Torrance Student Places 3rd in Contest

Ken Kuniyuki is fascinated by government and politics, and that interest paid off this week when the Torrance High School junior finished third in a nationwide citizenship competition in Washington.

The 16-year-old won a $3,000 scholarship in the finals of the Citizen Bee, an annual competition that tests high school students’ knowledge of American history, geography, economics, culture and current events.

Kuniyuki was delighted with his performance. “Just to place in the top three is incredible,” he said in an interview. “It was very exciting, not only the excitement of the competition but being in Washington, D.C.”

Studied an Hour a Day

He said the competition was nerve-racking as he faced 75 other semifinalists from 29 states. But he was ready for the questions after studying an hour a day for several weeks using a personal computer. Kuniyuki emerged from the first round of written and oral tests last Sunday as one of 15 finalists.

One of the lighter moments in Monday’s final round of oral exams occurred when Kuniyuki, who is Japanese-American, was asked to imagine that he was an American citizen of Japanese descent at the end of World War II.

“It was pure coincidence,” Kuniyuki said. “It was hilarious. I tried to make a joke out of it” by striking a thoughtful pose.

Kuniyuki was asked what chance he would have of successfully challenging the internment of Japanese-Americans. He answered correctly that he would not prevail because of a Supreme Court decision that upheld the internment.

The question that Kuniyuki liked best asked him to name the authors of two controversial books--”Reflections of a Public Man” and “Window of Opportunity”--which had gotten their authors in trouble. The answer: former House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) and Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)

Kuniyuki said the competition reinforced his strong interest in government. He said he finds it “very interesting to see how people govern themselves.”

Hopes of Studying at UCLA

A straight-A student, Kuniyuki is a member of the Torrance High Service Club, the Science Club, the Chess Club, the Debate Club and the academic decathlon team. He said he would like to study political science at UCLA before embarking on a career in public service, lobbying or political consulting.

The Citizen Bee competition is held annually by the Close Up Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to civic education. In Southern California, the competition was sponsored by The Times and Columbia Savings & Loan Co. This is the first year that California students have participated.

The program is designed to combat what the foundation calls “an alarming lack of knowledge about the basics of American history, government and public life” among high school students.