Floor 6 Obama profile by Emily Stevenson

     In fitting accordance with its outer space theme, the sixth floor, City of Obama, was truly out of this world. Located in the County of Neel, citizens competed against each other for votes during a whirlwind of fast-paced whistle stop campaigns, and also enjoyed their time together as they organized nightly get-togethers, complete with streamers, music and, of course, lots of candy. During the week, citizens had the great opportunity to reside on the same floor and create lasting bonds with each other as they learned more about Nebraska Government. The city’s cheer clearly showed their pride for the floor as they chanted, “Don’t you wish you were floor six? Floor 6, the coolest chicks.” With its overall fun-loving spirit and creative energy, the City of Obama was brimming with citizens ready to dance their way past any challenge headed their way.

      During the fast paced week, citizens were guided along their way by their friendly counselors, who helped make floor six a comfortable space for everyone arriving on Sunday. Each floor received three counselors of different degrees. On floor six, senior counselor Elizabeth Paes was designated by the citizens as their Floor Mom, who participated in learning new dance moves to help pump up the floor before sessions. Along with Paes, Middle Counselor Kirsten Wagner answered all questions about ballots and campaigning. Her bubbly attitude and dedication to helping floor six fully understand how voting works did not go unnoticed by the members of Obama. Finally, Junior Counselor Gracie Williams experienced her first year as a counselor of Girls State. Williams attended Girls State as a citizen in 2017, and recounted her time there as one that would stay with her forever.

     “The biggest reward is knowing I’m here volunteering, and some girls will walk away with Girls State being the best week of their life,” said Williams, who brought energy and new cheers to the table.

     With the help of their counselors, delegates began to debate what office to file for. During city campaigning, citizens of Obama experienced their first whistle stop campaign. Different tactics sprung from creative ideas that soon bombarded Obama as flyers and sticky notes were stuck to doors and bulletin boards for delegates to view. Many candidates went door to door, greeting their fellow Girls State citizens with a catchy slogan and sometimes candy.

     “It was so cool to see the all the creativeness and a great time to meet new people on your floor,” Madison Gerken said of her time campaigning. Yet none of the whistle stop campaigning was complete without floor six’s signature dance party that took place in the lounge area. All who walked through during their campaign were welcome to join in on the singing and busting of moves that was guaranteed to be going on.

     Other elected citizens of Obama included School Board members Megan Ernest, Madeline Boothe, Helen Willard and Madison Woodring. The Senators were Trinity Bohaty, Macy Howe, Mackenna Peterson, Dannielle Schutz, Claire VanLaningham and Reilly Young. City Council members were Sophie Clark, Lydia Dose, Madison Gerken, Emily Lewin and Skyler Swanson. The new mayor of Obama was Aspyn Harrison.

     With the newly elected in place, the city of Obama set to work. During their town meeting, Mayor Harrison posed a problem debating renewing the sales tax on the city. Citizens debated their options as they voiced their opinions in an orderly and respectful fashion. Towards the end of the meeting, the votes were split for the last two options. In the end, Harrison had the final say as she went with the majority vote, who overruled the opposing side by a mere two votes.

     “It was tough to decide what was more important: money or giving back to the community,” said Harrison of her decision.

     On Monday, Girls State received the opportunity to visit and tour the capitol, an experience many who had visited before had taken for granted.

     “The floor is made of 25,000 tiles, which is pretty cool,” said Katie Kopetzky of Stromsburg, who traveled to the capital for the first time on Monday. These types of experiences were continuously discovered as citizens began to better grasp their understanding of politics. As the week progressed, citizens were exposed to speakers when they attended sessions and created platforms for their parties to further their knowledge of politics. This type of knowledge fueled a go-get it attitude, which inspired some citizens to run for county and state positions.

     “I thought I could do more than a city position, but a state position would have been a lot of commitment and responsibility, so a county position is the perfect middle,” said Maggie Kramer of Omaha, who ran for County Public Defender.

     Overall, floor six had a busy week, which was filled with competitive, enthusiastic and talented citizens who worked hard to campaign for themselves and support their fellow peers. This type of behavior is sure to continue as the citizens of the City of Obama leave Girls State and carry their enthusiasm and dance moves into the rest of their lives.