YGMedia

By Auyana Aird

Over 50 delegates on the House floor, get the opportunity to get real work experience on what the State of Texas Government would be like.

In real life, the process is somewhat different. The House Chambers in legislature meet in a regular legislative session in Austin every two years. By statute, the legislature convenes in a regular session on the second Tuesday in January of every odd-numbered year. These sessions are limited to 140-day duration. The constitution also allows the governor to call additional special sessions as necessary. During a called session, which cannot exceed 30 days, the legislature may consider legislation only on matters specified in proclamations.

“I like that I get to hear many different opinions, and that we all could speak about one thing but it does take forever to get it done.” Delegate Charis Maxwell from Hood County YMCA said

In the environment at the Youth Government, the House chambers has a process that is unique. The lobbyists select a number of bills they want on the docket, then the speaker then picks the ones he or she wants to be presented to the floor. The bill authors will then present, then the assorted members of the house will come and debate the bills put forth.

The Speaker of the House in both Youth government and State government is prominently the same. The speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The Texas Constitution requires the House of Representatives, each time a new legislature convenes, to choose one of its own members to serve as speaker.

As presiding officer, the speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizes legislators who wish to speak, and rules on procedural matters. The constitution also requires the speaker to sign all bills and joint resolutions passed by the legislature. As a member of the House of Representatives, the speaker may vote on all questions before the house.

“The house floor is very competitive, when I walk on the house floor I know I’m going to get competition, it is straight to the point and I love all the intelligent minds in the house.” Delegate Mouctar Diallo from Oak Cliff YMCA said.

Both State of Texas youth and government House Chambers and the Official Texas Youth and Government is not much different than you think.

By: Christina van Waasbergen

The Farabee Senate passed a bill on Friday prohibiting the removal of Civil War Monuments (including those honoring the Confederacy) from public land.

Josie Woodward, a senior from Liberty High School who spoke against the bill, believes that Confederate monuments should be removed because they are racist. “I think that statues and monuments should be things to honor things that had positive impacts and I think that it is doing nothing but giving racism and bigotry a platform that it shouldn’t have,” Woodward said in an interview.

David Poe, a senior from Liberty High School, spoke in favor of the bill. Poe said in an interview that he believes that those who wish to remove Confederate monuments are the intolerant ones. “These statues have been here a long time and it’s only because the issue of race has gotten a lot of attention in the last few decades and tensions are really heating up between different groups, some of which want to remove the statues, and I feel like these groups are simply impulsively removing these statues and not giving the other groups a chance to respond  and just hastily getting rid of everything that they see unfit, which is the very definition of intolerance,” Poe said.

The bill will now be sent to the governor for approval.

By Simone Lee

“A lot of people don’t know about this issue; they disregard it,” said Sanjana Dandu, a freshman from the legislative branch.

Her bill proposed for pregnant women to be criminally charged for knowingly using alcohol while pregnant.

“They believe actually leaving marks on a child is, well the child doesn’t necessarily have to be born yet for it to be endangered,” Dandu said.

She said that both abuse on a child when the mother is not pregnant and when that mother is, is “basically the same thing.” She added that either way the mother is still putting that child’s life in danger.

She stated that she has actually seen movies and TV shows that show the romanticization of using alcohol while being pregnant. When asked why she chose to do a bill proposal about such a controversial topic and she stated that she knew the topic was “extremely debatable” and  she “wanted to be noticed and for a freshman, make her voice more pronounced.”

“As soon as I got up to the stand I started shaking a lot, I was nervous,” Dandu said.  “I had done all this research, and I knew so much about the topic so I wasn’t completely horrified. I believe anyone can [argue a bill] it if they put the effort into the research.”

However, she did have some complaints about the legislative branch.

“I really wish we had more time for our closing remarks, it’s where you can review all your points and can defend yourself to the best of your ability,” Dandu said.

By Ava Motes

Kirby Cabler, a junior delegate from Oak Ridge High School, fulfilled two different roles within the State Affairs committee today. She first acted as a proposal author, presenting her “Mental Wellness In Schools” proposition to a chair and panel of delegates. After deliberation had concluded, propelling her proposal to further State Affairs rounds, Cabler switched to the overseeing role of a chairperson.

“A chairperson manages the debate by imposing and uphold the parliamentary procedure within a state affairs forum,” said Youth and Government (YG) officer Dio Marvellous Nsofor.

While the State Affairs Forum is most frequently associated with the work of proposal authors in addressing current issues, the role of “chairs” is vital to regulating the discussion and impact of propositions.

“They make sure that the debate is equal and fair, and that everyone gets an equal opportunity to share their own opinions,” said Nsofor, “It’s all about leadership–they have to be willing to courageously lead.”

Cabler has committed herself to embody a leader among other members of the State Affairs Forum.

“I really enjoy seeing other competitors grow and guiding them towards that growth in parliamentary procedure,” she said.

