Above: The State Affairs Forum Committee D in Room 1221
By Naden Ramirez
W.B. Ray High School
Walking into a State Affairs Forum room during Committee Round 2, the energy is certainly different. Every delegate is determined to give their best, asking thoughtful questions and promoting great debate. Whether scared or excited, all these delegates look forward to participating in an intelligent discussion over real-world issues.
The State Affairs Forum section of the YMCA YG program is meant to broaden delegates’ knowledge of pre-selected current events topic areas. These areas include education, public policy, health, civil liberties, and more. Through the utilization of a committee hearing structure with parliamentary procedure, it fosters intelligent debate on finding the best solution and increases real-world understanding of Texan, national, and international issues.
The room is filled with serious moments, with delegates discussing important topics like illegal immigrants and police brutality. Sparsely included are also funny moments with delegates repeatedly forgetting to state their name and delegation, causing the room to burst out in laughter, or the time running out before someone is even able to ask their question, where you’ll see small smiles across the room.
Delegates share their personal experiences when speaking in favor of or against a bill, showing how this experience reflects the real world and real-world issues. They speak about their parents’ experiences and how their parents’ journey led them to achieve their own journey. One of the most memorable proposals was Proposal No. 84, which discussed police brutality and racial profiling in Texas. The speaker, Ramiyah Oliver, commanded the room, passionately speaking over Texas’s longstanding and complex history with race, which reflects plenty of systemic inequities. She named various people of color’s experiences, such as the case of Sandra Bland, an African American woman who was stopped for a minor traffic violation and was unjustly and forcibly detained. Once her proposal was finished, everyone was left in awe of her passion and dedication to voicing this deeply systemic issue. This was reflected in the booming round of applause she received, which was most certainly well-deserved.
Everyone is there to learn and participate in open and honest debate. The core of the State Affairs Forum, as well as the rest of the Youth and Government, is to inform students of our government and legal system, while also making them active participants. This spirit was expertly reflected in Committee D, and most certainly across all the other sections as well.