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Clinton calls for college students to combat illiteracy

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  • Transcript of President Clinton's Radio Address

    • December 21, 1996
    Web posted at: 12:30 p.m. EST

    WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton announced Saturday that the presidents of 20 leading colleges have pledged to reserve half of their federal funded work-study slots to students willing to tutor children to read.

    "Right away this should give us thousands of new tutors, a down payment toward our goal of enlisting 200,000 work-study students to help America read," Clinton said during his weekly radio address.

    The $2.75 billion "America Reads" national literacy program was a theme of Clinton's successful re-election campaign.

    "To achieve our full potential as a nation, we must make sure everyone can read -- adults as well as children," Clinton said. icon (260K/24 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

    Congress created 200,000 new work-study jobs on U.S. college campuses this fall at Clinton's request. The president said he wanted most of those jobs to fall to community service, particularly literacy programs.

    Clinton said he wanted to recruit at least five more colleges in the program, which would provide tutors for 8-year-olds. To encourage participation, the president said that he would eliminate the requirement that colleges pay a quarter of the costs for each student who becomes a literacy tutor.

    "These students will create a whole new culture of service, working alongside our AmeriCorps volunteer who will be doing the same, inspiring hundreds of thousands of Americans to tutor -- not just children -- but adult learners as well," Clinton said.

    A literate population is a strong and responsible one, the president said.

    "There is simply no better way to serve your country and your community than by helping children and adults learn to read," Clinton said. "And there is no better time to start than Christmas, the season of enlightenment."

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