Lauralton students successful at YAG…again!

Posted on Mar 22, 2009

More than one hundred Lauralton Hall ladies recently participated in the Connecticut State Youth & Government Conference sponsored by the Hartford YMCA. This was a mock legislature in which students took on the roles of our state lawmakers as well as some state official positions, including governor and attorney general. Schools from all over Connecticut participated giving Lauralton students the chance to meet and debate with students from all walks of life.

This program has a rich history. Youth & Government is the only school program allowed to use the actual offices of the Legislative Office Building and the House and Senate in the Capitol, giving the students an experience they will never forget. Students and advisors also enjoyed hearing the keynote speaker, Judy Schneider of the Library of Congress, discussing the behind the scenes workings of Congress.

Lauralton Hall again had the largest delegation with more than twice as many delegates as any other school. Lauralton students proposed 54 bills with topics ranging from mandatory seatbelts on busses, reinstatement of tollbooths for non-Connecticut residents and mandatory deer whistles on cars to no smoking in a car with minors and mandating environmentally friendly building materials in all construction. Two Lauralton bills passed and were “signed” into law by the student state governor. Sarah Lashar, ’09, Sarah McMahon, ’09 and Molly Viner, ’09 had their bills passed and signed. In addition, Adalynn Geer, ’10 and Heather Schnepf, ’10 won the best bill designation despite the fact that their bill was not passed by both houses.

Running simultaneously at the conference was the press corps, where students actually produce five to six newspapers throughout the weekend, working tirelessly sometimes missing out on meals and social events to produce realistic newspapers on the happenings and events at the conference complete with professional pictures and well-written articles. Stephanie Simko, 11 won the award for best journalist.

Another program running during the conference was Youth in Law. Students involved with this program, in addition to writing and debating their own bills, assume the roles of lawyers and try a fictitious court case in a mock appeals court. This tournament pits teams of students who argue both sides of a case while being questioned by actual lawyers and judges. It is an eye-opening and challenging program for the students. For the second straight year, the Lauralton Hall team of Polly Grzegorczyk, 10 and Emily Nichols, ’10 won the Youth in Law finals and will go for the “3-peat” next year.

Rounding out the weekend at the closing joint session in the House was the election of next year’s state officers. Lauralton’s Emily Nichols elected Attorney General.

The next step for the students includes the possibility of attending the Conference on National Affairs in July in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where more than 500 students from all over the country will debate national issues. As a result of receiving awards or winning an election, several Lauralton students have been invited and look forward to attending this once-in-a-lifetime experience.