yig paper 1, thursday

8/3/2019 Yig Paper 1, Thursday

1/6

Meet the Editors

Editor in Chief:

Matt Larson

Layout Editors:

Caroline Sauer

Rachel Powell

Copy Editors:Dan Stevenson

Kiran Sapatnekar

Kristen Anderson

Production Manager:

Kassi Beck

By Emily Dech

Youth in Govern-

ment (YIG) is a unique pro-

gram that is in almost all of the

50 states. But the United States

isnt the only place to have

mock governments for teens.

Youth government/ parliament

programs not only exist in the

United States, but also in

Wales, Australia, Victoria, and

the United Kingdom. Theres

even real life YIG where kids

are elected by citizens and their

adult counterparts listen to their

opinions and apply it to their

work in the government. In

Norway, they have a similar

program in the summer, where

sadly a massacre occurred this

July, and 77 kids were killed.

The YMCA founded

Youth in Government. But the

United States isnt the only

place. Youth in Parliament,

underneath the Y, is in Wales,

Australia, Tasmania, and Vic-

toria. The program is similar

where teens take over their real

Parliament for a week and de-

bate issues theyve written as

bills. In Victoria, 25 bills from

Youth in Parliament have

passed up to become Victorian

Law. The Tasmanian program

describes their program on

their website, Tasmanian

Youth Parliament is bicameral

with debate held in the Tasma-

nian House of Assembly and

the Legislative Council.

Participants form a Govern-

ment and Opposition to debate

issues in state politics which

they consider important.

Teams of three students write

their own bills to be debated

throughout the week.There are other youth

government programs not

founded by the YMCA. In

Norway, the Labour Political

Party opens a youth camp

every summer. Teens meet

together on an island called

Utoya for a week to meet gov-

ernment ministers, dive into

election strategy sessions, and

discuss politics, democracy,

and key issues. However, thisyear in July, a gunman named

Anders Behring Breivik went

to the island and went on a

shooting rampage, killing 77.

He thought Norway was be-

coming more diverse and the

camp was full of students with

different ethnicities.

Norway, along with the rest of

Europe, Washington, D.C., and

New York City, also has Na-

tional Model United Nations.Hroje Merdzo, from Mostar,

Bosnia describes the program,

I was chosen once to partici-

pate in something called MUN

(Model of United Nations)

which took part at United Word

College here in Mostar. The

participants were divided into

different councils and each of

them had to represent one

country. I was chosen to repre-

sent Haiti in the Social Eco-

nomical Council. We had to

talk about some problems and

try to find solutions for them,

but also to see what other coun-tries are like.

What if Youth in

Government was real? In the

United Kingdom it is. Mem-

bers of Youth Parliament are

elected in annual youth elec-

tions throughout the UK. Any

young person aged 11-18 can

stand or vote. More than one

million young people have

voted in UK Youth Parliament

elections. Members of Youth

Parliament run campaigns,

organize events, and influence

issues in Parliament important

to youth. Youth Parliament has

more than 600 representatives!

Youth in Govern-

ment or Parliament is every-

where!

YIG Around the World

History at an Angle 2

Sleep at YIG:The Great

Debate

2

Mental Prep. For YIG 3

Raising Your Voice 4

Why YIG? 5

Youth of YIG 6

Getting to Know Our

Governor

6

Inside this issue:


2/6

By Kristen AndersonI could start this article with all

the whos, whats, whens, wheres, and

whys. Im almost positive that no one

would read all the way through to the end.

You might be asking yourself why in the

world would I waste my time reading an

article about Youth and Government his-

tory? You just want to read the new and

interesting fluff stories,

First of all, you can thank all

those New Yorkers with the crazy accents

for starting the first model legislature in

1936 in Albany, New York. I guess they

have some good ideas after all. Minnesota

stole the idea in 1946 and changed the name

to Model Assembly. Although it was only

held once every two years the mock assem-

bly was made up of the Youth House and

Senate and a Youth Governor. It wasnt

until 19 years later in 1965 that Model As-

sembly became an annual event. I think we

can all agree that we appreciate that change.

Another change that Im SURE we all love

is that newspaper also began in 1965!

