Politics & Life: Monday June 12th

Greetings parents, sponsors, and citizens! The second day of Boy State has now commenced. After waking up and eating a hearty breakfast the Statesmen immediately went to work. With the sweltering sun above the the capital city of Texas, the Statesmen forged on to elect their officers in the Precinct, County, and State party conventions. This Monday, every Statesmen participated in their respective party convention to elect a fitting leader to guide them to victory in the elections.

Elections are an important aspect of the Boy State experience and with that in mind the Statesmen learned not only how to vote for officials, but also to collaborate and discuss real life situations, which is unique to this program. The skill of being able to formally elect and discuss certain issues will be a constant process in Boys State. The Statesmen divided into their city precincts and they elected House and Senate candidates within their parties. The parties, the Federalists and the Nationalists, also elected precinct chair and county delegates, created rules, solidified the platform of their party and chose members for the various committees. These may seem overwhelming to the ordinary, but to the statesmen it was just another job to get done.

The Statesmen gathered together with their party in a state party conventions after electing county officials. Witnessing the conventions first hand is an exhilarating experience. The excitement of the Statesmen is not only heard through the enthusiastic chants, but can also be seen through every jump  and cheer each party member made. The first meeting with the party allows each Statesmen to connect with party members unfamiliar to their county and to accumulate a sense of pride and hope for their parties. The Nationalist and Federalist state party convention both had many promising candidates. Even though there were some disagreements and sometimes a division within a party, each party ultimately decided on one State chairman and three Whips responsible for boosting the morale of the party during elections. Those who were not elected were held with the utmost respect and built a strong personality and learned from the experience.

Although the state party convention lasted 3 hours, the Statesmen were still full of energy and ready for their next activity. The Statesmen first changed into their recreational clothes and ate dinner. The Statesmen were honored with speeches from visiting dignitaries and by the end of dinner the special election polls officially closed and the Statesmen made their way down to the olympiad or their assigned committee. The day concluded with additional announcements and the viewing of the newscast created by the Press Corps. The Statesmen are looking forward to the results of the elections and all the upcoming events.

Written by Justin Melendez