Maria S. Balajadia, 17, bested seven other students from other schools in the annual speech competition that has been dominated by MCS since 2002.
Crista Ching, 17, of Saipan Southern High School, came in second, followed by Angela Pardo, 17, of Kagman High School, and Hiromasa Kawahara, 17, of Calvary Christian Academy.
Runners up were Manatsu E. Omori, 15, of Marianas Baptist Academy; Baybie Hocog, Rota High School; Shitong Cheng, 16, Tinian Junior Senior High School; and Brandon DLG. Camacho, 18, Marianas High School.
This year’s topic was, “Should the CNMI consider becoming an independent country or remain a commonwealth of the United States?”
Balajadia, in her speech, said “no island is an island.”
“So when we consider today’s question amid all the connections that link continents, nations, and people, rather than declaring our independence, perhaps, we should declare our interdependence. That is why I believe we should remain a commonwealth.”
America, she added, “was essentially a bully. And it still is,” referring to some actions by the U.S. government.
But she also noted the millions of dollars extended by the federal government to the islands’ economy and infrastructure development.
She said U.S.-NMI relationship has deteriorated in recent years.
“Rather than a functional relationship based on interdependence, our political union has become a dysfunctional relationship based on codependence. It is the same kind of codependence one finds in unhealthy relationships plagued by substance abuse, addiction, and domestic violence. In our case, we in the commonwealth have abused our addiction — federal handouts — and have thus subjected ourselves to the repeated abuse of an overbearing federal government,” Balajadia said.
She called for the renegotiation of the Covenant, saying that the U.S. government should do more to honor its spirit, which she described as self-government and autonomy.
“The U.S. must honor that spirit to maintain its legitimacy as the world’s champion of democracy,” Balajadia said.
She also called on the U.S. to address important issues such as submerged lands.
The U.S., she added, “should engage in more meaningful consultations before major decisions are made that affect our islands.”
The CNMI, for its part, “should mature politically and adopt a more realistic and strategic approach toward its relationship with the U.S.”
She added, “Rather than complain about how the U.S. uses our islands for its foreign policy, we should accept that reality and leverage our strategic importance in order to gain the most for our islands.”
Moreover, she said, the commonwealth “should own up to its mistakes and operate with more integrity. Misspending federal funds, wining and dining Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay, and accusing the federal government of all sorts of evils, have only hurt our relationship with the U.S. If we are to gain the respect of the U.S. as an equal partner in this relationship, then we must earn that respect by behaving like a mature democracy.”
Lastly, Balajadia said the CNMI “should become less dependent and more self-reliant. So long as we stay addicted to federal handouts, we remain a vulnerable, unequal partner in this relationship.”
According to the student, “Becoming less dependent does not mean we should cut our ties with the U.S. We must fix this relationship, not end it.”
She added, “We must transform our dysfunctional codependence into a functional interdependence.”
Referring to U.S. servicemembers who died here during the war, she said the CNMI “must do more than just remember their struggles and deaths.
We must honor their memory by making sure they did not die in vain. We must find courage to make this relationship work. Because we need this relationship. We need this commonwealth. We need each other.”
