2008 Woodie Awards
Students' Reactions to the State of the Union Address
Jenna Coccia
Issue date: 2/1/07 Section: Perspectives
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"Politics are becoming more polarized with people siding with one party or another without taking the time to hear what the other party has to say. I was pleased to see that in his opening remarks, President Bush acknowledged this fact and stated that no matter what our beliefs are the new congress should strive to do what is right for the American public," said Lisa Cavalli, junior, West Babylon, N.Y.
The subject material covered held a significant amount of importance to everyone in the country. President Bush addressed the public with hope to gain a consensus of supporters.
"The President spoke specifically about his plans for the economy and how he is devoted to decreasing the budget without raising taxes," said Cavalli.
Another topic the President spoke about with determination was the issue of American school systems and the "No Child Left behind Act."
"President Bush says it's working well and they should reinstate the act, and I haven't seen any actual study results. However, from what I've heard in my education classes it's not working
like they'd hoped because schools are teaching to the test instead of teaching kids to learn. I like the idea of giving every kid a chance to succeed, but I don't know if this is the way to do it," said Alex Composto, senior, Danbury.
A deep concern that grips at the hearts of every American is the future for the war on terrorism. Everyone wants to see justice prevailed over our predators yet, people also want to see our troops coming home and retreating from this war.
"I think the President did what was necessary. We went to war and had to because the former President, Clinton, didn't do a thing. It was about time someone did something," said Stephanie Ciccone, sophomore, Old Bridge, N.J.
Five years later our country is still fighting for peace with courageous soldiers willing to protect our nation.
"Enough is enough it's been five years already and nothing has been accomplished except for people getting killed, it's time to bring our troops home," said Ciccone.
"I think what we are doing in Iraq is the right thing, but we are doing it for the wrong reason. It seems like Bush isn't as confident in what he was doing even though he still said he wants to up the troops in Iraq," said Patrick Bonner, sophomore, Bloomfield.
In an attempt to clarify the future plans for succession, President Bush has attracted a mixed audience who is eager to understand what the future holds.
"I believe that our enemies must be removed, however, there are too many of them. I think that President Bush should concentrate more on heightening security in the states and feeding the poor and homeless people instead of worrying about other countries," said Ciccone.
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