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By Mesha Williams
Times Staff Writer
October 25, 2002

SOUTHSIDE - A grassroots organization gave the students of Southside High School a crash course on
the state's constitution Thursday morning.

   Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform has organized a 35-city tour called "Get on Board for
Constitutional Reform."

   The organization is trying to give as many residents of the state as possible an opportunity to sign a traveling petition and create a dialogue for why the constitution needs changing, organizers said. The petition is a yellow school bus, Reform One, that will be presented a day before elections in Montgomery to state officials and candidates.

   Organizers hope the tour will show state officials where the residents stand on the issue and give them an opportunity to vote if they want to rewrite the document. The group is pushing for approval of Amendment 1, which requires that any new constitution, whether written by the Legislature or by a constitutional convention, be approved in a statewide vote before it can be enacted.

  Etowah County is the 15th stop on the tour, which started Oct. 16 in Marion.

   David Perry, field coordinator for the organization, said ACCR has conducted information sessions for high school and college students. He believes if a change is going to come about in rewriting the constitution, then the youth will lead the charge.

  "This isn't going to happen without the involvement of youth," Perry said. "That was the idea behind having the school bus and stopping at high schools, colleges and conducting the public rallies."

   In Thursday morning's session, students heard about the origins of the constitution; how it has affected race relations; county governments lacking power; how it affects school funding; strange laws and amendments that were established, and, ultimately, how the document shapes the image of the state.

   The constitution could take two years to rewrite if voted on, Perry said.

   The current movement isn't the first time a push has been made to change the document. Numerous governors have asked to rewrite the constitution, but efforts have failed. However, Perry said, because the residents are behind the new movement, he believes the results will be different this time.

   "We need a constitution for local officials to deal with local problems ... to let the schools handle themselves ... and for it to work in the favor of all people," Kevin Garrison, a representative of ACCR, said in his comments during the session.

   Several students attending the assembly seemed to support a revision of the constitution.

  "I think reforming the constitution is a good idea because we have so many amendments for individual counties," said senior Matt Thompson, who plans on voting in the Nov. 5 election. "It's ridiculous. I just think it's a good idea."

  Genia Fry, a government and economics teacher at the school, said students in her class last year worked on research papers where they found the document restricts a lot of systems in the state, including education.

   "I hope (students) understand that the problem is not necessarily in the governor's mansion, it's in the constitution," she said. "It's not something that the Legislature or courts can't fix. We first have to have a convention to have the ability to vote and change it."

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