Delegates learn government procedures at Boys' State

SALT LAKE CITY/OGDEN — Boys’ State is a summer leadership and citizenship program for high school boys between their junior and senior years sponsored by The American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary.

David May, a senior at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City, and Eric Trost, a senior at Saint Joseph Catholic High School in Ogden, attended Boys State at Weber State University June 9-13.

Delegates to Boys State are selected with the help of their high school principals and counselors on the basis of potential leadership qualities.

Program participants are first divided up into subgroups that are given city names. The "citizens" of each of these cities then elect mock municipal officials and representatives to the mock State Legislature. If enough "citizens" are present, then a county level is added to the program between city and state.

The participants also elect state officials, such as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other state-level officials. The legislature then meets to organize, elect leaders, and pass bills, in a way that is similar to how their actual legislature operates.

David May is thinking about either political science or international relations as his major in college, and is thinking about going into politics. He felt Boys’ State would be a good opportunity to learn more about the government.

"I have a sister who just returned from Iraq, and this was an opportunity to learn more about how the government is run," said May. "My sister’s name is Jamie Thomas, and she is now in the Reserves. She is a real inspiration to me. I see in her a sense of duty and sacrifice. She has two small daughters she had to leave when she went to Iraq, and it was hard for her."

May is currently taking Advanced Placement Government and Politics at Judge, and Boys’ State has helped him have a better understanding of the curriculum in this class. He is also taking Street Law, which talks about a person’s individual rights, the different ways trials are conducted, and how laws apply to the common person; whereas AP Government and Politics talks about U.S. government and other governments around the world.

"When we arrived at Boys’ State, we were divided up into cities," said May. "We held elections and I was appointed city attorney and a state delegate. From there members of our city ran for county and state positions.

"My role as city attorney included attending meetings to pass on information to the rest of the city. As a state delegate, I passed on information as to how we wanted to vote as well as back to the city.

"There were two political parties, the Federalists and Nationalists," said May. "We also elected a state auditor and other state positions, and then we had to support our candidates. So there was a lot of negotiation going on because we wanted someone from our city in those positions. We got to see how a convention was held and the proper way of conducting one."

Boys’ State influenced May to want to be in a position where he could be appointed to a position. He was not fond of running for political office.

"This opportunity has made me more aware of the current election and it has put a lot of perspective on why the vice presidents are picked," said May. "It seems they pick running mates who can attract votes. I think Barack Obama was hurting in experience and that is why he chose Joe Biden. John McCain was hurting for votes from young people, and that is why he chose Sarah Palin. I have done a lot more research on the candidates themselves than I would have done otherwise.

"I was one of a few who were not Mormon at Boys’ State, and it gave me a whole new perspective on interacting with people," said May. "We shared a lot of the same values even though we had incredibly different experiences. I have always gone to Catholic school, and I have always interacted with people of my faith and never been in a minority prior to this experience. The Mormons seems to base all of their opinions on their faith."

Eric Trost became interested in Boys State when a representative came to Saint Joseph Catholic High School to encourage them to become involved.

"It sounded like fun to me, and I wanted to include something like this on my resume," said Trost. "It sounded interesting, and I had been an Eagle Scout and thought this would be a good combination. Boys’ State turned out to be a lot of fun.

"I am taking a government class this year and we will be working with a mock Congress and we will be looking at the elections of 2008," said Trost. "I was interested in the government before I went to Boys’ State, but I did not know a lot about it. I do try to watch the news a lot and stay up-to-date with what is happening in the government. At Boys’ state I did learn a lot more about how the government actually works.

"We learned how the voting process works, such as how it is split up and who votes for whom," said Trost. "For example state delegates vote for state representatives. I was a county delegate, and I voted for everything else such as county officials and the county mayor.

"I ran for a Supreme Court seat, but I did not win, and I found running for office interesting," said Trost. "It was not nearly the same as how the actual system works. It is somewhat of a popularity contest because you have to get to know as many people as you can as quickly as you can. You have to talk to people and make them laugh so they like you. Being a Catholic got me noticed.

"I made a lot of friends since we were split up into towns, and I still keep in touch with them," said Trost. "I am used to my Catholic community, so I met a lot of Mormon delegates. It was interesting to talk with them. They were more conservative and I was more liberal. We had some very good late night conversations, and it was fun to learn differing opinions.

"I learned that Mormons’ values are much the same as Catholics," said Trost.