Project Promotes Passionate Participation in Government.

• Position: Brief Article

Impassioned and participating: What better traits could citizens have to contribute to self-government? And if that is the case, the ninth grade students of Woodbridge High School in California are the best examples of an informed citizenry in action.

Never hesitating, the ninth grade students tackled their community's highly controversial El Toro Airport as their entry in the Third Annual We the People... Project Citizen contest, sponsored by NCSL and the Center for Civic Education.

Debate has been hot in Orange County where the airport was recently closed by the military. One school of thought holds that it should be transformed into an international airport. Opponents, however, contend there are enough airports in the state without adding another.

The students researched the issue, interviewed those involved and based their project on it. Their conclusion in "Grounding El Toro Airport" was that...