April 29, 1999
Web posted at: 3:57 p.m. EDT (1957 GMT)

NEW YORK (April 29) -- First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to New York Thursday to serve as "principal for a day" in a public school, and spoke about the Littleton, Colorado shootings, saying "Let's not let these children die in vain."

Mrs. Clinton said there is no single national strategy to answer the school violence problem but she said, "You cannot talk about this problem, without talking about access to weapons."

She urged Congress to approve her husband's latest gun control proposals, saying that "high-caliber, high-magazine weapons are not what we mean when we're talking about rights of sportsmen and hunters. I'm hoping we can see increases in sensible gun legislation, as the president outlined."

In her only response to a reporters' questions, Mrs. Clinton spoke for several minutes about the school shooting in Colorado last week. "I understand why every parent would be worried," she said. "The pain and the suffering and the anguish the people of Littleton--students, teachers and family at Columbine (High School) have gone through--is just beyond description."

Mrs. Clinton said there needs to be a national campaign against youth violence. "We've have to be aware, we've got a problem here. We cannot be in denial. We have a lot of young people who are disoriented, who are alienated from their families, our society, and our schools," she said, repeating sentiments first expressed in a speech in Niagara Falls, New York a week ago.

At Grissom Junior High School in Queens, Mrs. Clinton presided over nearly 2,000 seventh and eighth graders. The school is named after "Gus" Grissom, one of the original seven NASA astronauts. He died in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, and the school named for him opened in 1975.

Mrs. Clinton is Grissom's third "principal for a day." The school has a diverse student body -- 37 percent Asian, 29 percent Hispanic, 27 percent black, and 7 percent white, according to Principal Rhia Warren. The school has so many of the students born outside the United States, it offers bilingual classes in Spanish and Punjabi, an Indian language.

Mrs. Clinton's schedule saw her make morning announcements and then participate in an eighth grade social studies class.

"I am so pleased to be here at your school today," she began, speaking over the school's intercom system. "I hope to have a chance to hear from a number of you about what's on your minds."

Later, Mrs. Clinton was scheduled to attend a weekly parents meeting, have lunch with teachers, attend a chorus rehearsal, and participate in a student government town meeting with 70 student senators -- all those events closed to press coverage.

This is Mrs. Clinton's third trip to New York since she publicly acknowledged she is exploring a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan next year.

Mrs. Clinton is one of 1,050 guest principals across New York City's 1,100 public schools Thursday. The five-year-old program run by PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning) puts role models in schools for one day each year.

Among the other notables participating were Merrill Lynch CEO David Komansky, CBS broadcaster Lesley Stahl, actress Frances McDormand, fashion designer Norma Kamali, and singers Suzanne Vega and Mary Wilson, the latter of the Supremes. The vice president's wife, Tipper Gore, participated in the program in 1997 and Health Secretary Donna Shalala was included last year.

This evening Mrs. Clinton will be the keynote speaker at a state Democratic Party fund-raising dinner.

Thursday, April 29, 1999

• Democrats say GOP playing politics over Kosovo
• First lady plays principal for a day at a New York school
• Are women deserting Gore?
• Starr reviewing McDougal retrial prospects after judge's decision
• Legislature approves school financing compromise
• IRS now disputes positive job ratings given to whistleblower agent
• Y2K litigation bill stalled by political dispute
• Clinton signs bill allowing greater freedom in spending federal education funds
• Prosecutor: Typewriter is smoking gun in JFK documents case
• Lawyers are biggest givers to Gore and Bush, study finds
• Pilot program to require drug tests of welfare applicants in Michigan
• Former President Bush headlines $14 million payday for GOP
• Drug testing in schools proposed
• Senate panel sends anti-flag burning amendment to floor for vote
• Fewer congressional candidates means less campaign spending
• House aides get farewell bonuses
• Gore links media sex to U.S. teen pregnancy rate
• Officials may face sanctions over handling of Los Alamos spy probe

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