It seemed like the program was

going strong until the late 1960s and early

1970s. Enrollment suffered greatly most

likely due to apathetic feelings towards

government as a whole. Funny, that doesnt

seem to hurt program enrollment now-a-

days

For those of you who like to con-

vict the accused of crimes, yes Im talking

about the Supreme Court your program

area started in 1975. Five years later the

Newspaper Press be-

came official. Lobbyists started moseying

around in 1981 defending bills that the

Video Press started reporting on in 1984.

The main program areas of Hum-

phrey House and Stassen Senate were con-

jured up in 1991. Humphrey Houses is

named after Hubert H. Humphrey who was

U.S. Senator and Vice President. Stassen

Senate is named after Harold Stassen who

was Governor and signer of the United

Nations Charter. I bet you all knew that

second one, right?

The one and only Youth in Gov-

ernment Radio Station was also started in

1991. Make sure you listen to the soothing

sounds of Bill Brown (Fridley delegation)

this year. The radio crew works hard to

keep us entertained at all hours of the night

so tune in. You wont want to miss out!

As the number of participants

increased, another House and Senate were

created in 1999. Naturally this was Sibley

House (named after Henry Sibley who was

the first State Governor) and Ramsey Sen-

ate (named after Alexander Ramsey who

was the first Territorial Governor).

Many aspects of Youth in Gov-

ernment have been changed throughout the

years. With 10 different program areas we

are now 1,800 participants strong and a

nation-wide program involving nearly 40

states with 25,000 students attending each

year. All of this history has already been

made. Now we have to make start making

history.

tary procedure. Having had three years of

prior YIG experience, I have also observed

this phenomenon, and Ive been affected by

it nearly every year.

While it is true that YIG does take

a toll on delegates after days without much

sleep, is it fair to say that its betterto sleep

early at YIG? After all, how much fun is it

to be the only one able to function correctly

in a room full of people expected to debate?

Though my roommate admits to

having gotten more sleep than many YIG-

goers last year, she also stated ,I wish Id

gotten less sleep because I probably

couldve spent it having fun. This senti-

ment is shared with many delegates in YIG,

and is the primary reason so many of us go

through Model Assembly sleep deprived.

Though it is unwise to go com-

pletely without sleep, my advice to all of

you is to spend your time at YIG having as

much fun as possible. If having fun requires

you to sleep through the night, do what you

need to do.

By Leeann Donovan

Anyone who has ever been a part

of Youth in Government knows that getting

enough sleep is a rare occurrence over the

four days of Model Assembly. Nights are

usually a time for energy drinks, celebrating

the experience of YIG, and just acting crazy

with roommates.

However, even though staying up

late with friends is fun, it can arguably take

away from the experience as a whole. Stay-

ing up late can lead to feeling groggy and

unaware towards the last days of Model

Assembly.

Last year at Model Assembly, one

of my roommates from the Fridley delega-tion, Sam Ferdelman, made the decision to

sleep a lot sooner than I had imagined in the

beginning. Being one of very few who actu-

ally managed to rest during Model Assem-

bly, she began to notice people acting

strange as they grew more tired.

When asked about this experi-

ence, she explained that people were more

irritable, and less following of parliamen-

History at an Angle

Sleep at YIG: The Great Debate

Page 2


3/6

In every issue of Capitol Connections, the

robot seen to the right will be hiding some-

where between the pages. Try to find it!

Mental Prep. For YIGBy Matthew Knudson

Mental preparation for YIG can

be easy, and it can also hit at the last minute

when you realize "It's in a week!" Hope-

fully, most people feel at ease, but if that's

not you, fear not. Everyone's been there.

Here are some helpful tips to help ease the

tension.

Firstly, knowledge of one's own

bill is really key. People will ask a variety

of questions about that bill, and it's impor-

tant to look at it in every way, and be ready

for those questions and know how to an-

swer them. Passion is what people look for,

and what people look up to.

Rooming with people is a lot of

fun. It can also be a bit awkward, especially

if it's not a normal thing. Say someone's an

only child who isn't used to having to share

a small space, and then they have to share a

room with four people. Learning to work

around each other's personal needs and

being respectful to one another is a good

thing to pay attention to. It's a lot of fun

rooming with people, and when everyone is

comfortable, it's just cake. It isn't too com-

mon to have discomforting feelings, so

don't worry too much.

