Students lead from front at Youth in Government
By Mackey Luffman, social studies department chair
In the words of Director Vince Durnan, "Trophy Case infrastructure needs to be addressed" to accommodate the accolades of our High School students.
In the words of Director Vince Durnan, "Trophy Case infrastructure needs to be addressed" to accommodate the accolades of our High School students.
Thirty-seven students from all four grades in the High School spent this past weekend in downtown Nashville attending the Youth In Government conference sponsored by the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Center for Civic Engagement. This conference is a simulation of Tennessee state government and is a hands-on opportunity for students to learn about state government and the legislative process. USN students met students from all over the state to debate and discuss the proposed bills they wrote, and in doing so learned how to address issues and build a consensus across a wide political spectrum of beliefs and experiences.
Students new to the program participated in the Blue (no ideological association intended) legislature, divided between the House of Representatives and Senate. In this component, novices to the program learn the basics of Tennessee law and parliamentary procedure. Experienced students participated in the Red legislature, and were held to higher standards of parliamentary rules and legislative parameters. Students also could have participated in a State Supreme Court component by arguing an appellate case before a panel of student justices.
Tennessee’s YIG program is one of the oldest and most popular in the country, and USN students have been participating in it for decades. Over the years, those alumni established USN’s reputation as a school whose students are ready, even as novices, to raise the expectations for discussions over law and policy, and this year’s USN delegation lived up to that tradition.
In the Blue House of Representatives, ninth graders Wei Dai and Nicholas Key wrote a bill to allocate Tennessee’s electoral college votes proportionally, instead of the current winner-take-all system. Ninth graders Yoshi D’Souza, Claire Kim, and Sam Horner sponsored a bill to reform the state gas tax and fund mass transit systems in Tennessee. Also in the Blue House were 10th graders Will Greenfield and Griffin Harrington, sponsoring a bill to increase penalties for texting and driving, and Clayton Jelsma and Hannah Laibinis, whose bill limited the responsibilities of state and local officials for enforcing immigration laws and policies. Juniors Cooper Standard and Shivam Hingorani closed out the Blue House delegation with their bill to implement a flexible speed-limit regulation system on state highways.
Their hard work was rewarded: Cooper and Shivam won an Outstanding Bill Award, and Shivam, Clayton, Claire, Hannah, and Sam all earned Outstanding Statesman Awards. They accounted for half the awards in the Blue House. Yoshi was nominated for an Outstanding Statesman award, too.
In the Blue Senate, juniors William “I am the Senate” Gilliland and George Owen sponsored a bill prioritizing road maintenance for urban areas in the state, while ninth graders Victoria Christiansen-Galina and Nicholas Clancy wrote a bill to fund and implement seat belts for school buses. Their work also reaped results: William won an Outstanding Statesman Award; Nicholas was nominated for the Outstanding Statesman Award, and Nicholas and Victoria won an Outstanding Bill Award.
In the Supreme Court, sophomores Shriya Karam and Sophie Perfetto argued a case involving the intersection of local, state, and federal statutes regarding convictions and sentencing for a man convicted of a felony near a school.
In the Red House of Representatives, sophomores Christopher Corkum and Evan Rork wrote a bill to increase liquor sales; sophomores Annie French and Zoe Light sponsored a bill to increase the incentives for the use of solar panels; sophomores Haley Harris and Ellie Hollahan wrote a bill to restrict handguns in children’s parks. Fellow sophomores Will Howard and Nate Petty presented a bill to ban smoking in public parks; sophomore Daniel Jacobs and Sophomore Class President Jacob Wolfson wrote a bill to raise the sales tax on sweetened drinks, and sophomores Ella Steinhilber and Grace Rieniets presented a bill that created additional funding for rural public schools.
Also in the Red House, juniors Deviyani Bajpai and Alya Zouaoui wrote a bill to address opioid abuse. Seniors Henry Rieniets and A.J. Dykens-Hodapp presented a bill to tax fossil fuels and promote alternative energy use. And again, hard work paid off. Henry and A.J.’s bill was ranked best in their committee and placed at the top of the House docket. Haley, Grace, and Annie were nominated for Outstanding Statesman Awards, and Henry won an Outstanding Statesman Award.
In the Red Senate, juniors Talia Barton and Katie Watke presented a bill to exempt family planning products from state sales taxes, and juniors Henry Standard and Elijah Hong wrote a bill to remove the tampon tax and adjust other sales taxes to compensate for the lost revenue. These experienced and dedicated juniors brought home results, too! Henry and Elijah’s bill was ranked best in their committee, and Talia and Elijah won Outstanding Statesman Awards.
Finally, the YMCA conference staff selects an all-star team of delegates to represent Tennessee at the YMCA’s Conference on National Affairs, which brings together the best of the best YIG participants from all over the country. Henry Standard was a unanimous first choice as CONA delegate (joining recent USN alums Youssef Doss '16, Aidan Rowan '16, Emily Davis '15, Douglas Corzine '15, Caroline Zhao '15, and Eric Rosenthal '15), and Henry Rieniets was selected as an alternate for the CONA delegation.
YIG participants from all schools elected officers for next year’s conference, and Henry Standard was elected to Red Senate Floor Leader, and Elijah Hong was elected Blue House Floor Leader.
The only downside to this year’s conference was the absence of a USN YIG Bowl team to reclaim a trophy for the conference trivia contest. No doubt future participants will be inspired by these accomplishments to attend next year's conference and bring home more goods for the trophy cases.
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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.