Congresswoman Speier Pays a Visit to Pacifica

By Natalie Nygaard and Haley Holmes

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, spoke to juniors and seniors at Oceana High School (OHS) Wednesday.

The Congresswoman took a stand in the OHS theatre, sharing her life story and professing some inspirational tidbits about adulthood such as "losing is the very first step to succeeding," "it's very important to question the status quo," and "never ever give up.”

Speier also shared some of her views on certain legislations, including Prop 8 and DoMA, and universal campaign funding. She opened the remainder of her time to a town hall style question-and-answer session with the students. Topics discussed included the recent Sequester, potential closing of Guantanamo Bay, and immigration reform bill currently being written.

But perhaps the biggest highlight of her visit consisted of her life lessons. As Speier put it, "you can fly or fall, sink or swim, be a victim or a survivor. The best course of action is to fly, swim, and survive." And so we shall.

Natalie Nygaard and Haley Holmes are Oceana High School students participating in Jennifer McEnany's Journalism class and reporting for The Weekly Fog, Oceana High School's online newspaper.