A constitutional face-off

After a quick round of shoulder massages, more than a dozen James River High School students set out to do as their coach bid in a rousing pre-witness-stand speech:

"Put it together. . . . Look at each other. Don't jump on each other. Don't step on each other. Let's show them what we've got outside the book."

Rarely did the 18 falter when thrown questions by sometimes aggressive judges out to test the well-dressed witnesses' knowledge of the Constitution, its history and modern-day application.

"A lot of people think it's just a document that set things up . . . but to be able to see how history and government can actually be applied to daily life and how we can actively argue something that was written 200 years ago . . . I think that's really exciting," said Stephanie Hubbard, a senior who hopes someday to teach history.

For months, Hubbard and others in Ed Bosha's advanced-placement government and politics classes studied the "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" textbook to become expert witnesses on various parts of the text on which this nation was founded.

The work, done largely on the students' own time, was in preparation for yesterday's mock congressional hearings at the Patrick Henry Executive Office Building on Capitol Square downtown.

The Chesterfield County students joined five other Virginia schools in testifying before six panels of judges acting as U.S. congressional representatives. Winners will advance to the national finals in Washington this spring.

Middle, high school and college educators filled the roles of judges and elected officials as part of the 2009 We the People Virginia High School State Competition.

Sponsored by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the event is one aspect of a nationally funded program created to educate youth about the history and principles of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Virginia's program is based at the Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier in Orange County.

Back in a basement conference room in Richmond, showcasing what they learned meant stating the James River team's position and interpreting the application of the documents on current events:

"That's the overarching principle of education in every state . . . to create good citizens . . . and in order to be good citizens you need to think for yourself within the confines of the political process," he said. "We have to prepare these students for problems we don't even know exist yet."

Bosha's team took third behind Maggie L. Walker Governor's School, which won the state championship for the 12th straight year, and runner-up Oscar F. Smith High School of Chesapeake. Teams from L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield and Hermitage High School in Henrico County placed fourth and fifth, respectively, while Battlefield High School from Haymarket placed sixth.

Chandler Moore, for one, said he now understands the true meaning of his rights.

"We all say we have freedom of speech, but it's not necessarily the freedom to say whatever you want. It comes down to freedom versus security. You can say what you want, but if that starts coming into violation of another person's rights or starts threatening them, you can't really say it falls under freedom of speech," the James River senior said.

Felicia Powell, another James River senior, agreed.

"This kind of competition makes you more aware of the rules you have to follow when you're in the real world: what you can change and what is going to take more work."

Contact Penelope M. Carrington at (804) 649-6027 or .