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I understand this is a program for exceptional student leaders interested in government. I am interested in this subject but am not a student body or class president because at my school, like many others, it's just a huge popularity contest. Are there any other ways to get involved in this program? Do they have a website or any place to get more information? Anyone with experience want to share what is was like? Thanks

By Xjay2max (Xjay2max) on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 11:38 am: Edit

im interested in it also..

By Frogman9595 (Frogman9595) on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 01:41 pm: Edit

bump

By Anya (Anya) on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 03:16 pm: Edit

I went to Girls State last year... I have never been a class/student body officer, but did have leadership positions in activities outside of school. It's sponsored by the American Legion (Boys) and American Legion Auxiliary (Girls), so if you go to either of their websites for your state you will find info there. First of all, it's only for kids who have just finished their junior year.

Boys and Girls Nation is something you can only get to by going through Boys/Girls State.

It was a pretty good experience. The application process consisted of a short form and maybe a couple of paragraph essays, plus an interview with ALA members. It's a very patriotic sort of event, at least in my state, as well as relatively conservative, but definitely worth it.

It's basically a week of living with the other representatives from your state and simulating a state government. You live in "counties" which are divided into 2 cities and have city officers, which you can run for, from mayor to sheriff to journalist (you actually create a county newspaper three times in a week), and city laws which are enforced by the sheriff. There are somewhere between 5 and 10 counties. Each county has representatives in the Senate and the House. Any citizen can draft a proposed law/initiative to be debated and voted on in the Senate and House.

You can also run for all state positions up to Governor. For those who decide to run for these positions, the whole week consists of campaigning and speech-making. All citizens are divided into 2 parties, and party conventions vote on party candidates who advance to final elections. There's a Supreme Court elected, etc. At the end of the week the new government is initiated. The next year, the Governor returns to run the program and review all initiatives passed by the House and Senate. Other citizens can also return as junior counselors.

Okay... hope someone actually reads that. It's definitely worthwhile. (the program, not what I wrote, of course; it's part of my job to promote the program)

By Frogman9595 (Frogman9595) on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 06:13 pm: Edit

Thanks for the input. I went to the Boys Nation website but I couldn't find info on Boys State in Arizona. Anyone in Arizona know how to get more info?

By Over30 (Over30) on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 09:58 pm: Edit

AT our school, the teachers just pick who gets to go. There's no application, interviews, etc. I guess the sponsoring AL post wants them to do it this way. Normally, the school sends a list of eligible boys and girls to the local American Legion post and they select who to interview.

You can go here and find Girls State info in Arizona: http://members.cox.net/azgs/gshome.htm

This is the national American Legion Boys State site:
http://www.legion.org/?section=prog_evt&subsection=evt_bs&content=evt_bs


Couldn't find boys state info, but you can use this to find your local post and contact them. http://www.azlegion.org/


Also, ask your school counselors. They should know.

By Frogman9595 (Frogman9595) on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 01:00 am: Edit

Thanks a lot for all the help!

By Ndcountrygirl (Ndcountrygirl) on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 12:14 am: Edit

exactly whay anya said...two girls from our school were picked by legiona auxillary members for their grades, leadership positions, and community activities. Great thing for college and scholarship apps because it is in every state and is an honorable thing to be picked....they referred to us as "the best and brightest of our state" at the convention.

yeah you learn alot about government and politics and flag respect. You have to make it fun by being active and running for positions. Don't just sit there the whole week and wish you were back home. My main complaint.....i was so sick of girls after spending a week with 400 of them and never seeing a guy, plus they never let us go off campus because of security issues (400 girls around meant perverts roaming the town).

By Kamili (Kamili) on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 12:25 am: Edit

The terms of acceptance vary from each school to each other school. In AZ, we have different applications from Alaska and New Mexico at least. I went last year and had fun, might be going as a councilor. If you're interested, contact your local American Legion/Auxilary outpost or ask your guidance councilor.

By Wdlynn (Wdlynn) on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 06:41 am: Edit

I'm not sure how we were picked for VA Boys' State at my school, but I think teachers nominate and a panel of faculty members judges and picks their top students. We ended up sending six guys and two girls.

Boys' State was an interesting experience. I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I went (although I did lose a pillow, darnit) but I think they could go about the whole Democracy in action thing a bit differently. Basically, they put a bunch of guys together, form them into political parties, and ask them to create a government.

