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I would choose State hood for Guam's future status because it states how a country can become one with another. If Guam and the United State come together, Guam would have a lot of benefits to things. The people of Guam would be able to vote and have a voice for the people. Guam would have to represent the United States and do their own laws and businesses. As the state of Guam they can have better economic development opportunities and good access to federal funding. These are the reasons why I would choose State Hood due to many benefits.

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If I had the chance to vote on Guam's future status, I would choose state hood. State hood talks about how a country can become one with another. For an example, Guam is associated with the united states of America. If Guam were to be one with the united states, we would have more access to things that weren't limited to us in the first place. We would be able to vote for who our future president could be, as well as having a political voice for our island. We'll have to represent the united states of America, handle our own laws and businesses. And when I say we have a political voice, many of our people on Guam can be heard by their people in power. We'd have more funding in the economy such as in hospitals, educational systems and more. We'd also have more opportunities in education. There's many benefits and this could help our economy be more developed than it is right now.

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I would choose state hood for Guam's future status because, since we have no say in voting in the U.S House of Representatives and if we have Guam would gain voting representation in both houses giving the residents a true voice in federal decisions. As a state Guam can have a better economic development opportunities with better access to federal funding and increased investor's confidence, possibly leading to more business and tourism development.

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If I had the chance to vote on Guam’s future status, I would choose statehood. I believe that becoming a state would give us more opportunities, such as better jobs, more scholarships for students, and stronger support for hospitals and schools. Right now, not many people know about Guam. If we became a state, more people might visit us as tourists, and we could have more trade and business with the rest of the United States.

As a state, we would also be able to vote for the U.S. president and have a stronger voice in the government. We could help create laws that benefit the people of Guam. We would also have better access to government and funds that could help improve our lives.

Being fully part of the United States could also bring more attention to our island and help others learn about our culture. While some may worry that our identity might change, I believe we can still keep our traditions and way of life while also growing and improving as a state.

As someone living in Guam, I want a better future for our island and our people. I think statehood would bring more opportunities and benefits that could help us while still honoring our culture and who we are.

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I would choose statehood because I don't think Guam is ready for independence. Statehood allows many limited resources we need. If we were independent we wouldn't have much to sell. If Guam and the US came together we would be able to vote, and we'd have the resources they have. It would give a lot of benefits to Guam. We'd also have many educational opportunities. As well as more funding from hospitals, schools, colleges and more.

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If I could vote on Guam’s future, I would choose free association . This means Guam would be its own country but still have a connection with the United States. I like this idea because we can make more of our own choices, but still get help from the U.S. when we need it. This could help protect our CHamoru culture and let us decide more things about our land and schools. We could also make our own laws while still having some support with money and safety. I think it’s a good balance. As someone living on Guam, I want our island to be strong and proud, but I also know we need support sometimes. Free association gives us a chance to grow while still having help when we need it.

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If I were to pick a political status option, I would choose free association. Free association in my opinion is the best case scenario for Guam. Guam having free association means we can be allies with the United States while still having our own independence as a whole. The thing with free association is that while still connected to the United States, we have more say in what we can do to our island as a whole. We can still have protection from the United States without having to be under them like statehood. We can also not worry about being completely defenseless like independence. All and all I prefer free association.

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If I could vote for Guam’s future, I would choose Free Association. It gives us more control over our beautiful island while keeping a helpful relationship with the United States. As of right now we don’t have full say in our own government, and many decisions are made in Washington, D.C., without us having a real voice. With free association, we can make our own laws and decisions that fit Guam better. However, also still working with the U.S. on situations like defense and money support.

To add, this choice can also help us protect our CHamoru culture. If we did become a state, we may lose more of our traditions over time. Also if we become independent, there is a high chance that we will struggle financially. Free Association can give us more freedom without cutting ties completely.

As someone who lives in Guam, I care about our people, culture, and future. Free Association seems like the best way to move forward with more freedom, while still staying strong and supported.

