Clear 67 oF- Details
- Published on Friday, 11 March 2011 18:34
- Written by Rep. David Baram
The following is Rep. David Baram’s testimony to the Education Committee in support of including Genocide studies to the curriculum.
Dear Chairpersons Senator Stillman, Representative Fleisch-man and Members of the Education Committee, I am here today to support HB 6499 which encourages school districts to include Holocaust and Genocide studies in their curriculum. While I believe that this should be
mandatory, I understand that its inclusion in CGS Section 10-16b identifies it as a priority topic that can be instructive and helpful to Connecticut students. I hope however that this is a first step toward making it a permanent study requisite. The States of Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, California, and New York already mandate Holocaust and Genocide studies as part of their curriculum. Reasons given for this required instruction include the following:
•The Holocaust was a watershed event that impacted the course of human history, involving unimaginable atrocities that resulted in the murder of six million Jews and over five million others based on prejudice and racism.
•Holocaust studies help students understand the roots and effects of prejudice and racism.
•The Holocaust provides lessons of man’s inhumanity to man, and the dangers of remaining silent, apathetic, and indifferent when people are oppressed or subjected to genocide.
•Indifference to genocide and suffering violates our moral obligations and undermines our institutions of democracy and freedom;
•The Holocaust and incidents of genocide illustrate how governments and political leaders can manipulate hatred and prejudice and use such emotions to justify discrimination, thereby inciting society to foster acts of hatred, murder, and discrimination.
•Holocaust studies teach us why modern nations must work to promote
tolerance, pluralism, and diversity as inherent principles of a free and democratic society.
•Students can apply the lessons of the Holocaust to modern day incidents of genocide, such as Darfur, to reinforce their duty to speak up and
become advocates in stopping all such acts of genocide. Studying the Holocaust and genocide can teach students the importance of identity and self esteem, so that they are comfortable in speaking against all forms of racism and discrimination, so that they can identify genocide and work to
prevent it, so that they can strengthen their own sense of responsibility and moral obligation. Several school systems in Connecticut have already
implemented Holocaust and Genocide Studies. In Bloomfield, through the
efforts of Performing Arts & Music Director, Dr. Joe Olzacki, a program for his music and arts students called the Identity Program was instituted several years ago. This program includes assigned reading, lectures by
outside authorities and Holocaust survivors, a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, and written assignments. At the Holocaust Museum, not only do students witness past genocide targeted against
Jews, but they are lectured about ongoing genocide in Darfur and other places throughout the world. These studies inspired a young African-American student from Bloomfield, Raymond Clark, to create a musical composition about the Holocaust, which has been played by many musicians including the Yale Orchestra. Mandating Holocaust and Genocide Studies should be our goal. The cost is minimal if anything, as curricula already exists in the five states mentioned above, in several Connecticut school systems, in organizations like the ADL that fight intolerance and racism, and even at the Dodd Center at UConn which houses the Nuremberg Papers of Thomas Dodd donated by Senator Chris Dodd and his family. The importance of Holocaust and Genocide
Studies has been discussed extensively by Holocaust survivor, author, lecturer, and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Elie Wiesel. One of his well
known quotes says: "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever
human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." I respectfully ask that you support the addition of Holocaust and Genocide Studies to the public school curriculum.
Respectfully,
David Baram
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 24 February 2011 12:08
- Written by Rep. David Baram and Rep. Pegguy Sayers
With revenue becoming increasingly harder to come by in these difficult economic times, we have proposed legislation (HB 5184) that would allow nonprofit organizations to offer complimentary coupon books as incentives for purchasing raffle tickets.
Windsor has dozens of nonprofit organizations, including religious and civic-minded groups, veterans associations and fire departments, which rely on raffles as a critical source of fundraising, and we have to do everything we can to help them.
Coupon books often consist of restaurant discount coupons that help induce people to buy a raffle ticket that offers a prize to the winner. In this manner, a contributor feels like they are getting an incentive to purchase the raffle ticket, knowing that just a few people actually win the designated prize.
Sponsoring organizations such as the ones already mentioned perform an invaluable community service through the volunteer efforts of their members. It is important that the State of Connecticut not hinder or obstruct such fundraising efforts especially in these economic times. Without successful fundraising, sponsoring organizations will not have the funds necessary to provide the programming and community services that they have come to exemplify and embrace. Failure to successfully raise funds only hurts the people who are the beneficiaries of their social and community services.
The citizens of our state need the continued involvement and participation of our volunteer organizations, non-profits and charities, which provide many social services that government cannot offer.
When we were contacted by local religious institutions and non-profits, we were told that the Division of Special Revenue deemed the offer of discount coupons to be a violation of the Bazaar and Raffle Act (CGS Sections 7-170- to 7-186). As a result, sponsoring organizations have been restricted in their fundraising, and the success of their raffles has been substantially diminished.
No sponsoring organization wants to violate the existing statutes. But with our legislation, if it is enacted, sponsoring organizations will be able to comply with the law and hold successful fundraising events.
Rep. Baram represents the 15th Assembly District, which includes Bloomfield and Windsor.
Rep. Sayers represents the 60th Assembly District, which includes Windsor and Windsor Locks.
