Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor (August 12, 2005)

Wonderful time at D.C. youth conference

Editor:

Last month, with a bit of uneasiness, I hugged my parents goodbye at the San Jose Airport. For the next 11 days I would be at the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., while my family remained at home, thousands of miles away.

A myriad of questions popped into my head: What will I learn? What sites will I see? Will I make new friends? Will I have fun? I soon discovered that the NYLC would pack our stay with tours of D.C., meetings with important figures in our government, and various political simulations. To my relief, I would make many friends from across the country. And yes, I would also have a lot of fun.

We saw almost everything in the area that surrounds our nation's capitol, from monuments and national landmarks to shopping malls and amusement parks. The NYLC also arranged appointments for each teen with the senators of their state, giving us the opportunity to ask questions about their political positions and policies.

In addition to meeting our country's leaders, we learned about the workings of the U.S. government, and we put these lessons into action with interesting simulations. The "If I Were President" simulation was especially memorable; as a group, we ultimately had to decide the proper approach to address a crisis in the Middle East. A heated debate ensued amongst my peers, demonstrating the complexity of reaching a unanimous decision when dealing with conflicts that have the potential to change the course of our nation and the world.

When I first arrived at the conference, I was worried that I would not make any friends. However, my qualms dissipated when I opened the door to my hotel room; my two roommates welcomed me to the conference with open arms, and we became instant friends. Over the next 11 days, I would meet many Californians, but also teens from as far as New Jersey, Louisiana and Ohio. On the last day of the conference, there were many tears and heartfelt farewells, but I still keep in touch with my NYLC buddies. Thanks to the Internet and text messaging, these close bonds are held intact when meeting in person is physically impossible.

My time spent at the National Youth Leadership Conference was without a doubt the best 11 days of my life. I will never forget the sights and friendly faces that I encountered during my trip. Nicole Law Nicholas Drive Editor's Note: Nicole Law is an incoming senior at St. Francis High School, and attended the National Young Leaders Conference in July.

Special trains for Raiders games?

Editor:

Now that the new Oakland Coliseum station is open, maybe Amtrak California, Caltrain or ACE should offer special trains for Oakland Raiders games.

There don't seem to be any convenient trains for a Sunday 1 p.m. game time right now. Coming from San Jose, one has to take either train 728 arriving at 10:39 a.m. or train 734 arriving at 1:38 p.m. The first one is way too early and the second one too late for the game. For people wanting to go to a game, there should be a train departing San Jose at around 11:30 a.m., arriving 12:30 p.m. at the Coliseum.

Equipment can't be a big issue -- especially for Caltrain, since they must have quite a few train sets idling in San Jose on weekends. Maybe Amtrak could borrow a Caltrain train set if they don't have any equipment available. Marcel Marchon Flynn Avenue

E-mail a friend a link to this story.