Round Lake High celebrates Freedom Shrine
U.S. history was celebrated Thursday at Round Lake High School with the dedication of a display featuring copies of the country's important documents.
About 250 students and government officials gathered in the high school's theater for the ceremony to accept the Freedom Shrine donation from the Round Lake Area Exchange Club. Round Lake High's women's ensemble added to the festivities with patriotic songs.
One speaker who captivated the crowd was the Rev. Lisle Kauffman, a retired pastor and longtime chaplain for police and fire departments in the Round Lake area and elsewhere.
Kauffman called attention to how the framed documents - including the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution - were celebrated Thursday in between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the presidential inauguration, which represents an orderly transition of power.
Before leading the invocation, Kauffman alluded to King's "I Have a Dream" speech and tied it into the Freedom Shrine now in a busy high school hallway.
"I thought, you know, as I'm getting ready to do this, I have a dream, too," Kauffman said. "And my dream is that the students who pass through this awesome school will not just walk by those documents, but they'll actually stop and look at them, read them, pay attention to them. And I have a dream that the teachers, who walk by them every single day, will stop and take the time now and then, just to ponder them."
Lake County Chief Judge Jorge Ortiz also participated in the ceremony that was observed by students in social studies, Advanced Placement government and U.S. history classes.
Ortiz said while not perfect, the United States is the greatest country in the world and offers many opportunities to students.
"Racism, bigotry, discrimination unfortunately do exist in this country," Ortiz said. "But you cannot allow that to deter you from becoming educated, from pursuing your dreams. We all have obstacles. We have to struggle, fight and work hard to overcome them."
Exchange Club members have donated a Freedom Shine to four other Round Lake Area Unit District 116 schools.