Photos by Troy Harvey / Special to The Star Eleventh-graders from St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City, from left, Destany Saalih, Mathew Mancilla, Jackie Monarrez and Tianna Young were among 114 students from the school who had an opportunity to view archives Friday at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

St. Genevieve High School junior Elise Huerta looked through correspondence written before the advent of e-mail, instant messaging and even before the 16-year-old was born.

One particular letter was written on March 10, 1981, by a man who lived in a small town in Texas and was addressed to President Ronald Reagan. The man told a brief story of the town's only surgeon, a Chilean native scheduled to be deported if a certain immigration bill was not passed.

"I really felt the concern he had and the way he expressed himself in the letter," Huerta said. "This is still happening today and reading this for myself makes it more real."

Part of a pilot program

Huerta was among 114 students from St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City who had the opportunity to view archives Friday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley. The free workshop was part of a pilot program called "From the Source," in which students learn about archival research using primary source documents pulled from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Archives.

Mike Duggan, supervisory archivist, said there are more than 23,500 cubic feet of archival material stored at the library. Some of that correspondence has been declassified and is available for public viewing.

"The idea of this particular pilot program is to give students a research experience," Duggan said.

1981-87 immigration papers

Students at Friday's presentation viewed Reagan correspondence and policy documents from 1981 to 1987 concerning immigration and in particular, the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, the last major piece of federal legislation on immigration, which was signed by Reagan in November 1986.

Students were divided into small groups and read through the documents. Mira Cohen, director of education at the library and museum, then asked the students to list and describe concerns stated or implied in the documents.

U.S. history teacher Ken Bailey said the program provided valuable firsthand experience with historical documents. The students prepared weeks in advance by researching Reagan's biography, his time at the White House and even his film career.

"It brings what they have learned in the textbooks to life," Bailey said.