Although Cabler is impassioned about the issues she has the opportunity to discuss a proposal author, she is partial to her duties as a chairperson.

“I have been competing in debate-like settings for so long that I care less about winning than helping others get to where I am in terms of experience,” Cabler said.

Cabler has been a member of her high school debate program for three years, rising in the ranks to serve on an elite debate council. She also held an intern position with a criminal attorney in downtown Houston last summer, giving her to the opportunity to speak with clients and organize plea bargains.

“It was one of the best experiences in my life, I learned so much grew really passionate about the subject matter,” Cabler said.

As a freshman, Cabler’s high school assembled their first Youth and Government team, and though the program suited her interests, only older students were allowed to compete. However, a handful of her fellow debate members attended the YG conference and encouraged her to join in subsequent years. Due to her passion for debate and criminal law, Cabler decided to participate in mock trial as a sophomore.

“I was really excited to do mock trial, but a week before the deadline, we realized that we didn’t have enough people,” Cabler said, “I ended up moving to State Affairs kind of on a whim, but I fell in love with it.”

Cabler worked as a proposal author her first year in Youth and Government, receiving high marks at the district level.

“I proposed an extremely researched proposal about sex ed in Texas, specifically repeat teen pregnancies,” Cabler said.

However, despite her vast extent of preparation, her proposition did not advance. “I was in a room full of like-minded kids from the same district, and they didn’t agree with my ideas,” Cabler said.

This year, State Affairs presented a new system for evaluation that focuses on presentation quality as opposed to the political alignment of your proposition.

“I’m happy that I get to be a chair with this new system, because I care so much more about how much work people are putting in than what they’re saying,” Cabler said.

The new rubric prides proposition authors on their degree of preparation and presentation skills. Ranking is determined by your performance, thus mechanics and accuracy are less important than confidence.

Cabler returned as a proposal author with the intent of advocating for mental wellness training and qualifications among public school staff. Due to her proposition partner inability to attend the state conference, Cabler had to present her ideas alone in front of the panel.

“I wasn’t too worried about it because of this new evaluation system. I’m used to public speaking, and I was really confident in my ability to convey these ideas,” she said.

Her presentation was successful, and she was excited to find that she was advancing further through the State Affairs Forum than she had before.

“Doing my proposal was really fun this year, but I still don’t think anything can top chairing. I’ve begun to realize that I really love these kinds of leadership roles,” Cabler said.

The summers proceeding and following her freshman year, Cabler worked as a counselor for a youth theatre camp.

“That was when I first discovered that I love working with kids and helping them grow in things that I was passionate about,” Cabler said.

She initially worried that she would be overly critical or jealous of the children she was working with, but soon developed an affection for assisting others.

“During the district conference, I was with a lot of first-time delegates and younger competitors. I had to provide them with more of a crutch, but it was cool to know that I was helping everyone get on the same page for state [conference],” she said.

Those who have worked with Cabler have a lot of respect for her oversight and advice, especially in these scenarios.

“Kirby really knows what she’s doing. She is just a natural at everything and I loved working with her,” said Brendon Nguyen, a delegate who took note of precedence and timekeeping alongside Cabler during today’s preliminary rounds.

“I’ve been doing two really different things today, and I loved them both. I am starting to graduate on to a more leader-oriented position… [but] I think there is value in absolutely every role,” Cabler said.

Today, she has proven herself adept at a wide variety of skills from confident debate to informed guidance. As she continues through subsequent rounds, she resolves to facilitate an enjoyable experience among other delegates and advocate for the mental wellbeing of all Texas students.

By Katherine Funderburg

In the John H. Reagan building, the Hyde Senate came to order to start on Hyde Senate bill thirteen. Bill thirteen proposes instating a mandatory personal finance course in 12th grade. This is set to replace Macroeconomics, a class required in 12th grade in the state of Texas. The bill was passed with no opposition.

“This is not just any crisis, it’s an education crisis,” said Nathan Evanhar.

According Evanhar, some private schools already this course greatly benefiting the students. The majority of the new generation do not know how to handle money. This is a problem is not only statewide but nationwide.

The lone star state’s drop out rate is one of the worst in the nation with one out of five students dropping out, according to the Intercultural Development Research Association. This course will be more preparation for the real world and a better education helping to rise the graduation rate and rewarding them with skills they will absolutely need in their near future. Macroeconomic teachers will become Personal finance teachers. This practical class will teach students how to do taxes, budgeting, stock investment, credit and balancing checkbooks and promote overall financial literacy before students head off to college and are typically on their own for the first time. It is the schools mission to educate and prepare seniors for their future.

“The idea that men/women are created equal. In the sense, all people are created to  have the best education which is applicable to real life”said Evanhar

In his proposal, Evanhar stated, “that it will ensure a better financial future for Texas and Americans.”

Many questions were asked from all over the Senate floor, and amendments were made to clarify the bill but the bill passed with no opposition.