Students from Milford High School emerged as the state champions in the "We the People - The Citizen & the Constitution" competition sponsored by the NH Bar Association Friday, January 7 at the Legislative Office Building. The students, coached by their teacher Dave Alcox, outperformed the teams from Gorham and Nashua high schools.

"We the People" celebrates the U.S. Constitution and requires students to come to grips with how its principles are applied to civic life and government today. NH Supreme Court General Counsel Howard Zibel, who helped bring "We the People" competitions to New Hampshire in the mid-1980s, has said that studies of "We the People" participants showed that, as adults, they were more likely to vote and participate in civic life than students who had not been involved in the program.

At the close of the competition, the students were addressed by Kate Hanna, recently appointed Legal Counsel to Gov. Lynch, who spoke of the value of a constitution such as ours and the importance of understanding and appreciating its place in our lives.

Milford will now begin the daunting task of raising money (nearly $15,000) to fund its participation in the national "We the People" finals April 30-May 3, 2005, in Washington, DC. To kick off the team's fundraising campaign, David Snyder, Director of the NH Bar Foundation, presented the team with a check for $1,000. Other donations are welcome. For details on how you can help the fundraising effort or to make a contribution, please contact. Dave Alcox at Milford High School, 100 West Street, Milford, NH 03055-4873 or at 603/673-5221 or by email: rapman@aol.com.

The competition in New Hampshire, and some expenses for the winning team, are supported by a grant from the Center for Civic Education, of Calabasas, Calif., which is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

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