by Chris Frenier

Audio Clip

i can After spending five hours yesterday creating a list of 10 goals for each of the five conference issues (education, leadership, family and community, natural resources and the "Alaska Dream"), the delegates further consolidated their goal statements this morning.

Today got a late start, with deliberation starting at 10:30 a.m., as the delegates filed into the ballroom at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' William Ransom Wood Campus Center. Today's task was to take the ten goals the delegation decided on yesterday for each issue, and eliminate all but five of them. These remaining goals are the topics guiding the discussion this afternoon, as focus groups sit down to hammer out action items. These action items are the most crucial part of the conference because they will be organized to form the proposals delegates will submit to local and state politicians.

Delegates were also treated to two speeches from prominent Alaskan politicians. Alaska Constitutional Convention delegate Vic Fisher gave a keynote on Alaska's founding document this morning. Fisher emphasized the power of the Constitution and charged young delegates with the responsibility to look after Alaska in the future. He also criticized the Alaska State Legislature for unnecessarily amending the Constitution, as well as destroying the political ideals the Convention established.

"There was an opportunity for every person to participate fully, to have an opinion expressed and this is something so unlike the Legislative process today it's just sometimes sickening to watch what goes on in Juneau, the lack of respect of individuals."

Former Governor Wally Hickel delivered the second speech about Alaska's natural resources immediately after the delegations lunch recess.