Then there's that cute girl across

the room. What to say to get her to notice

you? Try a good pick-up line. Some good

ones are "Is it love at first sight, or should I

walk by again", "Are you tired? 'Cause

you've been runnin' through my mind all

day." Offer her a piece of gum. It'll be seen

as a nice gift, even though the intention is

so her breathe smells better for obvious

reasons.

So, anyway, don't be afraid, but

be ready. Embrace the challenges, and add

to the enjoyment. Let's make the 57th an-

nual model assembly the best yet!

slogan read Get your Swag On, Streff &

Susag with the S in the word Swag

squared. They both thought of themselves

as underdogs compared to the other candi-

dates so to them their win was a huge suc-

cess and surprise. Esther and I chose a

strategy of not writing an opening or clos-

ing speech and coming off as 'real.' We

answered all the questions the way we in-

tended, commented Streff about the Town

Hall Debate. Susag added, We were both

so nervous!Candidate Taylor Burr from Hast-

ings stated some of her and her partners

campaign ideas, We plan to pass out pins

or stickers. She also went on to say that

they want to earn votes by going around

and talking to numerous people during their

free time, educating people on their cam-

By Rachel Powell

Everyone needs a leader, so every

year we elect a Governor and Lieutenant

Governor to take on the job. But how do the

candidates receive your vote and confidence

for becoming our leaders? Is it the visual

sense, seeing their face and name on numer-

ous buttons, posters and wrist bands? Or is

it the hearing portion, the way other people

talk about them and how they address them-

selves to a crowd? A lot goes into cam-

paigning, and I had the privilege of receiv-ing knowledge of how our recent Governor

and Lieutenant Governor got elected, as

well as how the current candidates plan to

take action.

Gov. Alex Streff and Lt Gov.

Esther Susag passed out buttons for their

campaign during Model Assembly. The

paign. Another candidate, David Liu and

his partner Shannen Dietz said they want to

purchase buttons or another type of material

to pass out during Model Assembly. Dietz

added, You have to be outgoing and a

people person so you can get your names

out there. Many candidates used the social

networking site Facebook to get noticed

even before Model Assembly arrived.

Now that Model Assembly is

finally here its time for the candidates to

put their ideas into action. So be ready tosee those creative slogans on numerous

buttons and posters promoting the candi-

dates and be prepared to listen to their rea-

sons for running and why they would be the

best leader to appoint. May the best one

win.

May the Best One Win

Wheres the Robot?Page 3


4/6

course, we cant forget the Governors Ball!

The planned events are fun, but the best part

of YIG is making new friends. I really

enjoy meeting new people. Its one of the

best things at YIG! Theres hundreds of

new kids there and its great to meet friends

that you will have for the next few years,said Molly Hancuh.

YIG is not only a great way to

make new friends but also a fantastic tool in

becoming more skilled at debate (which

comes in handy with your parents) and

public speaking, and improving your self-

esteem as you learn ideas that can make a

difference in the world.

had already participated in it. Josie Wey-

gand-Carlson from St. Paul Northwest has a

different reason why she joined YIG. I

Choose to do YIG because Ive always had

an interest in government and who wouldnt

want to miss school and go and hang out

with your friends at a nice hotel.

Hanging out at a hotel with your

friends isnt all fun and games; there is a lot

of work to be done. Whether it is arguing

your bill or presenting your court case,

there is always something to do. There is so

much work to be done that you hardly get

any sleep. Molly Hancuh, another member

of St. Paul Northwest delegation, said that

not getting a lot of sleep is the worst part ofYIG. I dislike the fact that we have to

wake up so early. You might not feel it in

the moment, but usually everyone from

YIG is dead the next week of school.

Besides not getting an adequate

amount of sleep, YIG is really fun. They

always have something fun to do like the

carnival, town hall where you vote for your

favorite candidate for next year, and, of

By Rachel Gabrelcik

Every year, Youth in Government

gains more and more students, which means

more and more fun and plenty of opinions.

It is a great opportunity for all of you whohave ideas on how to make

the government a better system and how to

make the place we live in much better.

"I think it is completely wonder-

ful that they are ready to dive

into politics and government and they

are truly seeing that it is like in

the government world," Esther Susag says.

Y o u t h i n G o v e r n m e n t ' s

2012 Lieutenant Governor. "It's great that

they are finding out that they can truly

make a difference! Government is aboutlaws and rights. We are learning how to

make this world a better place for us. Stu-

dents need to know that they can com-

pletely stand up for what they believe in

and doing so can make change!"

