A RESOLUTION TO CHANGE THE UNITED STATES #1

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY SYSTEM

1. Whereas: The current United States Presidential Primary system is outdated and does not

2. allow for equal representation by all states; and

3. Whereas: The current system gives states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, the first states

4. to hold their caucuses or primaries, too much influence in the Presidential Primary

5 process; and

6. Whereas: The states at the end of the primary schedule often have no say in who the

6. Presidential candidates will be, as most trailing candidates will have pulled out of

7. the race, depriving many voters from voting for their candidate of choice; and

8. Whereas: A national primary would prevent any one or two states from holding more

9. influence in the Primary Process than any others; and

10. Whereas: A national primary would enable voters from all states to vote for the

11. candidate of their choice;.

12. Therefore, be it resolved by the Student Congress here assembled that: The United States

13. adopts a national primary date during which all 50 states will cast their votes as to who

14. the Presidential candidates should be.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bethel Park High School

A BILL TO LOWER THE DRINKING AGE TO 18 #2

1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2. SECTION 1. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age shall be lowered from 21 years of age to

18 years of age.

3. SECTION 2. Drinking means the consumption of alcoholic beverages

4. SECTION 3. The bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms (BATF) shall oversee this

legislation

5. Funding for enforcement will be from taxes levied on the sale of alcoholic beverages

6. Sanctions including monetary fines and/or incarceration will be established by the

director, BATF

7. SECTION 4. This legislation will become effective 90 days after passage

8. SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Respectfully submitted,

Mercyhurst Preparatory School

A RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE START TIME FOR HIGH SCHOOLS #3

1. WHEREAS, many students are falling asleep during their morning classes, and

2. WHEREAS, sleeping during classes causes the students to perform poorly in

3. those classes, and

4. WHEREAS, an extra hour or two of sleep in the morning would make the

5. difference between a tired student and a well-rested student, and

6. WHEREAS, scientific studies show that teenage Circadian Rhythms are such that

7. their sleep hormone does not make them ready for sleep until 11:00 or 11:30 pm,

8. and

9. WHEREAS, it is recommended that teenagers receive a minimum of 8 hours of

10. sleep per night, and

11. WHEREAS, this sleep deprivation is causing the quality of teenagers’ lives to

12. suffer, and

13. WHEREAS, students do not have time to eat in the morning with the current early

14. school start times, and

15. WHEREAS, students perform optimally when they are well fed and well-rested,

16. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

17. HERE ASSEMBLED, THAT:

18. School districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should explore the

19. possibility of moving the start time for high schools to a later time.

Respectfully submitted,

CW North Catholic High School

A Bill Concerning Hemp Farming in the United States #4

1. Whereas: Current laws prohibit American farmers from farming hemp; and

2. Whereas: These laws prevent farmers from, as Representative Ron Paul states,

3. “competing in the global industrial hemp market”; and

4. Whereas: Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were hemp farmers; and

5. Whereas: Again according to Representative Ron Paul, “the founders of our nation,

6. some of whom grew hemp, would surely find that federal restrictions on farmers growing

7. a safe and profitable crop on their own land are inconsistent with the constitutional

8. guarantee of a limited, restrained federal government”; and

9. Whereas: Hemp is more environmentally friendly to grow than other crops that are legal

10. including tobacco; and

11. Whereas: Hemp has such a low content of THC that smoking it will not cause the same

12. effects as its genetic relative marijuana; and

13. Whereas: Hemp is a raw material which can be used in many products; and

14. Whereas: Currently, United States companies are forced to import millions of dollars in Hemp

15. Raw Materials a year; and

16. Whereas: This is a truly bipartisan bill with members of both sides of the isle and national

17. organizations such as The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA)

18. and National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) having backed similar legislation in

19. previous years; and

20. Whereas: Eight states already allow industrial hemp production or research in accordance with

21. state law; and

22. Whereas: During WWII Industrial Hemp growth was actively encouraged by the federal

23. government through film’s such as “Hemp for Victory”; and

24. Whereas: Hemp is an established agricultural commodity in over 30 nations in Europe;

25. Therefore, Be It Resolved by the Student Congress Here Assembled That:

26. That the Federal Government Respect State Laws Allowing the Growing of Industrial Hemp.

Respectfully Submitted,

Moon Area High School

A Resolution Concerning the Phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST” #5

