As the election year continues in full swing,
candidates as well as other political job holders are finishing their jobs in
addition to competing for them once again.
From Feb. 25-29, 24 Marian juniors and seniors took politics into their
own hands as Marian participated in their twelfth year of Harvard Model
Congress.
Harvard Model Congress is a
government simulation held in Boston, Mass. and consists of 80 school teams and
1,500 students. The Marian team,
along with the rest of the teams, stayed at the Sheraton hotel where all of the
sessions and activities would take place.
All students had to pay $700 for plane tickets, the hotel and other
sponsored activities and had to bring their own spending money as well as money
for food.
Each student took on the
role of a senator, representative, lobbyist, journalist or another political
role. The students were to take the
ideas and views of each person and present them during sessions at Harvard Model
Congress. “Students sign up for a
role they are interested in, and then Harvard picks the final roles,” said
literature teacher Ms. Susie Sisson, who organized the trip along with history
teacher, Mrs. Kim Remmick.
During each session, a
different part of the government met, ranging from the House of Representatives
and Senate to the lobbyists and Presidential Cabinet. In each session, students discussed and
submitted bills, learned about draft legislation and debated formally.
Juniors Michaela McGill and
Katie Powers were lobbyists for the American Civil Liberties Union. Both received this role by submitting an
essay to Harvard and then were notified that they would receive those
roles. “Our role was to go around
and testify to the House and give our positions on things,” said Powers. Each day they had different duties to
perform. Activities such as a
Congressional Ball and meetings were held.
“I liked meeting kids from all over the country,” said
McGill.
In their limited free time,
the Marian team had dinner at Hard Rock Café, toured the John F. Kennedy Museum
and visited colleges.
As the weekend ended
students had fun, learned, and met new friends. “I didn’t really understand the
government system, but doing this has helped me understand it,” said
Powers.
“We had a great group of
students. It was exciting to see
the students learn,” said Sisson.
In the end 24 Marian
students learned a lifetime of information about the United States
government. “We let our true colors
show,” said McGill.