Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health Public Outreach topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Utah students urge Senate to designate May 16 as State Bone Marrow Registration Day; resolution passes
Summary
A sixth-grade class from Douglas Orchard Elementary presented a student-drafted resolution asking the Utah Senate to declare May 16, 1997, Utah State Bone Marrow Registration Day. Senators praised the students and recorded a unanimous vote in favor of SCR 3, which will be sent to the House for concurrence.
Senators on Feb. 7 heard a classroom presentation urging the Legislature to declare May 16, 1997, 'Utah State Bone Marrow Registration Day,' after members of Kathleen Reiter's sixth-grade class from Douglas Orchard Elementary described their classroom project and fundraising for donor registration.
Student Richard Walter described bone marrow in simple terms and asked senators to support the class resolution. Classmates detailed the class effort: they estimated the cost to add a registrant at about $450 and said their fundraising raised $1,500 "to add about 51 bone marrow donors to the National Registry Banks," according to students who spoke to the Senate. Teacher Kathleen Reiter introduced the students and explained the project’s focus on teaching values and preserving human life.
Senator Millie Peterson sponsored the resolution on the floor and moved the chamber into a Committee of the Whole so the class could present. After the presentation, senators returned to open session and the presiding officer announced a unanimous recorded vote in favor of SCR 3; the resolution will be forwarded to the House for concurrence.
The student presentation emphasized public education about donor registration and minority-donor outreach; one student, Cindy Spangler, noted the challenge of finding minority matches and urged broader awareness of how to register. The Senate applauded the students’ work and encouraged them to return to testify in the future.
The chamber’s action was procedural: SCR 3 passed the Senate and will next be considered by the House. The presentation provided lawmakers with direct testimony from constituents — elementary students — about grassroots civic engagement and public-health education.
