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By Skyla Rodriguez

As Ceclia walked in the courtroom the defense and the plaintiff got their witness and case together. Anne Freedmen was being charged with Financial Damage and Wire Fraud. She is being accused of selling the paintings knowing that they’re fake. Ms.Freeman claimed they are real paintings, but allowed no authenticity for the paintings to be identified. Miss Freeman put two peoples names down for credibility but then the formants never examined the painting themselves.

Ms.Freeman put down David Anfam and Domenico De Sole and even asked Mr. Sole to lie on the report saying the painting is real and it was a misunderstanding. The case was

quickly closed and over after Ms.Freeman admitted to knowing the paintings were fake, but continued to sell them to the buyers.

As the case closed I asked to interview Ms.Freeman herself outside of character, his name is Everett Pendleton who goes to Port Aransas ISD. I asked Mr. Pennington how he felt about today’s event and he responded with, “As my first time here I am enjoying it and having a good experience”. Being Mr. Pendleton’s first year in Mock Trial he enjoyed coming out and seeing everything post-Covid. The hardest part for him was the memorization of the script and notes, but he felt like it was worth it after he realized that the case was built off real life events. He enjoyed playing the role, but he was under a lot of pressure given the fact that the role was handed to him. Overall he found this as a great experience and he wants to do it again next year.

By Abby McAdams

During the month of February, 2021, a series of debilitating freezes swept over Texas, cutting power off from the entire state and resulting in billions of dollars of damage and hundreds of lives lost. Will this proposed Winterization bill help prevent this crisis from ever happening again, or will it just present new problems for Texas?

It’s no opinion that the Texas freeze was a devastating crisis which endangered tens of millions of people and caused massive amounts of damage. The Winterization bill proposes that, in order to combat the neglect of the current statewide power grid, the bill would not only technologically modify the power grid so it can withstand harsher winters, but would also mandate the winterization of individual homes and private businesses.

To maintain this addition, the Texas Department of Energy would regularly perform inspections of private property. Businesses and companies not adhering to this bill would have to pay a fine. The author of this bill claimed this could “combat structural racism” of private companies which may favor certain districts or counties over others. The author also claimed that instating state control over the Texas power grid would prevent crises such as the 2021 power outage. Despite these seemingly positive factors of the bill, the committee showed their concern over its fallacies.

Those against the bill argued that the bill was too vague and could easily lead to corruption. These speakers also said that state-mandated inspections of private property were infringements of individual rights, and that the bill’s fines for not following the inspections wouldn’t do enough. An amendment to base the fines from the income of each company was brought forward and was passed unanimously, but in the end, the amended bill failed.

This controversy prompted the present issue of Texas’s power grid – the court agreed that something must be done about the electric grid, but the Winterization bill wouldn’t get the job done.

Breaking News–An amendment to the Texas Election Code that will allocate electoral votes proportionally has passed the Legislative Committee with unanimous support. The bill, authored by William Bolduc of the Austin Delegation, is to be debated in the full Legislative Chamber this afternoon. Bolduc is hopeful that, if signed into law, his bill will increase Texan voter representation.

Texas has historically utilized plurality voting, also known as a “winner-takes-all” system, to allocate electoral votes. This means that when Texans vote in elections, the candidate that wins the popular vote will receive all of the state’s electoral votes. According to Bolduc, this approach is unfair because it effectively nullifies the votes cast for minority candidates. So, Bolduc has looked to states like Nebraska and Maine, which split their electoral votes according to the percentage of the popular vote that each candidate receives. Boldic believes that it is vital that a similar approach is implemented in Texas.

“The way [the electoral college] is administered in Texas goes against the core principles of a fair and united democracy,” Bolduc said. “A system where a majority of a single vote can decide who receives all of our electors, where a candidate can win every electoral vote in Texas without even getting fifty percent of the votes, is not only undemocratic, it is the single greatest form of voter suppression in our time.”

Bolduc’s argument resonated with the other members of his committee, who spoke out in favor of the bill during the pro-con debate period. According to Bolduc, there was not a single dissenter who thought that his proposition should not pass. “They all agreed that we must move away from the winner-takes-all system to a fair, proportional distribution, in which everyone’s vote will count,” Boldoc said. “It’s exciting to know that…we are now one step closer to having electors distributed based on the percentage of the popular vote that each candidate receives.” However, Bolduc acknowledges that it will be challenging to pass his bill in the full chamber.

“I do expect there to be more opposition in the full chamber because there’s a wider variety of opinions and delegations represented,” Bolduc said. “But, I also think this is a common sense bill that a lot of people can get behind.”

Bolduc credits the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections for highlighting faults within the current electoral system. “Texas is a ‘red state’ but that doesn’t mean that 100% of our voters are Republican. The winner-takes-all approach doesn’t reflect voter diversity in this state,” Bolduc said. “No matter what side of the aisle people are on, I think you can agree that a proportional allocation of votes will more fairly reflect the interests of the people.”

If his bill passes, Bolduc is confident that it will make each Texan feel more represented, and thus, more engaged in elections. “When states consistently swing one way, I think a lot of people assume they might as well not vote. If they’re in the minority, it’s like their vote doesn’t even matter,” Bolduc said. “That’s a very dangerous feeling that can undermine our whole democracy, so I think that it could be very helpful to have people know that even if their candidate doesn’t win, they still made some difference by voting.” Ultimately, Bolduc believes that his amendment will have the power to increase voter turnout and confidence in elections to come.

Story by Ava Motes

There is a held belief that Youth and Government is limited to those pursuing a career in politics. This weekend, over 500 students are showcasing their skills in the Texas State Conference. However, many delegates do not intend on pursuing a career in politics.
Delegates in Youth and Government claim they want to pursue a diverse range of careers beyond high school, such as hospitality, finance, and Animal Science. “I think the skills I have learned through Youth and Government will be helpful in pursuing my dream career of psychology and sociology.” Stated Joshua Lee

But the benefits of the program are not limited to the skills built while students are speaking. The preparation for competition also teaches critical thinking and research skills. “I have been in Legislative, Judicial, and State Affairs; all 3 of those sections within this program challenged me in different ways. Judicial namely had deep critical thinking skills, however, all sections do as well,” said Matthew Garcia from Duncanville High School. “To be successful in not only this program you’ll need critical thinking and research skills. I will be forever grateful for this program in not only teaching me those skills but making me find my passion with it.”

Delegates have also found that not only does debate teach useful academic skills, but also for life. “I think some life skills that this program teaches everyone is public speaking, which is something that will continue throughout high school, college, and into a professional career.” Stated State Affairs clerk Ainsley Burkes.

Other than teaching skills, Youth and Government allows you to take in other viewpoints according to delegates in State Affairs. There is a worry that when different people from various backgrounds meet, they won’t come to an understanding. “Through this program I’ve learned to be respectful of everyone’s viewpoints no matter how different they are,” said Jaalen Robinson from Duncanville High School. “I’ve done this by being open-minded and not just trying to argue with one another and actually listening to each point.”

These students acknowledge that committing to speech and debate offers a lifetime of benefits. Besides gaining knowledge in the governmental process, Youth and Government allows participants to develop oral and written communication skills, critical thinking skills and effective tools for research, organization and presentation. They agree that Youth and Government is beneficial for every future endeavor, not just political ones.

By: Jacqueline Chávez , Duncanville High School