By Nora Kelly,
Liberal Arts & Sciences Academy
There are countless reasons that people join the legislative section of Youth and Government, from expanding connections to learning details about how laws are created, presented, and passed. Nicolas Gallego, a clerk for his committee this morning, joined Youth and Government because of his previous exposure to the legislature from a young age.
“I chose to join the lege because it was something my father did. He was a state representative for a long long time,” Gallego said. “I always thought what he did was fun, so I figured this was a good way for me to get as close to that as I could.”
Will Bolduc has been competing in lege for four years now and enjoys being able to be a chair and govern over committee debates. Joining Youth and Government was the first step for him to gain hands-on experience in lawmaking procedures.
“I thought it would be really interesting to learn more about the legislature and the intricacies of how laws are made,” Bolduc said. “My favorite part is getting to debate the highly controversial bills every conference.”
Conference schedules are busy with back to back meetings from the morning to the afternoon. The morning session is used to determine what bills will be presented to the full house in the afternoon.
“Lege starts every morning split into committees of about 15 people. In each committee, each person’s bill is debated and voted on” Bolduc said. “After committee, we move to the full house debate where we debate a select few bills from the ones that were passed in committee.”
Each participant in the section writes their own bills, arguing about something they are passionate about. They spend the year tweaking them to make as presentable as possible to the full house.
“My bill is about implementing a harsher punishment for police brutality,” Gallego said “because that is something that I believe is important, especially after everything that has happened these last few years.”
Youth and Government’s legislative section is a good first stepping stone that allows those interested in public policy to test their interest in the procedure. It teaches people real life skills that they will carry for the rest of their lives.
“I’ve learned a lot about how bills are made and how to research laws, and also a good bit about legislative procedure,” Bolduc said. “If I ever do go into public policy, this experience will be invaluable for writing and shaping real laws.”
The laid back culture of Youth and Government provides students an environment to be comfortable with other high school students so they are more likely to speak their minds about the issues that mean the most to them.
“My favorite part about being in the legislative branch is debating public policy, because I find most of them to be fascinating,” Gallego said “I’ve definitely felt comfortable enough in Youth and Government to learn how to use my voice to get people’s attention over the years and make my opinion heard.”
Both interested in pursuing a career in politics and public affairs, Bolduc and Gallego have found their home in the legislative branch. Both of them, as well as everyone else in lege, enjoy the opportunity to find an issue that they are passionate about and argue to their peers about why something needs to be done about it.
Nic Gallego after leading his committee this morning, talking to other members about their bills that were presented.