Wednesday Late Edition 30 NOV 2011

BY KAYLIE HOROWITZStaff

Finally, the debates have begun and the delegates have hit the ground running. As the Sullivan House and Williams Senate present and debate the bills on their dockets, the Cabinet has already looked at the list of bills from both legislative groups to determine which ones they would like to debate by the end of State Assembly. No matter the placement of a bill on the docket, it still has a chance of impacting Youth In Government and the state of Florida tremendously. One of the bills that was discussed in Sullivan House this morning was Representat ive Gardner’s bill on unregulated tapping of the Florida Aquifer by large companies. Companies like

Nestle, Coke, or Pepsi would have to pay a tax of one penny per gallon of water they pump out from the ground in Florida. Revenue will go to the state of Florida to u s e h o w e v e r t h e y choose. Arguing against the b i l l , Representat ive Legel said, “It makes sure companies are mon i to red…so they don’t suck out gallons of water.” Representative Reynolds reputed, “All this bill will do is take away jobs…water companies will go to other states.” “This bill preserves the wildlife and ecosystem and is good for the

economy,” Representative Huang said. The Cab inet has h igh expectat ions for th is year ’s legislation. Delegates must keep debate heated and no abstentions!

Debate Kicks Off Strong in Legislative Chambers

Paging the PagesBY ALI RENCKENS

Staff Amid a crowd of delegates, some reclining lazily and some sitting alertly, are kids weaving in between the desks. They are a little shorter than the normal delegate and though professionally dressed, they are wearing white s n e a ke r s , w h i c h a r e mo r e comfortable for their job. These are pages. They pass notes between the House, Senate, and lobbyists, which requires much walking. One page recorded taking 6,000-7,000 steps. T h e s e d e l e g a t e s a r e essential to debate. Legislators use them to rally other delegates or pass along research. Without

the pages, the lobbyists couldn't connect with clients. "Without pages, nobody in chambers could communicate," said Clark Devore, Page coordinator. "There are times when I think we couldn't get on without pages," said Chelsea Jordan, also a Page coordinator. "Everything would come to a screeching halt." Tyler Belyeu, Central Florida Delegation likes that paging "gives [him] a chance to learn what going on...and wear sneakers." He dislikes notes that don't pertain to debate, but the funniest note he r e c e i v e d w a s o n e t h a t (paraphrasing) read, "You're hot". He wants to be in Legislative, and someday be a Presiding Officer.

Youth Governor G lo ry McClure, in her opening speech mentioned the pages. "[they] won't know they're appreciated until you tell [them]." Jordan was a page when she was in middle-school. "It gave me a better appreciation for the pages...it's a great way to be involved."

inthisissueMoving Up from JYIG to Sr. YIG 2Secrets of the Supreme Court 2Problems of the Press 3Samantha Lane: Ten Years of Dedication 4

Delegate Gardner presents her bill in the House chamber. Photo courtesy of Rich Schellhase.

2 Wednesday Late Edition 30 NOV 2011

BY KRISTA REINHARDT Staff

Have you ever wanted your voice heard on a subject but do not like public speaking? Then your characteristics are similar to mine. I love writing, and public speaking is not my strong suit. That is one of the reasons why I decided to write articles for the Press Corps., both at Junior Assembly and at State Assembly. I am so thankful that I chose to write articles at Junior Assembly last year. Even though I was in the midst of preparing for my bill, I eagerly found time

to write a quality article for The Daily Aardvark. Seeing them printed in The Daily Aardvark was amazing; it felt as though I had impacted everyone who was given a copy without saying one word. I also had the honor of receiv ing the “Outstanding Member of the Press Corps.” award. This encouraged me even more in the area of writing, and helped me to decide to be a part of the Press Corps. program at State Assembly. Going into the Press program this year I was definitely nervous. Not only was it my first time at the Capitol, but it was also my first time in the Press program. I knew it would be m u c h d i f f e r e n t t h a n m y experience at Junior Assembly because I could completely focus on my article-writing and not have to worry about a bill. This was a new and exciting thought to me. After I met all the people

in press, I knew I would be well-supported and encouraged. As a first year delegate having no Sen i o r H i gh P r e s s Co rp s . exper ience , th i s was very beneficial to me. I would highly encourage anyone considering Press Corps to join or contribute a n a r t i c l e t h r o u g h o p e n submissions. Press at Junior Assembly and Press at State Assembly are extremely different, yet alike in some ways. It is a neat experience to be able to compare the two. In Junior Assembly, the articles I wrote were an option, as an addition to debating bills. I n S t a t e A s s e m b l y, I a m completely devoted to writing because I do not have a bill. I really enjoyed and am enjoying both Junior Assembly and State Assembly Press Corps. and would highly suggest both.

Moving Up from Jr. YIG to Sr. YIG

Secrets of the Supreme CourtBY WILL THAMES

Staff Judicial delegates never receive the proper credit they deserve, because delegates in other program areas do not know what they do. Judicial delegates have two types of delegates: Attorneys and Supreme Court Justices. S u p r e m e C o u r t Justices are the Supporting Officer delegates, who must apply for their position. Justices run cases, and are very similar to the chair in the legislative program. They run the clock and allow deferring motions, and ask case-destroying legal questions. The Judicial program has two Pres id ing Officers: Chief Justice and Senior Justice. This year’s Chief Justice is Alex Whiteside, and Senior Justice

i s S a rah I a c om in i . A l e x Whiteside, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said, “The hardest part of being Chief Justice is organizing everyone and getting t h e m i n t h e k n o w . ” Attorneys are delegates speaking in favor of their client. These delegates have roughly ten minutes to present their case. Attorneys research their cases heavily prior to State Assembly, with the help of Florida Statues a n d c a s e l a w . “The hardest part of [my] job is interrupting attorneys, for fear of messing up their entire case,” said Senior Justice Iacomini. From the Supreme Court to Attorneys, each facet of the

judicial branch is unique in its own way. This branch is not widely known about from delegates of other program areas, as most delegates never take part in this unique program.

