Lindenhurst is a quaint, middle class community located on the south west end of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Our high school is like many other schools, with its fair share of problems.  Yet a group of students from the AP Government and Dowling College Political Science classes have joined together in order to create a clear and comprehensive Veteran's Bill of Rights. Over the course of a month and a half, we have written a Bill of Rights which we feel will change not only a veteran's life, but also the lives of their families as well. We will be taking a trip down to Washington D.C. on November 10th through 11th to meet with members of Congress and the Veteran's Affairs Committee in order to discuss the crucial parts of the bill. Along with meeting many members of our government, we will also be meeting runner Chris Cuddihy at the Capitol Building after running from Central Park in New York City down to D.C. This experience has also taught us about the bill making process, and will give us a peek into the world of our Federal Government, and we're excited to begin our journey to change.

                                                                                      Students for a Veterans' Bill of Rights

   Mr. Ralph Viggiano has been at Social Studies teacher at Lindenhurst High school since March of 1993.  As a passionate teacher, Mr. Viggiano has tried to bring lessons to life for his students.  One such unit is a role play with over 1500 slides and music that teaches students the importance of the most turbulent of eras, the 1960s.  His lesson earned him a spot in the inaugural class of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial fund.  He was one of 80 teaches in the country invited to take part in this experience.  This organization tries to promote Veteran rights while working the to preserve their sacrifices.  Mr. Viggiano was quoted “The VVFM (Vietnam veterans Memorial Fund) was one of the most important and memorable teaching experiences of my life.”        For the past six years, Mr. Viggiano has been teaching both Advanced Placement Political Science and Government and Political Science Classes endorsed by Dowling College.  Over the years, Mr. Viggiano has run mock elections and had his students work on campaigns of local politicians.  Now, to get his students involved in politics, his combined classes are working on a Veterans’ Bill of Rights.  This is his most aggressive service learning experience to date; his main objective is to get his student to believe that their efforts can make a difference in the world.  This attempt in passage of legislation came from a personal experience of his from High School.  He helped work on for the passage of the New York State Bottle Bill.  Ralph Viggiano has never forgotten the importance of this work and wanted to pass it on to his students forging the next generation of student activists.

      Mr. Viggiano is lucky enough to a have a supportive wife Linda, who puts up with his time away from the family to provide his students with life lessons.  He is an Assist Coach for Dowling College’s women’s lacrosse.  He is also the Director of the Southbay Girls Lacrosse club, which is a girl’s travel lacrosse program, and operates the Restaurant at a private beach Club located in the Hamptons.  Mr. Viggiano is a recipient of the “Farmingdale Award for Motivational Teaching” awarded by the State University of New York at Farmingdale, and was named Teacher of the year for Lindenhurst High School 1997.