Message From A Girls' Stater
I originally posted this on College Confidential to someone who was asking more about it. I started to send molloy09 a private message, but thought others might benefit from this as well, so I am re-posting here, with a few additions, subtractions, and clarifications. BTW, I was not attempting admission into a SA. But WP admissions officers made mention of it several times in presentations we have been to with our son.
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Hello from an Iowa (Hawkeye) Girls' Stater from, well, a while back ago (okay, 1978)!
Let me say first that when I was chosen by my American Legion Auxiliary to attend, I did not know exactly what Am. Legion Aux. Girls State was. We were chosen not by interview, but by recommendations from our high school with a preference for sons/daughters of veterans. My father was a WWII veteran, and I was active in 4-H leadership roles, band, and other community activities. When the phone call first came through to my parents that I had been selected to attend, my father actually cried. My first reaction? "I'll have to see... I've already been selected for a 4-H Conservation Camp that week of June." However, when I realized how important this was to my father and that I had to make a choice of which one to attend, I realized the Girls State week was a huge honor and I canceled my 4-H CC plans (also an honor to be selected for).
I guess in a quick synopsis, Boys/Girls State could be described as a week-long, hands-on learning experience in government. Hands-on in that it is set up to teach participants-by their actual involvement-the procedures used to select public officials (whether elected or appointed) for local, city, county and state positions. It goes much deeper than that, but that is the jist.
With that said, each state's Boys/Girls State structure is slightly different, dependent upon the type of government structure the state has. Since Iowa uses a caucus system, the week was structured to teach how a caucus state chooses their delegates to state conventions and give learn-by-doing experience in establishing party platforms in addition to the election and appointment of candidates to office.
Our week began by a chartered bus ride to the college campus where Girls State was held. (Some states still do this, but some may expect their participants to arrange their own transportation.) I was the only one from my town, maybe only 2 of us from my county selected to attend that year. While it may seem awkward to you to get on a bus with a bunch of girls (or guys) you do not know, I strongly recommend you take the opportunity to board the bus and get to know a few of the names and faces of those from your geographic area. It will help if you decide to run for office and will help "break the ice" for the week ahead.
Upon arrival and registration, you will be assigned to a political party (we had 'nationalists' and 'federalists', No choosing -I was a nationalist), and assigned to a mythical city and county within your mythical state. Once again, states may do this differently. Iowa Girls State was the mythical state of "Hawkeye", but I do know that at least for Boys' State, Tennessee uses their real state name. Another interesting side note: our roommate assignment was someone of the opposite party!
As the week begins, you will be instructed and led by adult leaders on selection (election and appointments) of local and city positions within your party. I was chosen to act as both ward and precinct caucus chairman because I was the only one in those initial smaller groups who knew any parliamentary procedure (4-H experience! That was a plus, I believe, and if you do not know the basics of parly pro now, you might want to learn how to properly conduct a meeting before Girls State. It will help in many ways in your future besides this one week...you'd be surprised how many adults do not know how to properly state a motion in a meeting!).
As you progress through each level of government up through your state party nominee for governor, your groups will be developing your party's state platform. If you choose to run for an office, you will be giving campaign speeches, or if not you may give introductions for those who are running. You will also be campaigning for yourself or for others through talking/shaking hands, making campaign posters (all must be prepared on site), asking for your party member's votes, and getting a quota of signatures. This can be fun, so don't get too serious about the whole process, and be creative. Among other positions, I know I ran for my party's state nomination for Secretary of Agriculture (one of four). Although I did not win, it was great experience and I made a lot of friends that I kept in contact with throughout my senior year and first few years of college.
Keynote presentations are sprinkled throughout the week as well. Former Girls' State Citizens, female dignitaries, and motivational speakers will be addressing you on various issues of importance both statewide and nationally. Some may even speak about women's health issues since they have an all-female captive audience
. But since it was just us women, we giggled and then settled into the understanding of the importance of maintaining our own health. Some of the speakers will challenge you to become more involved in the community. Others may emphasize the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. They will be thought-provoking at the very least. I know I certainly came home with a much deeper feeling of patriotism and love and support of country.
