Texas Youth and Government

By: Spandana Palyam (Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School)

Chair and clerk duo Annika Singh and Zoe Moreno compete together for the 6th year in a row. Singh and Moreno’s experience together lead the development of their partnership and proposals in State Affairs Forum. “I met Zoe in sixth grade when we were 11 and we’ve always been very compatible partners,” Singh said. She describes their partnership as playing to each other’s strengths. When deciding their proposal topics, Moreno and Singh’s first step is calling each other. “We typically have a single call for four hours, brainstorming, thought-dumping, cleaning up, and then bam! Proposal,” Singh explained. Once they sort through topics, they go through details and write the proposals. After writing they revisit and review the proposal using their individual strengths. “I work out more technical details of the proposal, but Zoe handles the visuals, deadlines, and rubrics,” Singh said. After the proposals are finalized, both delegates go back and present to each other. Moreno and Singh reveal that they both depend on each other’s support and suggestions. Moreno deeply appreciates Singh’s strength during preparation and competition. “Annika gives the best compliments and makes you feel so wanted and loved,” Moreno said. Moreno thinks Singh’s positive energy and guidance is “the embodiment of the family-like feel of YG.” Singh is often inspired by Moreno’s optimism and extroverted personality. “No matter what she’s dealing with, or what she’s helping me with, she stays focused on the goals and the bright side,” Singh said.

This led to the development of their joint proposal- Separation of Church and State: School Safety. Their proposal focuses on removing religious promotion by counselors at schools. Moreno plans to implement this by firstly requiring public school counselors to have a counseling license. Second, creating a report system for people to be able to report a counselor if they suspect their child is being religiously influenced. Lastly, if a staff member has been caught three times, then must pay a fine.

When presenting their proposal, they received overwhelming support from other delegates. “It is important to encourage a religiously inclusive environment for students,” Moreno said. Together, Singh and Moreno believe this proposal is the first step towards the fostering of personal beliefs and improving school counseling.

Joe Valenzuela and Vincent Nguyen have never met, but they shared the same job for four days. Valenzuela has served for the past five years in the office of the Texas House Sergeant-at-arms. Nguyen is one of his YG counterparts. “Our job is to maintain decorum on the House floor,” Valenzuela said. “Decorum can mean anything from arguments on the House floor, or people not following the correct proceedings or wearing the correct uniform.” On a day-to-day basis, this means striving to maintain the rules of the House in all their forms. “Decorum can. Mean the way the process is happening, so we are making sure that process is smooth and correct,” Valenzuela said. The Sergeant-at-arms’s office sits right outside the House entrance and allows them to enforce strict laws about whether or not a person is allowed into the House. “I’m supposed to assist the lobbyists if they come in. So if they’re looking for a member of the House, they can’t go inside the House, so I find them for them,” Nguyen said. During his first day on the job, this was one of Nguyen’s main roles. “If someone from the Senate comes in and they’re trying to get their bill passed in the Senate and over here, they’ll need to talk to me to choose a sponsor,” Nguyen said. When the House functions well, this can mean a mundane day relaying messages. But, during times of contention, the duties of a Sergeant-at-arms can be drastically transformed. “We have a regular routine, but it depends on how contentious the bill can be,” Valenzuela said. “If it’s a crazy day and there are a lot of bills that need to go on, we can be running around all day until three in the morning when we’d started at nine.”

Written By: Elaine Carte-Engel

Real-life words of the three goals Joey plans to do for us if he is nominated for Governor

Of the three running for Governor, there is Joey Maguire. Maguire has been in the Youth and Government program for three years now. He has been to CONA (Conference on National Affairs) and won distinguished delegates at district and state levels. Maguire also had one of his written Bills signed into the Law. Not only has he done things for the Youth and Government program, but he has also done great things for his school at Vista Ridge, such as rebuilding a club that he was once the vice president of but is now the club president.

Maguire believes in three platforms: those are believing in more conferences, more community advocacy, and more evaluators. “More conferences are pretty self-explanatory; it would just be little imitations or like regional areas within the districts that would allow more people to get more practice in and feedback for the district and state conferences when it is really going to matter,” said Maguire. This factor is the most efficient for all of the Texas districts in the Youth And Government because it allows us Delegates need to practice more and understand the sections in which we participate. This The goal will also allow us to understand the real world.