Above: Judicial delegates congratulate each other after a job well done.

3 Wednesday Late Edition 30 NOV 2011

BY CAT SMITHEditorial Board

When children learn about the government in school, they are taught about the three branches and the s y s t e m o f c h e c k s a n d ba lances , wh ich centers a r o u n d t h e e x e c u t i v e , l eg i s l a t i ve , and j ud i c i a l branches. However, they do not learn about another check of power: the press. Within the government, the Press Corps. serves as a “watch dog”, surveying actions of politicians, as well as s e r v i n g a s a mean s o f communication between the people and their government, but the extent of the rights that the press is given has been disputed s ince the moment the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.As a veteran member of the Press Corps, I have seen firsthand the importance of having freedom of press. Journalists have a duty and a right to be liaisons between the government and the governed. Freedom of the press is essential to a fair and just governmental! As fantastic as

Google may be, it cannot always tell us whether what Senator A said about Policy B is true, or even plausible. Sites l i k e P o l i t i F a c t h a v e revolutionized this “watch dog” system and are able to provide instant feedback on the truthfulness during debates and candidate’s statements. Before that, viewers had little choice but to believe all that was said. Suppressing the press is the first step on the path to suppress ing the peop le . Journalists write to express the world and themselves to their readers. If the Press were to be censored, the public would receive little information about gove rnmen t cand ida te s , proposed bills and policies, or local and world events. A censoring of journalist would cause the average Joe to be hopeless of acquiring any facts. Newspapers, blogs, news shows; all exist to inform regular people about the wide world they live in. Without the freedom to report and inform about everything, not just what governments want released, we may as well not report at all.

Problems of the Press

governor’sballLadies, strapless

dresses must be worn with a sweater.

Gentlemen, please act as such on the dance

floor.

checkusoutFollow us on our

twitter, facebook, blog, and youtube account!

Do not forget to place your order for some

YIG swag. T-shirts are on sale for $12.00.

assemblyt-shirt

weatherThursdayHigh: 68Low: 45

4 Wednesday Late Edition 30 NOV 2011

staf

f Editor-in-Chief Haley Oberhofer • Assistant Editor Alexia M’Bark  Editorial Board Audrey Guerra, Cat Smith • Joanna Beazley • Madison Blake

Kaylie Horowitz • Spencer Locke • Devin Patel • Ali Renckens • Krista Reinhardt • Will Thames Program Coordinator Erika Amaya

BY AUDREY GUERRAEditorial Board

Every year we gather to experience the joys of debating, arguing, writing, and lobbying in a magical conference we call State Assembly; however, who adds the magic to this grand event? Is it Santa Claus? The Easter Bunny? The Tooth Fairy? No, it is someone much better than these fictional characters. Our lovely and fairy-t a l e - l i k e l e ade r ’ s n ame i s Samantha Lane, and this State Assembly marks her 10th year as Executive Director of Youth In Government. Samantha Lane is a vital aspect to the Florida Youth in Gove r nmen t p r og ram . He r capabilities allow her to create solut ions spontaneously, be flexible, and overall extremely resourceful. These skills are all great, but what makes Sam unique to the program is her extreme dedication and desire to do whatever it takes in order to accomplish anything for YIG. Rich Schellhase stated that “Samantha Lane is so passionate about her job. She loves everything about the program and everything the p rog ram rep re sen t s .” Th i s e n t h u s i a s m f o r Yo u t h i n Government has influenced YIG delegates and participating adults alike. The people of YIG take the zeal Sam has for the club and translate it to their own YIG e x p e r i e n c e s b y b e c o m i n g Presiding Officers, Graduate Advisors, or program coordinators.

Contrary to popular belief, Sam hasn’ t only been Execut ive Director of YIG for 10 years; she has also participated in several other facets of the program making for a grand total of 19 years in YIG. “The program is a sense of pride.” Samantha stated “It’s a sense of family. It means something very different to me than it means to anyone else. I can’t imagine my life without it.” Samantha expresses what the club means to her with all the hard work she does. Not many delegates realize the true commitment one has to take in order to lead such a large program. As I observed Sam partake in a little part of her YIG day, I watched her be constantly interrupted by various GAs, visitors to State Assembly, Program Coordinators, and chaperones while she simultaneously received papers and memos from her assistants. If I were Sam, I’d probably lose my mind dealing with such a massive workload, but Sam calmly and gladly dealt with all the issues given to her; to my surprise, she even smiled despite the fact that she was being bombarded with duties and tasks. Jamy Dirkins, a GA and an acquaintance of Sam’s, says “She has the ability to respond to all sorts of situations, because of that she has been able to hold a position that is a really difficult one which requires a whole lot of work.” The things Samantha Lane does for YIG on a daily basis are

remarkab le , and a l l ow the program to thrive. A simple “thank you” could not possibly express the gratitude everyone in YIG has for Sam, so in order to show Sam your own appreciation you should do your bes t dur ing S ta te Assembly. Try your best in every aspect you participate in, and show Sam how much you love the program. As Jamy Dinkins plainly put “She is someone we really appreciate and who has really done a great job with the program”. Samantha Lane, thank you for all you have done for the program, we are truly glad that you have dedicated 10 years to this program as Executive Director and we hope to enjoy your company for years to come.

Samantha Lane: Ten Years of Dedication

Above: Delegate Lane attends the Conference on National Affairs.