.

To these four seniors, keep up the good work and good luck with all
that you expect out of life.

To other students, stay strong, endure and you'll always be nominee
material.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mari Maldonado is an Enterprise reporter whose column
appears each Monday.

OTHER VIEWS

Parents rate higher than any system


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The senseless shooting of Ennis Cosby, the only son of entertainer Bill
Cosby, brought random crime a little bit closer to all of us.

Cosby senior made a point of raising his family as normally as
possible, to the extent that little is known about his wife and family.

Because Cosby's family was as ordinary as the one he portrayed on
television, the shooting hit home with many.

But as more and more violent television programs and movies are
produced, we are gradually becoming immune to the horror of such crimes.

How long must this continue before we realize that it is our
responsibility to censor this kind of programming?

Ratings systems cannot do what we as parents and responsible adults
should be doing - teaching our children that violence is not acceptable.
-- The Ironton (Ohio) Tribune

OTHER VIEWS

Ethics took flight with illegal tape


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It's more than ironic that the top Democrat on the House ethics
committee may have himself broken the law in releasing an apparently
illegally taped telephone conversation between Speaker Newt Gingrich and
key Republican leaders.

Say what you will about Gingrich, but what Washington state Rep. Jim
McDermott may have done drives a stake through the heart of our personal
liberties. If American citizens cannot be secure in their private
conversations, then none of our civil liberties are safe. ...

Even if the couple (who taped the conversation) did not know better
than to tape cellular telephone transmissions, McDermott certainly
should have. He is a national leader who understands the law and what
government can and cannot do. He should have rejected the tape out of
hand. ...

-- South County Journal, Kent., Wash.

OTHER VIEWS

Newt's book fee should pay fine


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Representative Newt Gingrich has earned an ignoble footnote in the
history books. He is the first holder of his high office to be
sanctioned for serious ethical violations. By a big margin, his
colleagues voted to reprimand Mr. Gingrich and to impose a $300,000
penalty for actions that, by his admission, brought discredit on the
House.

Since Mr. Gingrich is clinging to a job he ought to give up, he should
at least pay the fine out of his own money. The ethics committee took a
dive on this important question by failing to specify in Mr. Gingrich's
plea bargain that he could not use campaign funds to pay a debt that he
incurred by giving false information to the ethics panel. It would be a
final insult to the voters whose trust Mr. Gingrich has betrayed to let
him pay his bills with their money or from a defense fund raised from
favor-seekers. Let him dig into his book royalties instead. ...

-- The New York Times
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