1. Whereas, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment erected, to quote Thomas Jefferson, a

wall of separation” between church and state; and,

2. Whereas, in 1864 “IN GOD WE TRUST” was first placed on a piece of coinage in this country; and,

3. Whereas, it was not until 1938 that all coinage barred this inscription; and,

4. Whereas, not until 1957 that it was first used on paper money; therefore,

5. Be it Resolved, by this student congress here assembled, that the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST” should

no longer be printed on any legal currency in the United States; and,

6. Be it further Resolved that all current legislation found in contradiction of this shall be declared null

and void.

Baldwin High School

A RESOLUTION TO LOWER THE NATIONAL VOTING AGE TO 17 #6

1. Whereas 17-year olds are able to hold jobs and subsequently pay taxes, but they have

2. no influence on tax legislation.

3. Whereas 17-year olds may be tried in the court of law in 36 states.

4. Whereas 17-year olds may enlist in the military with parental consent, and thus may die

5. for our country but not vote for its political leaders.

6. Whereas it is in the best interest of democracy to consider a wide range of political

7. opinions, allowing 17-year olds to vote would better represent the nationwide teenage

8. population in political agendas.

9. Whereas political agendas regarding education would receive greater input, for adults

10. do not share the same perspectives as teenagers on such issues, and teenagers are most

11. directly impacted by such legislation.

12. Whereas many political decisions such as those having to do with social security will

13. affect the teenage population in upcoming years, yet teenagers have no input

14. regarding these decisions.

15. Whereas allowing individuals to vote at a younger age encourages voting at a later age.

16. Therefore, the minimum age for voting should be lowered to seventeen.

Respectfully submitted,

Shady Side Academy

A Resolution Concerning School Lunches #7

1 Whereas according to the Center for Disease Control, approximately 1 in 5 children is

2 obese, and

3 Whereas according to the University of Michigan, children are more likely to be obese

4 and consume fatty meats and sugary drinks if they buy lunch at school, and

5 Whereas according to the No Kid Hungry initiative, 65% of teachers report that children

6 rely on school lunches as their primary source of nutrition, and

7 Whereas 96% of teachers surveyed feel that good nutrition is very important to a child’s

8 ability to concentrate on academics, and

9 Whereas his or her school is often the only place that a child has the opportunity for good

10 nutrition, and

11 Whereas providing healthier options could drastically reduce the rate of childhood

12 obesity in the US,

13 Be it resolved by this Student Congress here assembled that the government provide

14 adequate funding to the Department of Education to research viable, healthy alternatives

15 for school lunches in all public schools in the US.

Respectfully submitted,

Oakland Catholic High School

A Resolution to Ban Social Networking Sites #8

1. Whereas, social networking sites account for 43% of online sexual solicitors; and

2. Whereas, social networking sites promote a risk for attention deficit disorder and

3. decrease productivity in American workforce; and

4. Whereas, popular social networking sites such as Youtube, Facebook, and LinkedIn

5. install cookies on a users computer; and

6. Whereas, these cookies infringe upon ones privacy because the cookies use personal

7. information to identify what advertisements would be most suitable for the user; and

8. Whereas, harassment and cyber bullying are typically associated with social

9. networking sites; and

10. Whereas, social networking sites cause brain disorders and personality disorders in 11. children;

and, be it

12. Resolved, That the Student Congress here assembled initiate a Ban on Social

13. Networking Sites.

Respectfully Submitted By,

West Allegheny

A Bill to Make Exotic Pets Illegal Nation-Wide #9 BE IT ENACTED BY THIS CONGRESS THAT:

1. SECTION 1. Private ownership of exotic pets shall be made illegal throughout the

2. United States of America.

3. SECTION 2. Exotic pets shall be defined as wild animals that are unable to be

4. domesticated by humans.

5. SECTION 3. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Control shall oversee

6. the enforcement of this bill through surveillance techniques of animals

being

7. imported to the country and being moved within the country. They shall

8. repossess any exotic animals they discover and donate them to the nearest

9. zoo that can house them.

