USN students balance decorum with good trouble at annual Youth In Government conference
For decades, University School of Nashville students have attended the Youth In Government conference sponsored by the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Center for Civic Engagement. Students act as legislators, drafting, debating, and enacting legislation; they act as lawyers, arguing appellate cases before the State Supreme Court; and, a select few students serve as state administrators in the Governor’s Cabinet, proposing and debating policies and legislation to support those policies.
The weekend of March 31–April 2, 31 USN students participated in the 70th annual Youth in Government conference in the State Capitol and neighboring buildings in downtown Nashville. Many students brought home awards, and everyone had a fantastic time consisting of rigorous debate, trips to Assembly Food Hall, and laughing at memes in the MUN/YIG group chat.
The weekend of March 31–April 2, 31 USN students participated in the 70th annual Youth in Government conference in the State Capitol and neighboring buildings in downtown Nashville. Many students brought home awards, and everyone had a fantastic time consisting of rigorous debate, trips to Assembly Food Hall, and laughing at memes in the MUN/YIG group chat.
By Ophelia Cherry-Pulay '25, Ellie Rothman '25, and History Department Chair & MUN/YIG Advisor Mackey Luffman
In the Blue (Novice) House, Iliana Behague-Mentzel '25 and Rhea Nachnani '25 presented a bill to ensure access of transgender children to health care, while Binyam Dunne '26 and Ismaeel Moskinzada '26 presented a bill to increase arts funding in public schools. Binyam debated so well that he received an Outstanding Statesperson Award.
In the Blue (Novice) House, Iliana Behague-Mentzel '25 and Rhea Nachnani '25 presented a bill to ensure access of transgender children to health care, while Binyam Dunne '26 and Ismaeel Moskinzada '26 presented a bill to increase arts funding in public schools. Binyam debated so well that he received an Outstanding Statesperson Award.
In the Blue Senate, Oliver McDowell '25, Siddhesh Pruthi '25, and Stewart Hall '25 wrote and presented a bill to separate the Tennessee Department of Transportation into urban and rural sectors. Harper Martin '26, Jay Bivens '25, and Izzy Aulino '26 advocated for raising the Tennessee minimum wage.
In the White Senate, Erin Joyce '25 and Tessa Chomsky '25 presented their bill on expanding health care to Tennessee’s homeless population. Jaya Gupta '25, intrepidly by herself, wrote a bill to expand health care to transgender youth that was so good other contestants copied it to amend their own bills, generating some controversy, but in the end, good policy is good policy, no matter how it gets legislated.
In the White House, Avee Shah '25, Eleanor Molvig '25, and Kasey Mooney '25 wrote their bill on providing free intrauterine systems to all Tennesseans. The three sophomores won an Outstanding Bill Award, the highest award for a bill at YIG.
In the Red (Senior) House, Meera Boyapati '23 and Gabby Siew '23 presented a bill to mandate a charge on plastic bags, which passed both chambers and was signed by the governor.
Henry Stack '23, Benny Yazdian '23, and Noah Kim '23 wrote their bill on expanding child care in Tennessee, which also passed both chambers.
In the Red Senate, Xavier Warren '24 and Henry Wykoff '24 wrote a bill on legalizing and regulating prostitution as well as erecting state sponsored brothels, which, as you might imagine with teenagers in the room, generated much debate. The bill was narrowly defeated on the Senate floor by a narrow margin. Freed from the constraint of a passed bill, Xavier and Henry spent the rest of the conference applying their formidable critical thinking skills to the texts of other bills and sharing their findings during debate speeches. For his efforts, Xavier was nominated for an Outstanding Statesman Award.
Rounding out the legislative experience, in the Red Senate Ophelia Cherry-Pulay '25’s bill to implement a state tax on capital gains passed both chambers and received the Outstanding Bill Award. She also received the Outstanding Statesperson Award for her excellent debate skills.
USN students excelled in the other branches of government. In the Governor’s Cabinet, Caroline Keiper '25 and Brendan West '25 were two of the youngest members, serving respectively as the commissioners for Mental Health & Substance Abuse and for Education. The two shepherded key bills through the legislative process, leading to a budget showdown in a mock crisis scenario involving escaped zoo animals and prescription medicine highway spills. Caroline's work earned her the Outstanding Cabinet Member Award.
USN’s most visible successes came in the State Supreme Court component. Serving as Chief Justice, Riya Narayan '23 won the Jenny Faenza Outstanding Justice Award for her work shepherding student lawyers and justices through the complexities of case law within the boundaries of oral arguments. Two USN student lawyer teams were among the other students in the court component.
Madeline Chalos '25 and Liv O’Hara '25 won one court case and lost another debating the application of Miranda rights to minors. Ellie Rothman '25 and Henry Gatto '25 won all of their cases, even those against senior teams; the pair was selected to argue the final case, a distinction only given to two novice teams. After winning their case, Ellie and Henry were awarded the Outstanding Attorney Team and Outstanding Brief Awards in the novice category.
Madeline Chalos '25 and Liv O’Hara '25 won one court case and lost another debating the application of Miranda rights to minors. Ellie Rothman '25 and Henry Gatto '25 won all of their cases, even those against senior teams; the pair was selected to argue the final case, a distinction only given to two novice teams. After winning their case, Ellie and Henry were awarded the Outstanding Attorney Team and Outstanding Brief Awards in the novice category.
It seems the team has an even more auspicious start next year with four USN students serving as elected officers: Ellie and Henry were elected to serve as Associate Justices on the State Supreme Court. Erin was elected Lieutenant Governor of the Blue Senate, and Ophelia will be Floor Leader of the Red Senate.
Last, and most definitely not least, Riya was selected to serve on the Tennessee delegation to the Conference on National Affairs. To use a sports analogy: Riya is an all-state delegate chosen by the conference staff to represent the state program at a simulation of our national government. It’s the highest honor bestowed by the program, and Riya follows in the footsteps of other YIG alumni like Arnav Reddy '22, Lydia West '21, Claire Kim '20, and Hannah Laibinis '19 with this selection.
Last, and most definitely not least, Riya was selected to serve on the Tennessee delegation to the Conference on National Affairs. To use a sports analogy: Riya is an all-state delegate chosen by the conference staff to represent the state program at a simulation of our national government. It’s the highest honor bestowed by the program, and Riya follows in the footsteps of other YIG alumni like Arnav Reddy '22, Lydia West '21, Claire Kim '20, and Hannah Laibinis '19 with this selection.
We give a special word of thanks to Annual Fund Director & YIG Co-Advisor Claudia Huskey for weathering (quite literally) the weekend with us. Please congratulate these students when you see them. Students who would like to join the fun should contact History Department Chair & MUN/YIG Advisor Mackey Luffman.
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2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.