She is very enthusiastic, as you

can tell. Everyone has different opinions

about how the government and the commu-

nity should be ran. Everyone comes to-

gether to learn about the government, solve

problems and make it better. We all can

speak up, make our voices heard and know,

no matter what we say, we can make a dif-

ference. Everyone's opinion matters and

everyone is heard. Youth in Government is

really an amazing opportunity. If you are

someone who loves to voice your opinion,

stand up for what you believe in and debate,

then get up to that microphone. Let every-

one know what you stand for. Have that

confidence everyone wishes they had and

get out there! the more you say, the better.

Your opinion will speak to more people in

that room than you know. And even if you

are one who doesn't prefer to have your

voice amplified, your opinion still matters.

You can still do so much to affect the out-

come of many things, like voting, for in-

stance. Just because you have a little stage

fright doesn't mean you should sit back. Ifyou feel strongly about something, say so.

People will admire you for it and your

words and confidence could change the

whole outcome in your program area.

W e a r e y o u n g , b u t

our opinions matter. If we start out this

strong, think of where we will end up in the

future. Think of what we could do. All it

takes are a few steps to greatness. What you

get out of Youth in Government is what you

put into it. We have to learn, teach, debate,

and defend our way to the top! After all, we

are the future. So, speak up guys!

Why Do YIG?

Raising Your Voice

By Alexis Ryan

YIG (Youth in Government) is a

YMCA development program emphasizing

core values like caring, honesty, respect,and responsibility. Every year YIG has

about 1,800 middle school and high school

students who participate. The mission state-

ment for Model Assembly is that Students

learn about government and leadership, as

well as about themselves, their abilities,

interests and responsibilities as citizens of a

participatory democracy. During model

assembly students participate inLegisla-ture, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals,

Trial Court, Lobbyist, Junior/Senior Cabi-

net, TV, Radio, Newspaper, LeadershipCorps, and the National Issues Forum.

Sarah Vaagenes, from the St. Paul

Northwest delegation, said, I joined YIG

because it seemed really fun and I wasnt

really doing any other activities. Plus it

looks good on college applications. Some

people join YIG because it looks good on

college applications, some join because

they hear it is fun from their friends who

See News Happening?If so let us know!!

Write it down and hand

it to the Editor-In-

Page 4


5/6

By Dan Stevenson

Delegates Max Fite and Emma

Reese are running for Governor and Lieu-

tenant Governor of Model Assembly for2013. Max is junior at Fridley High School

where he is captain of the cross country and

tennis teams, secretary of the student coun-

cil and a member of the National Honor

Society. Emma is a junior at Red Wing

High School who is a junior instructor at

the Environmental Learning Center,

participates in Student Council as well as

her schools musicals and dedicates her

time to Youth in Government outside of

ability to relate to delegates, their optimism,

and their dedication to the Youth in

Government program.

of fun, so brace yourself. There's also

cabinet, the courts, media. Plenty

of opportunities to explore at YIG. Debate

is a big part of it, where anyone can get up

on the mic and express their ideas and any-

one can get all up in their face and tell them

what's. No one's really wrong. Everyone's

allowed to an opinion, and there's room at

YIG to express these opinions. Mock gov-

ernment is fun.

There is, of course, those few

rules, that really don't ask much. Bottom

By Matthew Knudson

Why do YIG? What's there to do

at YIG? What do you do at YIG? What is

expected of people in YIG? Will pigs fly at

YIG?

Why not do YIG? It's chock full

of fun things to do, learn, and experience.

There's plenty to do. For instance,

there are tons of program areas, such as

House and Senate. There, people basically

debate all day. It gets intense, and it's a lot

line, respect, responsibility, and common

sense. YIG is fun. It involves a lot of learn-

ing, spanning from learning how to

speak publicly, to learning new social skills.

It's one thing to be the new kid at school,

but at YIG, there is close to a thousand

strangers. Don't be afraid, they don't bite.

Now, it's not clear whether or not

there will be anything other than humans at

model assembly, but in life, always expect

the unexpected. So, whatever happens,

enjoy.

WHY YIG?

