High school students get a taste of the legislative life at leadership conference
Local students join peers from across the state to debate issues and hold two-day mock legislative session.
By Rebecca Carroll
Published Jul 23, 2005 12:41
Sounds like everyday activities in the political world.
But these are no politicians.
Instead of attending baseball or soccer camp, these 49 high school students attended the City on the Hill Youth Leadership Conference at Lancaster Bible College this week.
“I love it here,” Elizabeth Pinero, 16, a homeschooled student from Landisville, says of her second year attending the conference. “It’s an opportunity to meet so many new people and new things, and further my knowledge on biblical issues.”
What do the students do at this conference?
They debate legislation, of course. The legislation centers on conservative hot topics such as gambling, stem-cell research, gay marriage and abortion.
The students “elect their own leaders, work to debate actual legislation that is on the General Assembly, and get assigned to different parties,” says Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit research and education group that sponsors the conference.
Geer says, “Our aim is to train and teach high school students to develop their God-given leadership skills. We want to give them a biblical worldview perspective and help them come to understand the policy process.”
The students either oppose or support different issues. They went to Harrisburg on Thursday and Friday to debate the issues on the Senate floor in a mock legislative session. (They stayed overnight at Lancaster Bible College.)
“You really get a sense of what it’s like on Capitol Hill,” Pinero says of her experience last year. “It’s realistic.”
This is the fifth year City on the Hill has provided this opportunity to high-school students, and the first year LBC has hosted the event.
Applicants need to be Christians, submit a 500-word essay on current social issues or their accomplishments, three other essays and letters of recommendation from their pastors.
Jeremy Wall, 16, of Strasburg, a homeschooled senior, is a veteran of the conference.
“I like learning how politics work and how important issues are,” Wall says. “It’s a very real environment with the political activities. Right when I walked in, I started working the crowd.”
Wall and Pinero already had the aura of politicians.
Gripping hands in a solid handshake, they told each other, “I’ll vote for your bill if you vote for mine.”
Evan Denlinger, 17, of Narvon, a homeschooled junior, planned to argue for a phase-out of the inheritance tax on Friday on the Senate floor.
“This is really a great experience,” he says. “I was more nervous at the beginning but after doing it, it’s great. I’ve strengthened my debating skills, as well as my social ones.”
The weeklong conference provides students from all over the state an opportunity to learn the political system, as well as learn how to defend moral views.
Steve Wagner, a Los Angeles-based anti-abortion speaker on bioethics, was a favorite. He gave the students role-playing scenarios on how to defend their positions on abortion and related issues.
“He equipped us to defend ourselves,” Pinero says. “He said it was important to teach us how to stand up for what we believe.”
“I’ve made lasting friendships and lasting ideas that will stick,” Pinero says.
