By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
EVERETT — After hearing dozens of teen-agers let loose what’s on their minds, Washington state lawmakers might think Cascade High School is producing a crop of conservatives.
Abortion should be illegal. Tobacco needs to be banned. Creationism should be taught alongside evolution. Juvenile offenders deserve capital punishment for capital crimes.
Even circuses should be outlawed, and marriage prohibited for anyone under 21.
Such were some of the issues high-school seniors aired Sunday at the seventh annual Washington State Student Forum. Close to 300 students attended the forum, many choosing to wait in long lines for their chance at 90 seconds in front of the microphone.
The 23 local, state and national elected leaders who attended the forum kept their end of the bargain: they listened and took notes while the students talked.
And though the students touched on a wide range of topics from public school uniforms to euthanasia to stem cell research, the rise in college tuition costs took up a lot of microphone time.
Amanda Gruber, 17, said she was happy to be accepted to the University of Washington but found out that good news two days after her mother was laid off.
Gruber said she would go to college as long as she could afford making the payments.
"The cost of tuition is skyrocketing," Amy Dang, 17, told the legislators. "I’m not worried about getting in. I’m worried about how am I going to pay for it."
Gov. Gary Locke has proposed a major tuition increase across the state, including an 18 percent jump at the University of Washington and Washington State University, 15 percent hikes at other four-year public colleges and 12 percent at community colleges.
Students on Sunday suggested to legislators that they might consider adding a tax on transportation to help offset the costs of college education.
Looking beyond college, several students whose future plans included teaching said the state needs to do something to improve teachers’ salaries.
"I love Washington state because it’s got lots of green," said Lindsey Smith, 17. "But I won’t be seeing any green unless I go to another state where they pay teachers what they are worth."
Rachel Tynan wrote her sentiments about teachers’ salaries on a napkin.
"As a future secondary school teacher, I would like to be paid more than a McDonald’s manager," Tynan said. "So if you can, please change that right away."
And several female students expressed their outrage at abortion, calling it murder and a cavalier form of birth control. The students asked legislators to consider making abortion illegal.
Seventeen-year-old Amy Spraggins, who told the crowd that she was adopted, said the matter needed to be taken more seriously. "A baby is a baby," Spraggins said. "A life is a life."
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097 or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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