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I would prefer Free association because we would have allied countries to help protect us from any attacks that may come to our island. Also we would have more resources we would be able to obtain. Although an independence is good we wouldn’t have all the protection we would need incase of anything. We would also have more benefits having alliances with U.S. such as health, military, and education. We would also be able to travel anywhere in the U.S. . Overall Free Association would be the most beneficial because of all the factors involved.

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Got this image from guamcod's Instagram.

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The reason as to why I chose Free Association is that there are many benefits to it. There's obviously some drawbacks, but some of the more important parts are related to what we can obtain from it. In terms of trade, Guam would be capable of having trade agreements and be part of the World Trade Organization. Thanks to our location, we'll be able to trade with countries such as the Philippines, Japan, China, and much many more. For our island's education, it would most likely be similar and if we chose Free Association, we can put more importance on our cultural learning which include language and local history. Over time, we'll be capable of reviving our culture! Another benefit that Guam could have from FA is that we'll have more opportunities to have dual passports. With them, traveling can be easier and we will less likely need a visa to visit another country. FA can also increase opportunities for our healthcare and education as it can allow us to interact and receive aid from other countries or international programs.

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I think Guam should join free association.

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I think Guam should join free association.

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My reason for picking free association is because I see it as a mix of Guam as it is right now and independence. Free association allows for the benefits of being a territory of the U.S. such as protection and defense from threats towards Guam. We could also negotiate financial assistance for funding for schools and hospitals. However Guam would also be able to create and control its government making its own laws. However I do not believe this would give citizens of Guam the ability to vote for president. I think free association is the best of both worlds as we get the control we are looking for but are still provided funding and protection. That's why I believe Guam should become a free association.

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My opinion is that Guam should be free association in the future for Guam’s bigger step forward to help people. There are many pros to this approach like our education, our land, and our laws. We can create our own laws and rights now because we aren’t going to be under the US government from there on. Our education system, we can still follow how the america’s education system but we can have freedom to teach our chamoru language more freely. This will help the Chamoru culture grow more within the new generation. For the land, since we are still in alliance with the United States and they are still giving us protection and care, They can have some land to theirselves to defend us against people who try to attack. Also another pro reason is that we are able to get dual citizenship. Since we aren’t really under the United States “arms” but they still help us, we can have US passports while also having Guam passports so we can still visit the mainland whenever we want to.

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If I had the option to choose Guam's political status, I would choose Free Association. Free association is the relationship between two sovereign countries. This will mean that we would have the ability to form our own government and to solve and create laws to address the island and our needs. We will be provided defense and foreign relations support. We will also be provided with financial assistance and financial aid from the US, but we will still be able to have our own government. We'll be provided with lots of support. This can provide a path for self-determination.

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If I had the chance to vote on Guam’s political status, I would pick free association. Free association gives us more control over our government and laws, without the loss of our CHamoru culture. We would have more control but we would also have a relationship with the U.S., providing us with defense and funding. I think it’s important for Guam and especially the locals to have a voice and not be fully controlled by the U.S., especially because we don’t even get to vote for the president. As someone who lives on Guam, I want the CHamoru people to feel more independent and feel more control without losing the help from the U.S. that we rely on. Having a free association status gives us the freedom to create laws based on the needs of our island.

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The political status presentations were amazing. Students spoke clear and loud and they had answers ready for argument questions. They stated a lot of useful facts and great ones too. Out of all the options, despite the fact that all the facts and given reasons were good, I'd say I prefer free association. I prefer free association because we'd have full control over our own political affairs, we'd be recognized internationally as a sovereign nation, and at the same time we'd continue having a defined partnership with the United States in the area of defense.

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The reason I say independence is because if Guam was an independent nation then we could control our lives. If Guam was an independent nation we would be able to vote. Guam could finally have a voice. We could share our thoughts and ideas. If Guam became an independent nation it could probably lead up to something greater happening for Guam in the future. As an independent nation we could all plan ideas on how we could make Guam a better place as an independent nation. If we were an independent nation we could control what we want to do.

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If I were to vote on Guam's future, I would choose Free Association. This option gives Guam more control over its own decisions while still getting support from the U.S. for things like security and money. It allows Guam to keep its culture and traditions, unlike statehood, which might make it more like the U.S. mainland. Independence would be risky because Guam could lose important U.S. help. Free association seems like the best choice because it helps protect Guam’s identity and future without losing the benefits of being connected to the U.S.