The week will culminate in the election of your mythical state officials - Gov, Lt. Gov, etc. (We cast our ballots using real voting machines, and for most girls this was a first opportunity to witness this process personally, although I had also experienced voting w/machines at State 4-H Conference so this was not quite as novel to me). You will more than likely have an inaugural ball that evening. This is another chance to dress up and wear prom attire, though some of the girls I knew wore nice street-length dresses as well. It gives you a feel for what the real thing entails.
The next morning, we boarded buses and headed back home. All in all, I experienced a great week!
Now, my son's experience at Boys State this past summer was quite a bit different. Boys States are quite a bit bigger (600 or so participants) where Girls States are generally smaller groups (250-300). Once again, this varies by state.
He felt like a lot of the participants were there for the wrong reasons, most not caring a hoot about the political/government lessons and wanting to only play in the sports competitions. I am not sure how these other boys were selected: we inquired about our son going because we knew the service academies look at Girls/Boys State on applications and I remembered how special the week was to me. Ironically, he missed getting to go to SLS at WP (it was already filled to capacity by the time he got his online application submitted) because he was waiting on hearing from our Am. Legion for his sponsorship and therefore did not know what to enter on the SLS application. Imagine my relief now to read that they prefer Boys State over SLS!!!
Anyway, our son had taken US Govt at school during his jr. year so already knew a lot about the processes he was practicing. He enjoyed that part of it, but felt a little lonely the first part of the week since he was expecting more kids with a desire for military service to be visible. It took him a few days to identify and bond with some other boys who were like-minded. He also has been in JROTC for 4 years - 3 at that point -and quickly found that JROTC cadets were resented because they had an edge up on things that were expected, such as room inspections and military formations and marching.
Another major difference between Boys and Girls State seems to be the use of Army-style city formations when moving from site to site. The guys are basically established in companies and march in formation. Our son acted as Guide for his city, carrying the Guide-On (Flag). Thus his nickname, "Flagdude". He also ran for, campaigned, and was elected to State Court of Appeals at the end of the week. Best I can remember, Girls State was not set up in such a regimented style and we sang a lot of fun songs in the large group settings.
All in all, his week was not as enjoyable as mine (difficult roommate who text-messaged into the wee hours of the night tho' cell phones were not supposed to have been allowed and who would not help with room inspections nor hospital corners on the beds; different attitudes for the why's of attending, etc.). BUT, he got to know some great guys who shared his understanding of the week, including one of his instructors who was an ROTC college student there, and he still maintains contact with them through Facebook. I think it taught him a lot about getting along with others who you don't necessarily feel you have any common ties with, and it definitely gave him an edge at understanding the political processes our country is going through during this election year. He found his niche by the end of the week and was actually smiling in some of the posted website photos, so all was not lost in the process!
Interestingly, he also attended an Air Force Honors Camp in New Mexico a few weeks later with participants from all over the U.S. Many of these honors camp kids had gone to their respective boys/girls states, and the girls all seemed to love it, the guys were not quite as thrilled. That may be perhaps because of the set-up required to keep 600 boys from getting out of hand
. So a note to you guys, as I certainly don't want to discourage any of you from attending(!): as I said before, each state is different, and each person's experience will be a little different. If you know generally what to expect ahead of time, you will have a more positive experience. I had not prepared my son very well as it was a different set up than what I had experienced.
Now, one final note: If you decide to run for office, particularly a higher one, my son noticed the most effective method used by the very-likeable newly elected governor was just getting out and talking sincerely to the others in attendance. He did not promise he would be so much better than his counterparts or that he would work to improve x, but just that he wanted to get to know and talk personally to as many guys as he could. Just one idea that seemed to work for an effective campaign.
Best of luck, have fun, and I would love to hear of your adventures when you return!