UNFORTUNATELY, they don't add any real issues to the discussion, so it turns into a simulation of the dealing and underhandedness of politics without any kind of issues to hold up the whole system. It's not like the week was one huge brawl - it was a fantastic experience - but when it came down to getting votes, you couldn't campaign on issues (since there were none), so it became a trading arena where one city agreed to vote for another's Liuetenant Governor as long as that city voted for the first city's Governor. And while I'm sure this happens in politics, it was quite an eye-opener to how misleading our political system can be.

I learned a lot about politics and government, and I truly enjoyed the whole experience.

...but be advised, marching is involved.

By T2opine (T2opine) on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 08:51 pm: Edit

Marching and a lot of Americanism presentations (which would make sense since the American Legion is sponsoring it). I went last year for the one in Pennsylvania, and it was a really good experience. The only thing I didn't like was that a lot of issues weren't allowed to be discussed, such as school prayer and other hot topics. But I had a great time there, and would definitely recommend it.

By Jwood (Jwood) on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 12:02 am: Edit

The only thing I learned at boys state was that democracy doesn´t work.

By Louman226 (Louman226) on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 11:21 am: Edit

How presitigious is the program and how do colleges tend to weigh it?

By Just_Forget_Me (Just_Forget_Me) on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 01:09 pm: Edit

I'm a junior + was just told by my counselor that I'm my school's nomination to Ohio Boys' State (picked by teacher voting, I think). I have to interview an American Legion member (to make sure I'm not a communist, I guess).

Anyway, the kids from my school who went last year didn't really like Boys' State, which makes me kind of wary. I wish it were co-ed. I was thinking about turning it down, but I didn't want to •••• off the teachers who nominated me, and I'm sure it does look good on apps (even though doing something because it looks good on apps is against my morals).

By Wdlynn (Wdlynn) on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 02:09 pm: Edit

I too was hoping that I wouldn't be nominated for Boys State last spring, largely because a few of my friends who had attended the year before didn't like it much (one told me that the only good part about Boys State was that it made the rest of the summer seem so much better). It also didn't help that VA Boys State last year happened to fall on the first week of summer vacation (school ended friday, left for Boys State that Sunday). I was pretty bummed when I found out that I was nominated, and thought about making up an excuse to not go.

If my twin brother hadn't been nominated as well, I probably would have said something about a vacation or a trip and have gotten out of it, but we both agreed that we'd tough it out. And we did.

I can't tell you that you're going to have the most fun of your life, 'cause you're not. The experience is pretty enlightening, however - we spoke with the governor, the liutenant governor, and quite a few other elected officials in Virginia.

It's also a good experience to have with living in dorms and having a schedule that you're responsible for keeping up with. I left Boys State relieved that it was over, but glad I had had the experience. I wouldn't do it again, but it's definitely something you should do once if you have the opportunity.

And as much as I hate saying this, it definitely looks good on your apps.

By T2opine (T2opine) on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 03:59 pm: Edit

Whatever you put into the program is what you'll get out of it. I went to Girls State last year and had a great time. It makes it a lot more fun if you're interested in government and politics, because. And you definitely have to get involved in the activities, otherwise you will be completely bored. All in all, it's not the most fun, and certainly not for everyone. I'd say it's a good experience though.

By Smiley13 (Smiley13) on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 09:32 pm: Edit

I went to Girls State last year and I'd say it's definitely a worthwhile experience. Most of the activities are a bit dull, but there was plenty of downtime when we just got to hang out and have a good time. In a lot of ways it felt like a weeklong slumber party, actually. However, I have a few guy-friends who went to Boys State and from what they told me it sounded like their week was much more intense, strict, and less fun. The Boys had Marines there that made them march around and stuff.

I had never really been away from my family for a whole week before (i know that sounds kinda crazy) so it was definitely a great pre-college experience for me. All of the girls I met there were awesome (well, most of them, some were a bit too hardcore w/ the election stuff, in my opinion.) I still keep in touch w/ some of them. As far as college apps go, I don't know how big of a deal they consider Girls/Boys State to be, but it certainly can't be a bad thing! The program takes place in every state so it's well-known. If you're nominated, I'd definitely recommend going. I had a terrific time, and even if it's an awful experience for you, it's only for a week. Sorry for the long post, but I hope it's helpful!

By Just_Forget_Me (Just_Forget_Me) on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 09:06 am: Edit

I'm at boys' state right now... and it's a million times better than I thought it would be (my expectations were VERY low). I'm Court of Appeals judge, which is pretty prestigious but also pretty low key. The other kids are pretty cool, although I am missing girls... desperately.