Event Details

01/01/2014

Dedication Ceremony at Midlothian High School

The Constitution Plaque Initiative Dedication and Award Ceremony was held at the Midlothian High School auditorium on January 8 2014. Senior, Savannah Lane was the winner of the We the Students Essay Challenge which was sponsored by the by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Montpelier Foundation and the National Constitutional Plaque Initiative The National Constitutional Plaque Initiative donated a set of bronze plaques to Midlothian High valued at $8,500.. They were prominently displayed at the schools newly constructed entrance. Here is Miss Lanes winning essay: Studying the United States Constitution: Discovering a Yellow Brick Road for Change by Savannah Lane With 51% of Americans expecting a drop off the fiscal cliff according to Pew research, Americans are not in Kansas anymore. One solution to move forward is found within the United States Constitution. The Constitution is the Rosetta stone of solution through amendment like that within the Bill of Rights. All Americans, especially students inheriting the nations problems, must study the principles adopted in the Constitution. This 225 year-old document provides a fix for what Americans believe is broken. In 1787, the Framers met to triage the holes of the Articles of Confederation, and, recognizing further work necessary to facilitate a more perfect union, included provisions for amendments. Particularly contemplated was the Bill of Rights which University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato describes as containing ideals that Americans hold most dear. According to Sabato, sources suggest that the Constitution was to undergo periodic amendment. Scholars who consider the Constitution a living document find such periodic revision unnecessary, instead considering the Constitution capable of expansion to reflect societal mores. Alternatively, commentators argue that men spending months deliberating in airless rooms intended for every word to create impact and argue for adherence to original intent. Both camps, however, recognize the possibility of amendment through a heretofore unused mechanism of Article V. Americans overwhelmingly feel that Congress is not responsive. Congress, according to Sabato, is a graveyard for change, failing to adequately address issues inspiring passion  defining marriage, fiscal responsibility, etc. The Constitution, however, reveals a grassroots method for change: bypassing Congress through Article V where two thirds of states can petition to call a convention to propose amendments. Therefore, innovation arrives from the ground up rather than Congress down. Students must read the Constitution, and, like Dorothy in a proverbial Oz, recognize that we have possessed the power for change all along. ************************************************************