BY Richard Cesare

Isn't this funny. I chose my topic for next year and have been working on it all summer. Getting pictures, papers and interviews. I've worked really hard on it but I could never really get as excited about the topic as I did last years topic.

I've actually changed my mind many times on topics before I committed to the one I choose. I lucked out and found some historical items no one has ever seen before. Or at least not in a hundred years.

Something else has come up that has me very excited. I know I could write a passionate historical paper that could effect society today. In 1951 Jehovah's Witnesses were exiled to Siberia because of their religious beliefs. During the Holocaust they were also placed in camps for the same reason, forced to wear purple triangles. While these two events would be the beginning of my paper, the focus would become how children of JW's were subject to government dictatorship in school. Teachers were forced to teach children that their beliefs were wrong and prohibit them from any religious expression.

With my own battle for religious freedom in my public school, I know this could be a powerful paper. I could link, easily, the issues together of school uniforms and past tragedies in history where schools dictated student beliefs.

What do you think? Should I change topics or stay with the one I am almost done with?