WHEREAS, The students of the Tahoma High School enrolled in the We the People: The Citizen and Constitution program have exhibited superior knowledge of the Constitution of the United States and the lessons taught by our forefathers; and

WHEREAS, On Saturday, January 6, 2018, the Tahoma High School team won the state We the People competition, the school's 22nd state championship; and

WHEREAS, These students will represent their state this spring at the 31st annual We the People finals in Washington D.C., where they will aspire to uphold the standards of excellence for which Tahoma High School is known; and

WHEREAS, The Tahoma team is coached by Gretchen Wulfing, who was named Washington's Civic Educator of the Year in 2011 and was honored as one of Washington's Civic Educators of 2016, and who continues to ingrain in her students the importance of learning about American constitutional democracy and the contemporary relevance of the nation's founding documents and principles; and

WHEREAS, Studies have shown that eighty percent of high school seniors in the program are registered to vote, compared to an average of thirty-seven percent among other high school seniors, proof that We the People is linked to greater interest in participating in government; and

WHEREAS, In 2015 the Tahoma team qualified for the top ten and eventually finished fourth in the nation, posting the highest finish in school and state history, and the Tahoma team has advanced to the top ten in four out of the last six years;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate honor Andrew Bruneel, Daria Cawthorn, Melia Cleary, Jack Duggan, Bridget Duven, Hannah Fitzpatrick, Breanna Glover, Cameron Hanson, Alexander Hessler, Jeffrey Hostetter, Jamison Hubbard, Dakota Huffman, Nassim Kazemi, Henry Kombol, Hannah Molnar, Aliyah Musaliar, Aurora Pompeo, Rhiannon Rasaretnam, Jaden Rayl, Samantha Schroff, Kyler VandenBosch, Riley Wilmart and Katarina Zosel as "Warriors of the Constitution"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the members of Tahoma High School's We the People team, team advisor Gretchen Wulfing, and Tahoma High School Principal Terry Duty to convey the respect of this body for a job well done and to wish them success in their continuing endeavors.