State Senator Eliot Shapleigh (D) celebrated Constitution Day with EPCC students on Sept. 17 by sharing his views on the famous document and current political issues.
This national commemoration took place at the Transmountain Forum Theater.
He opened his interactive lecture with a brief history on the influential events that led to the Constitution. He then shared his two-and-a-half-year experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, Africa, describing the political unfairness people there had to endure.
“In [Sierra Leone], there is no rule of law,” he said.
This precedent served as an introduction for the main topic of discussion.
“Unlike any democracy, even England, we respect and have always respected, since our birth, the rule of law,” he said. “And we put the rule of law into a sacred document. It’s the most important thing in America. It’s the Constitution.”
The El Paso Democrat called the Bill of Rights the most significant part of the Constitution.
“The difference between the United States of America and nearly every other country of the world ... is the rule of law , the law that we all share.”
However, the senator also admitted that the Constitution is not always adhered to by the government. In reference to the response of the Sept. 11 attacks. Shapleigh condemned the actions that were taken to legalize torture of prisoners of war and terrorist suspects.
“Within two months of the 9/11 attacks, the vice president’s lawyer, a guy named David Addington and another lawyer, got together and wrote out a memo on torture. And for the first time in American history, they laid out that it was legal in the United States government to engage in things that are clearly prohibited by treaties that we’ve signed in the Geneva Convention.”
At the end of his lecture, Shapleigh discussed a local proposal that is up for election on
Nov. 6.“Now let’s talk about the
real issue. We got 379,000 who are registered to vote. When you go vote on the international children’s hospital, we can issue the bonds to have the first international children’s hospital in El Paso’s history, in contrast to Socorro wanting to build more schools for expansion on the east side of the town. I’m asking you to support this bond issue. We can do it. We could pay for it. It’s good. Your taxes will not go up.”
Shapleigh furthered his discussion on local issues.
An initiative has been developed into a formal economic plan called The Five M’s, which deals with local approaches to Medicine, Military, Movement, Manufacturing, and Mexico.
“The vision of The Five M’s is the creation of good-paying jobs, so our talent stays in El Paso, raises a family and we grow our community.”
He said that 25,000 more high-paying jobs will open in the medical field by 2010. He also mentioned that more jobs have been created from computer software and technology departments in Fort Bliss.
The topic of the Iraqi war also came into question. Shapleigh said that the reason why our government is still in the war is due to its financial interest in Iraqi oil.
Regarding the return of American troops, Shapleigh said, “There needs to be a withdrawal timetable, one that is calculated to produce the least amount of chaos.”
Before the students left, Shapleigh gave them an assignment.
“I’m going to ask you to bring to your professors proof that you voted, not say that you voted, but bring proof that you voted. And that’s the ‘I Voted’ sticker. Just go vote.”
At the end, students expressed their opinions about what was discussed by the senator.
“I agreed with him regarding the children’s hospital and the validity of the Patriot’s Act, but I’m a really big Bush fan, so I didn’t really appreciate the negative comments,” said Jefferey Jackson, a business major.
Valerie Simone, undecided, was a little disappointed, having hoped to become inspired to vote, but ultimately, was not by the end of the seminar.
“What he said was great, but it was with an underlying motivation for the children’s hospital, which is a good thing, but I was expecting him to be a little more informative about other issues.”
Government instructor and coordinator of this event, Beatriz Cuartas, said, “Shapleigh’s very open to input, always trying to figure out what the citizens want. I like him because he takes time out of his busy schedule to come to the college and talk to students.”
For the past six months Cuartas has been coordinating with Campus Life, SGA and other departments to prepare for this event. Funding was provided by different sectors of EPCC.
