N.J.'s
top cop visits P'burg
Get involved. N.J. Attorney
General urges students to vote and make sound choices about
their future.
Saturday, November 05, 2005 • By SARAH CASSI •
The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG | For New Jersey Attorney
General Peter Harvey, it's the seemingly minor choices made
every day that impact a lifetime.
Harvey explained his interpretation of
personal accountability Friday to the Class of 2006 at
Phillipsburg High School.
Harvey started by congratulating the high
school's ranking football and men's cross country
teams.
"I hope that this is not the top of the
mountain for you. It shouldn't be," Harvey said.
Harvey said this generation of high
school graduates faces a number of challenges, including
threats to homeland security and increased violence, such as
domestic abuse, sexual assault and gang violence.
"You've got to make sure you're not part
of the statistics," Harvey said. "You will never get there
if you make choices now that take away your future. You need
to make choices for tomorrow."
Harvey said those choices are often put
to the test, particularly in college when many students are
faced with newfound freedoms.
"I believe there is a better tomorrow for
us all if we care to get there," Harvey said.
Harvey said growing up in Tuskegee, Ala.,
he had no idea he would be the state's premier law
enforcement officer. He said all he wanted to do was avoid
physical labor, wear a suit and tie, and work in an air
conditioned office.
Although Harvey said he thought most
politicians were shallow, he encouraged the handful of
18-year-olds in the audience to register and
vote.
"This is one of our challenges. I want
you to think about voting the same way you think about your
driver's license," Harvey said. "You have to get involved as
a registered voter. We want young people to realize they
have a stake in the world."
Principal Mary Jane Deutsch said Warren
County Prosecutor Thomas S. Ferguson told administrators
Harvey was interested in speaking at an area high
school.
"We were just more than eager to bring
him to our school," Deutsch said.
Deutsch said the senior class was
specifically chosen to hear the presentation on
accountability "because they're really on the threshold of
maturity and adult life."
"A lot of the kids heeded his words,
listened to what he said," Deutsch said. "I thought he was
wonderful. It was a privilege to have him here."
Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by
e-mail at scassi@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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