Hopwood students prep for monument-al debate

Eighth-graders at Hopwood Junior High School Thursday geared up for a debate next week on a controversial White House proposal to establish a national marine monument in the ocean waters encompassing three of the CNMI’s northern islands.

In a classroom exercise designed to build critical thinking skills, the students took up the opposing sides of the monument issue. Environmentalists have long said the proposal will safeguard a unique and fragile marine ecosystem at a time when the world’s oceans are under increasing threat and bolster the local economy. Opponents of the plan, however, have said the monument would constitute an intrusion on the CNMI’s autonomy and that local controls are enough to protect the islands.

Before the debate, students heard from John Joyner, director of the CNMI’s Coastal Resources Management Office, who told them why he opposes the monument.

“It takes away local control,” he said, later likening the monument to the theft of a student’s backpack. “It takes away local control and it doesn’t provide for how there will be more protection than we have at present.”

Yet the students had their own ideas about the monument and as they sharpened their arguments for the debate next week, the classroom appeared as divided as the local community when it comes to the issue.

Monument proponent Kimberly Ada said the plan will preserve the environment and account for the interests of the CNMI’s people.

“Local people will be protected,” she said. “It’s not going to take anything away from them. We just want to protect the ocean.”

On the potential economic benefits of the proposal, Christiane Baquiano presented figures shown in a recent study on it authored by a University of Guam economist that suggested the monument could draw up to $10 million a year to the CNMI and create hundreds of new jobs. But Allene Evallar countered that there are no guarantees the CNMI will see that boost and pointed to the recently established marine monument in Hawaii to back her case.

“There’s no assurance that we’ll get millions of dollars from it and new jobs,” she said. “That’s the same thing that they said would happen in Hawaii and what happened? Nothing.”

Later, over-fishing and the need to protect the environment were the reasons Charlene Baquiano urged her class to support the proposal.

“The Marianas are unique,” she said, adding that the region’s oceans are “fragile because they’re over-fished and over-fishing kills the environment.”

Teacher Kimberly Vaillancourt said the debate stems from the class’ discussions on the monument earlier this year. The debate is slated for Thursday.

“I brought in a real-life situation for the students to talk about,” she said. “Out of that came a real interest to debate.”