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By Tyler McClanahan

       Five delegates from FBCA headed to one of their trials. They all have worked very hard to get here and they strive to go farther. The five delegates came out of the trial with a success and more confidence than before. After the trial I asked Josiah Matthews what his opinion was of this trial, he said “I felt good going into it and I feel even better coming out, I have no doubt that the next one will be another success.”

       The first to come off the bus is three delegates from FBCA. They all have a good but long day ahead of them. Their first trial was tough at first, but after that trial they got everything together and did their best to succeed. Luis Salazar told me “today is just the start, so we must do our best.”

       These new delegates decided to pose for a picture during lunch. First time at state can be nervous but this group is not worried. They had a good day but it wasn’t over yet. They plan on the rest of the day to be intensive but also successful.

       This delegate is new to state, but that doesn’t bother her. She’s walking to her trial expecting to do amazing and nothing less. The halls of the capital made things confusing for new delegates but everyone caught on fast. This first day of state was a start for everyone.

       These two judges are taking a break after their first trials that started off their day. Those first trials are intense and packed with a lot of important information. These judges aren’t phased by anything that comes their way.

     Practicing for his first trial to start off his day is Manny Carmouche. He’s familiar with everything here that state has to offer so he’s expecting for his day to go well. Today he was worried at first but he said “what is there to worry about? We are all already here.” He is saying that we shouldn’t worry because there’s no going back.

       Coming back from a difficult, but interesting, trial is Andy Nguyen. His mindset of all of his trials are positive, never negative. During a trial he’s always focused and zoned into what’s going on. Some people notice his effort to do well and that inspires them.

       After a long and slow trial these delegates decided to discuss what they did right and what they did wrong. Discussing these things are important and helps you to improve. When they discuss the things they did wrong they find ways to fix the problem and make it better.

       The delegates here are discussing what to do during certain situations in the trials today. When they practice these delegates like to have fun while doing it. It’s good to be able to practice something and have fun while doing it because that shows that you truly like what you do.

       These delegates are talking to the judge of their recent trial about what they should do to improve. All the information they took in was positive and they learned from everything they did in each trial. The judge gave them the feedback they needed to practice and get better. All of the delegates did something to better themselves for their trials.

By Rodley Rodriguez YMCA West Side Fort Worth

Griffin White is running to be your 2021 Texas YMCA Youth Governor. White has goals to increase communication and networking opportunities within each of the districts, as well as across the state. With this, White will strive to coordinate pertinent information and create mentors across different sections of Youth and Government. Through networking and mentorship, White will achieve his ultimate goal of expanding the Youth and Government program in order to bring this unique opportunity to the most amount of people.  Let’s start this decade right, with Griffin White.

By Erin Fleming

Delegates Bella Tiscareño, Sophie Robertson, and Rachel Sobolevitch organize papers before introducing their proposal about the necessity of sexual education in high schools. This was the team’s second time competing in the State Affairs Forums.

Before the first proposal, the delegates were given evaluation forms to fill out after every proposal in order to give constructive feedback and criticism of why or why not they think a fellow delegate’s proposal should be passed.

Delegate Bella Tiscareño peer reviews Delegate Rachel Sobolevitch’s notes about the opening statement. The team is excited to continue introducing their proposal to people. Delegate Tiscareño states, “I am passionate about this proposal and I think it is very relevant in society today,” as they conclude their statements about their proposal.

Delegate Sophie Robertson rises to speak con on the first proposal for the authors Delegate Rodolfo Rios and Delegate Lacy Williams. Delegate Robertson stated valuable claims, which were used in the closing summation.

Delegate Bella Tiscareño, speaks against the second proposal from the author Emily Underwood, regarding the legalization of mitochondria replacement. Delegate Tiscareño claims “mitochondrial replacement needs to be illegal as it is immoral”. Delegate Irvin also spoke con to this proposal.

Delegate Maddison Irvin rises to speak pro on Delegates Tiscareño, Sobolevitch, and Robertson’s proposal. Delegate Irvin states the importance of this proposal to vote pro, which helped the Delegates, because they were able to use her viewpoint, to their advantage in their closing statement.

During the non-debatable question and answer period, the team of delegates listen to a fellow delegates speak pro on their proposal. There was no suggested amendments for their proposal, this team of delegates were “happy with their execution of their proposal.”

Chair Emily Ramsey and Chair Amelia Garcia, sat at the front of the room, keeping time and order to run the proposals smoothly. Understanding the time constraint, appropatly cutting delegates off and mandating the pro/con period of debate from two rounds to one round.

During a five minute recess, delegates read over upcoming proposals, and jot down quick notes helping to decide whether to vote pro or con. Delegate Robertson said, “I enjoy listening to everyone else’s proposal because I think it is very informative and I learned a lot today.”

Delegates Tiscareño, Robertson, and Sobolevitch smiling after introducing their proposal. The team was able to defend their proposal through many tough questions. Afterwords, Delegate Sobolevitch said, “I was pretty nervous for the question period time but I was confident we could defend ourselves.” This was the teams first ever Youth and Government State conference participating in State Affairs.

Vivienne Garner is running to be your next Texas YMCA Youth Governor. Garner is advocating for the Youth and Government program to be improved at every level, from local chapters to the State Conference. This will allow every delegate to have the opportunity to call Youth and Government their family. Garner is planning to do this by renovating chair and clerk training, spreading the work about Youth and Government, providing support for smaller local chapters, and providing scholarship opportunities for delegates. Help her help you, and vote for V.

Kate Schulle is running to be your 74th Youth Governor. Schulle whole-heartedly loves her experience with Youth and Government and is running to reverse the hierarchy, putting the power back into the hands of the delegates. By advocating for stronger coordination, greater access to resources, and more time to prepare, Schulle plans to improve the efficiency of the program and growth of all participants. There’s no debate, vote for Kate!