USN Students Bring Reason, Moderation to State Capitol

This conference, formerly known as Youth Legislature, is a four-day simulation of elements of Tennessee state government, including a State Supreme Court to hear appellate cases, a Governor's Cabinet to debate and propose policies, and two legislatures, one for novice delegates (Blue) and one for experienced delegates (Red). USN students have traditionally earned recognition for their abilities to perform in this conference, and this year's blend of veterans and novices was no exception to that long, storied tradition.

Two USN students had been elected to serve this year as student officers. Senior Alison Zhong served as the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, and junior Alexandria Yu served as Associate Justice. Zhong and Yu had worked together as an award-winning lawyer team in 2012, and they were praised by court component leaders and student participants alike for their leadership and intelligence during court arguments and deliberations.

In the court, three USN lawyer teams argued appellate cases in the senior division (only three of those six USN lawyers had experience in the court component, a testament to the respect given to USN students by the component leaders). Winning the Outstanding Brief awards (for both appellant and appellee briefs) were junior Case Nieboer and sophomore Rebecca Clark. After several rounds of arguments, the USN lawyer team of sophomores Mackenzie Myers and Neil Zheng qualified for the Final Round, in which they argued a case against fellow USN students junior Mira Wasserman and sophomore Caroline Zhao. After an hour of argument and significant deliberation by the justices, the team of Wasserman and Zhao won the case and with it, the Outstanding Lawyer Team award!

In the legislative component, a large crop of ninth graders and sophomores joined the Blue House and Senate to present bills on a broad range of topics, from imminent domain arbitration to abolishing the requirement to be an eschatological monotheist in order to hold state office. For their efforts in the Blue Senate, sophomore Nishant Upender and freshman Paul Reich were nominated for Outstanding Statesman awards, while sophomore Silas Weurth won an Outstanding Statesman Award. Also participating in the Blue Senate were sophomore Ben Kuhn and freshman Perry Davis.

In the Blue House, freshmen Megan Kasselberg and Brad Johnson were nominated for Outstanding Statesman awards, and freshman Youssef Doss won an Outstanding Statesman Award. Also participating in the Blue House were freshmen Emily Baker, Starina D'Souza, Sam Fisher, Jacob Snyder and Maggie Young.

In the Red House, debate got intense on the issues facing state government, from mental health programs to background checks to prostitution and the death penalty. Senior Anders Hahnemann, juniors Reid Dickerson and Will Jones, along with sophomores Chandler Floyd and Maurice Chiang, were nominated for Outstanding Statesman awards. Sophomore Emily Davis won an Outstanding Statesman Award. Also participating in the Red House were senior Logan Sweet, juniors Mark Rusznak, Christian Floyd and Nicholas Ng, and sophomore Mekka Abdullah.

In the Red Senate, sophomore Douglas Corzine was nominated for an Outstanding Statesman award, while senior Cyrus Shick and junior Isaac Gabella both won Outstanding Statesman Awards. Shick and Gabella were also selected by the conference staff to represent Tennessee at the YMCA's Conference on National Affairs. This is a tremendous honor, as it signifies that Cyrus and Isaac are among the 'best of the best' that Tennessee has to offer in these simulations of government! Also participating in the Red Senate was McKenna Harrington.

Finally, the participants at this year's conference elected the student leadership for the 2014 conference. Serving as Associate Justices on the State Supreme Court next year will be Case Nieboer, Caroline Zhao and Neil Zheng. Serving as Speaker of the Blue House will be Emily Davis, and serving as Assistant Clerk of the Red House will be Emily Baker.

Please congratulate all these students on their accomplishments and thank them for upholding the high standards that Tennessee has come to expect from USN!