Hawthorne High School’s Advanced Placement and Pre- Advanced Placement U.S. History classes had a combined assembly Friday, November 14, 2014 to welcome New Jersey Assemblyman Timothy J. Eustace. The classes, taught by Christopher Ward and Matthew Corvo, listened attentively as Eustace spoke about what his job as an assemblyman entails and how he became one. Junior AP student Ryan VanderWerf commented on the speaker saying, “It was really interesting to hear what an assemblyman does for our community and state.” Junior AP student, Ronny Pena added, “It was interesting to hear an actual member of the New Jersey government’s perspective on both state and national current affairs.”

The duration of the assembly was spent talking about current events in the government and various bills the New Jersey Congress is trying to pass. One bill that has passed and is awaiting the approval or disapproval of the governor is a “death by dignity” law. Eustace explained to the students that “death by dignity,” in short, gives a person with a terminal illness (ex. given six or less months to live) the ability to take medication that will allow them to die peacefully. The person would have to undergo a psychological examination by a licensed doctor as well as an evaluation by two doctors that agree the person has a limited amount of time to live. Eustace acknowledged that this topic is a very controversial issue in the country because some people view it as suicide while others believe it is allowing one to put an end to his or her own suffering.

Another topic that kept the conversation rolling between Eustace and the students was the upcoming presidential election in 2016. Eustace believes that Hillary Clinton would be a good change for the country and that the country is overdue for having a woman as president. Some students agreed with this point of view but felt that people should not rush into voting for a presidential candidate just because she is a woman.

Junior AP student, David Mascis, said “I thought that Assemblyman Timothy Eustace brought up some good points, and I agreed with some of his ideas. It was cool being able to express my viewpoints with him on certain issues.”