MAXimum REESEsponsibility

COLOR-A-SQUIRREL

Page 5

Model Assembly by participating in the

state Steering Committee which helps to

plan events for the upcoming year of Model

Assembly. Their platform includes extend-

ing the Model Assembly experience, more

involvement for leadership corps, and newopportunities for all program areas. Max

advocates bills relating to the improvement

of the environment as well as the promotion

of health and fitness in the state of Minne-

sota. Their values are to maintain YIG rela-

tionships and connections after Model As-

sembly and influence delegates to achieve

their goals at YIG as well as in life. Max

and Emma believe they are the ideal candi-

dates for these positions because of their


6/6

and connect so well because of YIG.

Theres always something to talk

about, said Stier.

Many students that partici-

pate in Youth in Government are

involved in other activities as well.

Whether its sports, arts, or commu-

nity service, Youth in Government

participants like to be involved. Shan-

nen Dietz, a New Prague High School

junior, recalls seeing many of her

Youth in Government friends when

she goes to sporting events or volun-

teers at homeless shelters and food

shelves.

The participants of Youth in

Government are a very special group

of students. Theyre friendly, wel-

coming, and involved. Theres a new

friend to meet every place you go,

said Kiana Morris of New Prague.

Shannen Dietz summed it up by say-

ing, I have made so many amazing

friends at YIG! My YIG friends are

like family. They will be there for you

no matter what and no matter when

you need them.

The Youth of YIGBy Amanda Schoenbauer

Seeing as this will be my

first year participating in Youth in

Government, I really wanted to know

just whom I would be spending these

next four days with. Other than those

coming from my school, I had no idea

what to expect. Would people be wel-

coming? Would I fit in? To get an idea,

I decided to ask students in my delega-

tion about the people theyve come in

contact with throughout their years in

Youth in Government. Their re-

sponses? Nothing but positives!

Everyone is always so

happy and theyre always welcoming,

said Skye Stier, a sophomore from

New Prague High School. You go up

to them and its not hard to start a con-

versation.

With more than one thousand

students from all over Minnesota,

chances are youll find someone with

similar interests to your own. Even if

you dont, everyone shares at least one

common interest: Youth in Govern-

ment! We just have things in common

hands everywhere I go. I wanted to get my

opinions out there.

Though he always knew he

wanted to be Governor, Streff admits he had

second thoughts about running. I thought

about it a lot for a few years and then as the

time to announce candidacy approached, I

backed away from the idea and actually

gave up on it. It wasnt until a friend jok-

ingly suggested running that he realized it

didnt have to be a joke, and he and Susag

announced their candidacy the next day.

As well as preparing for Model

Assembly, Streff has had many opportuni-

ties to explore the world of politics. My

favorite of all of these was attending the

National Youth Governor's Conference in

Washington, D.C. There were 36 Governors

from other states thereWe met with poli-

ticians, Secret Service members, toured the

By Megan Graves

At the end of every Model As-

sembly, we say good-bye to the old Gover-

nor, and wait in anticipation of what the

new one will bring to the program.

This year, we welcome Alex

Streff of Red Wing as Governor, and Esther

Susag of Hastings as Lieutenant Governor

to lead us through the weekend.

Being Governor has been a

dream of mine ever since I became involved

in the program, Streff says. Although, he

admits it was not always for the right rea-

sons. back then, it was a power thing.

Not many eighth graders want to be Gover-

nor for the right reasons. But as I truly ex-

perienced the program, I realized that I

wanted to be Governor for more reasons

than getting the famed suite and shaking

White House and pet the President's dog

along with many other great things!

Throughout the weekend, Streff

and Susag will be signing and vetoing bills, as

well as observing every program area, giving

press conferences with their staffs about re-

cent bills, and giving the State of the State

Address, where they will explain the current

political dilemmas and how they plan to solve

them.I am looking forward to the entire

experience. Esther and I have prepared so

much for the weekend but I won't really un-

derstand it until after it is over. I am looking

forward to being a good role model for future

leaders and Governors in the program. I hope

that I can be that figurehead and lead the pro-

gram in a positive direction.

Getting to Know Our Governor

REMINDERS! Submit ads if youre

currently campaigning

Wear name tags at

ALL TIMES Talk and participate in

your program area

Turn in forms to SOS

office if you are

running for a position

by noon Friday!!!

Tune in to

YIG RADIO to

listen to Lars

Lindahls

Commentary!

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yig paper 1, thursday

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