“More community advocacy. Everyone here wants to get involved in the community. Still, we are stuck doing Mock Trial and Government right now. So this will allow us to not only go out and volunteer through YMCA or organized events. I would hope we’d also be able to meet with local cities and government officials that dictate the laws, and we get to not only talk to them, but we learn things as well and develop our skills in Youth and Government,” Maguire said. Having more community advocacy will give us great opportunities in the future, such as in our resumes for our dream jobs or just in general. Choosing community advocacy for the betterment of youth and government will also let us delegates closely examine the YMCA.

“And Finally, more evaluators, I’m not sure if Media has this problem much, but legislative, when I was in the district, I know it seemed like there were never enough elevators, and even when there was a good amount, some of them seemed less experienced. So, I will bring in more evaluators to supplement it and train through Zoom sessions for more experienced evaluators or students, perhaps the governors, secondary state, lieutenant governors, or a speaker. And ideally, since most of those district conferences are in some larger city with a college, I thought it would be perfect if we employed college students,” said Maguire. Maguire believes without a doubt that all he says will indeed happen. He shows us as his community that trust is the number one feeling we should put in him to improve Youth and Government and give us a great future.

Written by: Mia Godoy

Legislative is a significant part of the Youth and Government program and the community. Legislation is a big part of the Youth and government program because it deals with writing, debating, and presenting bills.

According to the Youth and Government website, “This experience increases awareness of how our state government works and pertinent current events.” One student was deeply inspired by her teacher to pass a bill on the number of credible news sources in Texas. “My bill focuses on what is and isn’t a reliable news source. So we have news first coming from tons of different areas, whether it be your TV channels or the radio. My bill is just another precaution of what we can count as reliable or unbiased so we can use it for college essays and for actual sources, and we can trust the news coming from our state.” Rian Leiser said. She is very passionate about not only her bill but Youth and Government as well. “My teacher, our adviser, only shows us news from the New York Times because that is the only place he can trust and is the least biased, and they state if it’s a journal idea or article. So that inspired me to be like, well, what if we had a list of all the places stating that they were unbiased and following protocols.” Leiser said. For her, Youth and Government isn’t just a club but an insight into her future career. “Whenever they introduced the club a year ago when we first started for my school, I got excited like, oh my gosh, it’s just me doing what I wanna do forever, just two years early, so it was very exciting.” She is very hopeful for the outcome of this whole process. “I hope to carry these life lessons with me moving forward in life.”

Written by: Marley Nervais

In the center of Texas, budding legal minds merge for a thrilling showcase of advocacy and courtroom drama at the annual Texas Youth and Government Mock Trial competition. This year’s trial captivated participants and spectators alike with its intriguing storyline and thought-provoking legal twists.

“This year’s case is different because we hear from the defendant. Last year, we only had witness testimonies,” said Nalani Cox, defense attorney. Held at the Capital of Texas, teams from high schools across the state gather to test their legal prowess and strategic awareness in front of a panel of esteemed judges. “I would say it’s a mixture of an electric feeling and buzzing with anticipation, “Leslie Contreras, prosecutor, said. “When stepping into the courtroom, a sense of electric buzz goes through you as you are put into somewhat of a battlefield where you must argue and object your way through it.”

The case centered around a controversial incident involving a police officer who found himself in a perplexing predicament. The prosecution argued that the officer had unlawfully detained a suspect without probable cause, while the defense contended that the officer’s actions were justified in the pursuit of public safety. “Police brutality/excessive force is a common news topic and issue. It brings attention to such an important topic and shows both sides of an ever-dividing story,” Cox said.

As the trial unfolded, each team meticulously crafted their opening statements, skillfully examined witnesses, and passionately delivered closing arguments. Witness testimonies provided riveting insights into the events leading up to the arrest. Every objection raised, every cross-examination maneuvered, and every argument articulated demonstrated the dedication and diligence of these young advocates. After careful consideration of the evidence and compelling arguments presented by both sides, the judge rendered its verdict, bringing the trial to a conclusion.”The feeling at the end of a trial is both exhilarating and exhausting. Knowing we did our best, but also putting all our energy into it is tiring, “Cox said.

Written by: Elianna Balderas