June 12, 2008 – Twenty bright and politically astute high school students in the Virgin Islands have gathered at the University of the Virgin Islands this week to attend a special orientation program for the Junior Statesmen Summer School. All of the students will be departing the territory over the next three weeks to participate in college-level, month-long summer programs at Yale, Stanford, Princeton or Georgetown. The orientation provides a preview of the rigorous academic standards that await them later this summer. Over the course of the week, students will have studied the U.S. Constitution, delivered speeches, written a 4-page essay and have sat for a college-level political science exam.
The program concludes on Friday, June 13, with a student political debate on the topic: "Resolved: that Capital Punishment Should be Abolished in the United States." The debate will take place at 9 a.m., on Friday, June 13, in room 103 of the Business Administration Building at UVI. The debate is open to the public.
The summer school offers a rigorous academic program including honors and advanced placement courses in political science and speech communication, a high-level speakers program, and debates on current political issues. The program is sponsored by The Junior Statesmen Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization founded over sixty years ago to educate youth about government and the responsibilities of leadership in a democratic society.
Find additional information on the school by visiting: www.jsa.org.