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The reason I've chosen free association is because if we were to be "independent", we wouldn't really get anywhere since we would cut ties with the world. This would throw away our chances on evolving into a more modern and improved system on how we get materials and how we travel. Yes, it's good to keep our culture and language alive by doing things that our ancestors did, but it's no longer that time period. Instead, we can make it better by teaching it through modern schooling to younger generations. Statehood is just not cut out for an island as small as Guam. Since we are islanders, we wouldn't relate to the mainland as much as other people since our weather and environment are different. What's worse is if we chose to be independent or stateside, we could obviously be taken over again, and we would repeat Guam's horrible history, and Guam's a small island, we don't have a lot of people to fight for us. This is why I choose free association since we would be able to make alliances and get protection and materials from bigger countries or states like the US.

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Dilreng Towai/ political status: Free association 

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Dilreng Towai/ political status: Free association 

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If I had the chance to vote on Guam’s future political status, I would choose free association with the United States. It allows Guam to have more self-governance. As someone living in Guam, I value the Chamorro culture and heritage, which I believe can be better promoted under free association. Full independence could offer control but poses risks to the small economy. Free association is a path that acknowledges the history while giving us a stronger voice in our future. Free association offers local control with continued U.S. support.

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I think guam would be better as a independent island.I think this because prices would go down on products.The reason why prices would go down is because we would be getting our product directly shipped from Asia.As of now we get our product from the us which makes it more expensive.It would also be nice to be independent so we would have fully control over the government .Not to mention we would also have fully control over our policies and laws.

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I think free association is the best option for Guam. It would let the island stay close to the U.S while having more control over its own government and laws. It wouldn’t be totally independent, but it wouldn’t be completely part of the U.S too. This way, Guam could still keep its cultural and traditions, while having more freedom to make decisions that work for the island. Guam could focus on becoming more self sufficient but still get help from the U.S when it comes to things like defense and funding for it. For me, it seems like the best of option its more local control without losing the support from the U.S. The U.S would still provide defense, which is really important, so we don't have to worry about building our own military. In my opinion, free association seems like the right choice because it gives Guam more independence but still keeps us connected to the U.S. in a way that helps everyone.

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Mathew Salas                               -Free association 

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Mathew Salas                               -Free association 

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If I had the chance to vote I would choose free association for Guam. I think this is the best option because it helps both Guam and the United States.

Free association would let Guam be more independent. Which means the people and government could make more decisions for themselves. Guam would still get help from the U.S.

like money, protection, and other support So we wouldn’t be completely on our own.

I think this is better than statehood because if we became a state we could lose some of our culture and have to follow all of the U.S. rules. As someone who lives in Guam I think it’s important that we have more freedom to be ourselves but also still have a strong connection with the U.S. Free association gives us the best of both through support and freedom.

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If I had the chance to vote on Guam’s future status, I would choose free association with the United States. This option lets Guam keep its culture and traditions while still getting help from the U.S. This gives Guam more control over its own government without fully joining the U.S. as a state which could change our way of life. Statehood might make Guam more like other U.S. states and could weaken our unique identity. Independence would give us full control, but it might hurt our economy and security. As someone living in Guam, I think free association is the best choice because it keeps our independence and also provides the support we need.

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Free Association empowers Guam to achieve self-governance while preserving a strategic relationship with the United States. This arrangement grants the island significantly greater autonomy compared to its current status as an unincorporated U.S. territory, all without the total separation that full independence entails. Making this choice demonstrates a bold commitment to shaping Guam’s destiny.

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When I was looking at the pamphlet in the first presentation free association caught my eye. Free association would give us freedom to make more major choices while still receiving financial help from the US. With free association we could develop better relations with other countries with more freedom. We still couldn't ally with the US's enemies but having better relations means more protection. Although Independence would give us more freedom from the US and ability to perpetuate our culture, we wouldn't have the funds to support on our own. Our main source of income, tourism barely makes us any money. Our military is the best form of tourism we have. Even if we chose Free Association that doesn't mean we can't evolve to Independence in the future. Most people don't like the idea of becoming a state and I fully understand. As someone living on Guam I wouldn't like to become a state, I feel like for Chamorro culture it would set us back a bit. Even if we do it for more power if we get put together with Hawaii and lose most of it.

