TRIBUTES
General Student Senate
University of Maine
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE STUDENT GOVERNMENT, INC. GENERAL STUDENT SENATE RESOLUTION
Date Submitted: September 1, 2009
AN ACT TO:
Recognize the Contributions of the late U.S. Senator Edward Moore Kennedy
BE IT ENACTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE GENERAL STUDENT SENATE AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, Senator Edward Moore Kennedy represented the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for nearly five decades;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy represents the last of a generation that put bipartisanship above all, and principle above party;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy was instrumental in lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, crucial for the overwhelming number of young University of Maine Students who voted for candidates of all parties and political views on November 4, 2008;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy, throughout his storied career, worked to increase the availability of student loans and grants;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy was instrumental in the passage of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (The Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act), ensuring equality for women in education, extracurricular, and athletic activities, most significantly at the high school and college level;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy lead the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, ensuring equal opportunity for all Americans;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy believed in the "dignity of work," and fought tirelessly for hardworking Americans by working to successfully raise the federal minimum wage in 1996 and 2007;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy called the ability for all Americans to have affordable access to medical care the "cause of his life," and worked hard for passage and continued support of the State Children's Health Insurance Program;
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy held strong the mantra, in the words of Tennyson, "to whom much is taken, much abides";
WHEREAS, Senator Kennedy visited the University of Maine during his 1980 challenge to President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States;
WHEREAS, "The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die"; The University of Maine General Student Senate hereby recognizes Senator Edward M. Kennedy's substantial and unparalleled contributions to the equality and opportunity of our generation, and sends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and constituents of the late Lion of the United States Senate.
STATEMENT OF FACT: Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy died from brain cancer at the age of 77 on August 25, 2009. Kennedy represented the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for 47 years in the United States Senate, and never stopped working for significant contributions for our generation and the future.
SPONSOR: Benjamin Goodman
CO-SPONSORS: Peter Christopher, Dayna Margarita