10. SECTION 4. Enforcement of this bill shall begin on 1 January 2012, but will

11. provide two months for any current owners of exotic pets to get rid of

12. their animals via legal means.

13. SECTION 5. All other laws that are in conflict with this new policy shall hereby be

14. declared null and void.

Introduced by Mercyhurst Preparatory School

A Resolution to Abolish Trials as Adults for Minors #10

1. WHEREAS: Developmental research does not provide a clear cut boundary

2. between adulthood and adolescence.

3. WHEREAS: It is shown that adolescents cannot control their impulses or foresee

4. the consequences of their actions as adequately as adults can.

5. WHEREAS: Rehabilitation is more beneficial to address than punishment for

6. minors.

7. WHEREAS: Studies show that children tried in adult courts are more likely to be 8.

rearrested.

9. WHEREAS: In states such as Florida that allow minors to be prosecuted as

10. adults have the highest juvenile crime rates.

11. THEREFORE: Let it be resolved by the PHSSL student congress here

12. assembled, that trials as adults for minors are unjust.

Respectfully submitted,

Mercer Jr / Sr. High School

Resolution to Remove Detention from Schools #11

1 Whereas: After school and Saturday detentions do not affect how a student thinks or acts, only

2 keeps the student from going home on their bus, and forces the parents to fit their schedules

3 to the detention times and,

4 Whereas: In school suspensions, students are simply completing work, not being instructed or

5 taught by a teacher and,

6 Whereas: Teachers who are scheduled to supervise detentions are no more than baby sitters

7 during this time, cutting into the teachers’ home life and,

8 Whereas: Students who are not allowed to do other class assignments will either not get all

9 their homework done, or stay up late trying to finish it all, cutting into their sleeping hours,

10 effecting their school performance the next day and,

11 Therefore Be It Resolved: School Detention and In-School Suspension will be removed

12 from each public school, and a new form of punishment be instituted by what each school

13 believes would be effective for their student body.

Respectfully Submitted by,

Lakeview High School

A Resolution to Abolish Birthright Citizenship in the United States #12

1 WHEREAS: Every child born in the United States is automatically granted

2 citizenship regardless of parent legal status.

3 WHEREAS: Out of 194 nations, the United States is one of only 30

4. nations that grant birthright citizenship.

5. WHEREAS: According to a study done by the Pew Hispanic Center of the

6. Census Bureau, in 2008, as many as 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies

7. born in the United States had at least one illegal parent.

8. WHEREAS: Illegal immigrants use “anchor babies” as a means by which

9. they can stay in the United States.

10. WHEREAS: Misguided intention often leads to child neglect.

11. WHEREAS: The issue of overpopulation is a growing problem in the

12. United States.

13 Therefore, be it resolved by the PHSSL student congress here assembled

14 that birthright citizenship in the United States be abolished.

Respectfully submitted,

Iroquois High School

Making voting mandatory in United States #13

1 Be it enacted by the Student Congress here assembled:

2 Article I: All citizens of United States are hereby required to vote in

3 Referendums, General Elections, Presidential Elections, Primary

4 Elections, and Local elections.

5 Article II: Because of its unpredictable occurrence, voting in

6 By-elections and Co-options will not be mandatory.

7 Article III: States will still be allowed to determine voter eligibility. Ex: States

8 that allow their 17-year-old citizens to vote in their primary

9 caucuses would still be able to implement their law.

10 Article IV: The voter turnout in United States has been going

11 downhill since 1960s and the voter turnout in 2010 has been

12 noted as only 41.5% of the total voting population.

13 Article V: A high turnout is important for a proper democratic mandate and

14 the functioning of democracy. In this sense voting is a civic duty

15 like Jury service.

16 Article VI: In Australia, voter registration and attendance at a polling booth

17 has been mandatory since 1920. This strictly enforced law has

18 resulted in a 98% voter turnout.

19 Article VII: A high voter turnout will result in the best estimated result from a

20 majority opinion and will then be responsible for proper

21 functioning of democratic values in United States.

22 Article VI: This bill shall take effect immediately upon passage.

23 Article VII: All laws in conflict with this bill will hereby be declared null and

24 void.

Respectfully submitted,

CYHS