Boys/Girls State
From Freepedia
Boys State and Girls State are summertime programs geared towards leadership and citizenship training sponsored by the American Legion for high school students between their junior and senior years. The Boys and Girls State programs are run in 49 of the 50 U.S. states, usually on a college campus within that state. The Girls' and Boys' programs are usually run separately, and at different times within the summer.
The program participants are divided up into smaller groups that are given fictious city names, though the names are sometimes those of cities within that state. 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 that their real state has. The legislature then meets to organize, elect leaders, and to pass bills, in a way that similar to how their actual legislature operates.
Each* of these Boys State and Girls State groups sends two delegates to Boys Nation and Girls Nation, in Washington, D.C.. These delegates are usually the participants elected to the Governor and Lt. Governor positions.
- Louisiana Boys and Girls State, second largest of the organizations, does not send delegates because its program overlaps the national convention. However, the current director of the program stepped down in 2005 and Louisiana is said to change the dates in order to send delegates to the national level.
External link
Boys State & Girls State Directory
