Buckeye State gives teens a firsthand look at how government works
PORT CLINTON - A group of local teens experienced a hands-on lesson in the working of government during American Legion Buckeye Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Buckeye Girls State.
The boys attended a weeklong event in June at Miami University, and the girls’ event took place at Bowling Green State University.
Boys and Girls State events simulate a working government. The teens create city, county and state governments and roleplay a government employee or public servant for the week.
“Everyone got a job. There was a governor, an engineer, an auditor,” said Genoa senior, Rachel Beard. “Your floor was your city, a few floors were a county, and all the floors together were a state.”
Teens given government jobs for a week of work
Beard served as a city engineer. Her cousins, Ty Harsanje and Courtney Chapinski, also Genoa seniors, also attended Boys and Girls State, respectively. Harsanje was a state representative, and Chapinski was a Department of Agriculture cabinet member. Joseph Apple, a Port Clinton senior, joined the state highway patrol. The experience gave each one an insider’s look at different elements of government.
“I designed my city and made a map,” Beard said. “I feel like I understand government better.”
As in real life, some jobs were appointed, but some, like Harsanje’s representative position, were elected.
“You have to campaign for it,” Harsanje said. “They give you fake money, and you go to the store and buy supplies, like posters and markers, for your campaign.”
Once the teens were assigned or elected to a job, they worked together to create laws. At Boys State, walking laws simulated driving laws, and it was the highway patrol’s duty to enforce them.
Youths assigned responsibilities that adults face in government
“We gave tickets to people running, which was like speeding, or walking on the grass,” Apple said. “At one point, we had to get a kid for breaking 30 crimes. We had an arrest warrant out for him. Basically, he was just trying to see how many laws he could break.”
The teens had to pay taxes – with pretend money – just like in real life. Shoes represented cars, and the teens paid a tax on every pair of shoes. Beard said she paid a lot of shoe tax.
“Every stuffed animal you brought was a pet, and you had to license your pet,” Chapinski said.
Although the event simulated government, the teens also met some of the real-life officials who make Ohio run. The teens met Gov. Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy and Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague.
The Genoa teens were sponsored by American Legion Post 324 in Genoa, and Apple was sponsored by American Legion Post 113 in Port Clinton. Rosemary Schlievert, a Girls State alumni and former counselor, is in charge of Girls State recruitment for Post 324.
“I tell them when I’m recruiting that you’re going to have to deal with government all your life, and this teaches them a lot about how government works,” Schlievert said. “It also builds a lot of confidence because they go off by themselves. The organization makes sure kids from the same school are not together, so they have to take care of themselves.”
Youths make friends from across Ohio
The connections the teens made was one of the biggest benefits they came home with. Beard said she made friends from girls in Gibsonburg and Put-in-Bay but also from across Ohio.
“It was a great experience to be around a bunch of kids in government,” Apple said. “I made a lot of friends, and it was great for networking.”
The biggest takeaway was a better understanding of the people and departments that make Ohio thrive.
“There are so many more positions in government than I thought,” Chapinski said.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Buckeye State gives teens lessons on how government works
