Earlier in October we told you about Judge Memorial sophomore, Matt Kirkegaard, who wrote a letter to the next president of the United States. Matt's letter, about a renewable green economy, was prominently featured on the home page of Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future. His letter is part of a nation-wide student project written by kids relating to the issues that matter most to us. Shortly after Matt's article was posted, junior Eric Humphrey wrote on the issue of dependence on foreign oil. Eric's letter was featured on the home page as well.

Judge's participation on this national Web site has grown enormously since Matt's letter was first featured. Under the direction of faculty member Chris Sloan, Judge now has letters from 57 students posted to Mr. Sloan's individual Web site at Letters to the Next President. Students in Mr. Sloan's class are participating in this project while reading 1984 and UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation.

Members of the Judge Memorial community are encouraged to visit this link to read all of the letters from Mr. Sloan's students.

Judge students have written letters on topics including civil rights, right to privacy, economy, health care, war in Iraq, abortion, gay rights, energy, environment, US Patriot Act and much, more. Judge Memorial Catholic High School is one of only two high schools in Utah participating in this project, which has allowed our young adults the opportunity to participate in the national election in a meaningful way.

Letters to the Next President is an online writing and publishing project for students, co-sponsored by Google and the National Writing Project. Middle and high school students from across the country use Google Docs to write about the issues and concerns they want our next president to address.