ORONO, Minn. – After five months of preparation, 105 Orono students joined over 1600 students from across the state in descending upon the State Capitol for a weekend of Youth In Government fun. This year’s Model Assembly was held Jan. 10-13 at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel and the State Capitol Complex. YIG, a program run by MN YMCA, allows students in grades 8-12 to learn about various parts of government.
Each year, students are given the opportunity to apply for a variety of program areas, including the House, Senate, Lobbyists, Courts, National Issues Forum and Media. Those in 8th grade are assigned to the Leadership Corps, where they learn about all program areas.
The Orono delegation, a program of Orono Community Education, met several times throughout the fall in preparation for the big event in January. Since September, students had been working on their legislative bills, lobbyist papers, National Issues Forum proposals, court cases and learning about the various parts of political media. It certainly paid off – the youth government lobbied, debated and enacted monumental legislation; argued complex court cases; participated in serious conversations and debates regarding national issues and managed a successful newspaper, TV station, radio station and digital media presence.
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Needless to say, it was a busy four days for everyone involved. In the end, students took away a new perspective on government as well as the experience of meeting and bonding with fellow delegates from different parts of the state.