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If I had to vote on Guam's status I would personally choose Free Association. I believe that this status is the Best status for Guam, because it allows Guam to create a government that best suits its needs while still having a relationship with the U.S. This will allow us to be semi-independent, with the U.S there to serve as military/financial support for the small island. On a educational level, Guam will now have access to their own school curriculum, and can emphasize the importance of our culture by making Chamorro a required class. As a semi-independent country we can also change our government to relate more personally to us here on island by creating laws that directly relate to our experiences.

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I think free association is the best option for Guam because it doesn't strip away our culture, we still get benefits from the US, and we still have some of our independence. Free association allows us to get benefits from the states like security, welfare, and other things while also keeping some of our independence. The Compacts of Free Association (COFA) allows this to happen. COFA is an agreement for free association. The main thing that made me pick free association is the benefits that we get from it. If we were a statehood, our culture will most likely be stripped away and our laws would be changed. If we were to be independent, our military would not be good and it would be hard so I think free association is the best option.

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I believe statehood is the best option for Guam because it would strengthen their relationship with the two and will give more benefits like voting. It would also make us as an island feel more like we are apart of something rather feeling like we are just a property of a country. However if do become a state we will get all the federal laws and people might not agree with what is written. Also, other choices from the president might have a high chance to affect Guam since we are a state. The good thing about all of this is that we could receive more protection from the military.

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If I had the opportunity to vote on Guam's political status, I would choose free association. This option offers a fairer path for our island. Under free association, Guam would be recognized as its own, rather than just a territory of the United States. We wouldn’t be cutting all ties as the United States would still provide defense/protection and support, while in return they have access to certain parts of the island.

Gaining full independence may seem ideal in terms of preserving Guam’s culture and traditions, but it raises serious concerns about financial stability. Without consistent support or new sources, our economy could suffer dramatically. There’s little point in gaining independence if we can’t sustain ourselves.

Then there is statehood, which would make Guam practically American. While that may bring many benefits, it risks our local identity. U.S citizenship for all and national policies would reshape Guam into a reflection of the mainland. It’s hard to preserve a distinct culture when the influence dominates every aspect of our future lives. At that point, would Guam still feel like Guam? It may begin to feel like we’re trading our identity while still relying on the U.S for everything.

As someone who was raised on Guam my whole life, I want what is best for the place I recognize the most. It may not be my cultural origin, but I still cherish the island’s beauty. Right now, I don’t believe Guam is at its best. From the way I see it, free association feels like the best path. It’s a big step, but one that could protect the essential parts of the island’s identity.

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If I could vote on Guam's future status, I would Free Association. Free Association is an individual's right to join or leave a group and the right to pursue the interests of its members. While being our own island with complete power over it, we would still have connections with the United States. This is a big thing because in this point of time, we don't have a say in our government and in making decisions. Ever since I moved here, I did not have the idea that we didn't have a say in our government even though we have are a home to the military. But while learning about where we stand as an island, I learned that we are limited to certain things and certain decisions that we can and cannot make. If we had this status as well, I believe that we'd also be more unique as an island since we can make decisions on our own without the U.S in the way saying otherwise. Guam has been in the U.S's hands for a while, and I think that Guam would choose to finally be free of it and be on their own after so long.

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I would choose free association because it benefits us and the U.S. It benefits us by getting assistance with many things like education, our government, and security. It also benefits the U.S by giving them more military, and getting more connections. The differences between Free Association and the other choices are that we still own our island, and also get benefits from the U.S as well. For example, with statehood we might get some of our laws revoked, and also we might merge with another state. If we pick independence, our military wouldn’t be as good, and will be harder to acquire more resources. For those reasons I would like to pick Free Association.

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If I had the option to choose, it would be free association because of its results after two countries' relationships, which would give us the ability to make ourselves laws suitable for our people and guests while having our own government despite having financial aid by the US.