Civics Commission gives students a chance to vent
By LORI KURTZMAN
Kalamazoo Gazette
Nicolas Chapman was up until 4 a.m. Friday reading legal briefs and preparing his testimony for the Michigan House Civics Commission. Less than 10 hours later, the 17-year-old, wearing a blue button-up shirt and sneakers, sat facing two state representatives in a conference room at Loy Norrix High School.
He'd never done this before.
He was ready to testify.
I sit before you today to speak about section 703 of the Michigan Liquor Control Code of 1998 .
Showing no signs of sleepiness, the Norris senior read from a prepared statement, his booming voice hilling the room. State Reps. Alexander Lipsey, D-Kalamazoo, and Doug Hart, R-Rockford, listened as Chapman requested a change in a law that forces minors to submit to Breathalyzer tests if a police officer suspects they've been drinking. Chapman called the law unconstitutional.
I'm sure everyone here can agree that underage drinking is an important problem in our society, but it can never justify infringing on the right of the those minors, Chapman said, wrapping up his statements. For while we must always follow the laws of the state of Michigan, the state of Michigan must always follow the laws of the Constitution of the United States. Thank you.
And then the other students in the room clapped, and Lipsey and Hart, poker-faces, thanked Chapman for his testimony.
I didn't know this was an issue, Hart said, then looked at Chapman. You were reading case law. That's very impressive.
And thus it was the Nicolaw Chapman testified before a legislative commission for the first time. He wasn't the only one. Lipsey and Hart heard about 20 presentations from Norrix and Kalamazoo Central High School students Friday. Topics ranges from hazing to weighted grades to lowering the voting age, as many students got their first shot at telling their legislators how they feel about specific issues.
That's the whole point of the commission, a bipartisan effort created in late 2002, said Hart, the committee's chairman. The commission was created to give students a forum and collect ideas for possible future legislation. The stop in Kalamazoo was one of a series of hearings planned throughout the state.