The halls of the Renaissance Hotel echo with the war cries of legislators locked in verbal battle. The River Bend Church and State Capital now house courts of justice determined to ensure that righteousness prevails, and the State Affairs section is in the midst of finding solutions to the world’s challenges through intensive research and contemplation. After months of anticipation and tedious preparation, the annual Youth and Government Texas State Conference (YG) is finally in motion. Why? Obviously YG, its sponsors, and its coordinators are responsible for organizing this program and for providing the opportunity to participate, to youths across the nation for nearly a century now. However, how is YG impacting our society, how is it contributing to the communities it has reached?
Cathryn Aguilar, advisor of a judicial county court team, sees YG as nothing but an exemplary organization cultivating the proactivity and boldness of America’s youth, ensuring that the future will have active and responsible civic leaders – “This program fosters their willingness to get involved and their ability to understand what’s at stake and also understand that they have the capability to bring about change”. Mrs. Aguilar is confident that the empowerment of the youth will lead to a more engaged and active society and, by extension, will solve many modern day political issues. To exemplify her faith in YG, she presented one of her students, Aubreana, a judicial lawyer that became inspired by her YG experiences and will now be attending Yale university this fall in pursuit of a political career.
To YG Parents, Maria Puente and Araceli Coral, Youth and Government is all about nurturing communication skills. Mrs. Coral, concerned that social media has stunted the youth’s proper development of human communication skills, commends YG for its emphasis on teaching its delegates to speak and convey ideas in an articulate manner – “You want your kids to be able to interact with those around them, and not feel like they can’t participate just because of a lack of articulation,” said Coral. Not only does YG produce vocal students but also provides a community, something that proved valuable during the Covid-19 pandemic to the Puente family – “Knowing that even in a virtual setting my daughter still had a community to interact with and learn from, helped the family maintain a sense of stability and normalcy,” stated Mrs. Puente.
So what is the purpose of YG? Families have been reinforced, and the young are being instilled the virtues of courage and justice. YG suggests their goal is the development of “ young men and women who will be better citizens by being both knowledgeable and active in determining the future of our democracy”. Despite this, there is one principle at the core of YG, a central concept that can be found in all aspects of Youth and Government. Every branch is fighting for intellectual diversity, whether it be for justice, new policy, proposals, or for the spread of information. Everything YG does is for the sake of fearless advocacy.
Mrs.Aguilar’s team on the left during mock trial deciding what responsibility art dealer Ann Freedman had in the selling of illegitimate art before judge Furino.
Written by: Luis Fuentes