75th Cornhusker Girls State was one for the books

The citizens of 2016 Cornhusker Girls State are almost there. One more day stands between them, their graduation and the end of their week together. Friday was a day of celebrations. Citizens celebrated new friendships, new knowledge, and new opportunities. The day began with the introduction of Girls Nation finalists, who were voted upon by the state and left to undergo a strict interview process with the CGS Advisory Board and Directors.

In the meantime, they were privileged to have Senior Counselor from floor three Kathy Mazur speak about her mother in honor of the 75th anniversary of Cornhusker Girls State. Mazur's mother was a delegate to the very first CGS in 1939. This is the 75th year because due to World War II, Girls State wasn't feasible and didn't happen in 1944 and 1945. Even in year one, delegates were sorted into the Federalist and Nationalist parties just as they are now, although they wore scarves instead of lanyards to denote them. The week was held at Camp Kiwanis and included activities like canoeing.

The other speaker in the morning session was Sarah Pogue. She was a past CGS delegate and junior counselor who couldn't seem to stay away for another year. Pogue discussed with the citizens her experiences at Girls State along with her current internship.  She is an intern to the first lady of Nebraska and is in charge of planning for the Nebraska 150 celebration. Following the morning speakers, citizens were able to watch a mock trial performed by the District Courts before they broke for lunch.

For the afternoon session, citizens returned for the final session in the Nebraska Union, but this time they arrived in casual dress thanks to the generosity of the staff! The afternoon was packed full of presentations and prizes. Delegates heard from Education Director Virginia Nelson about the American Legion Auxiliary Oratorical Contest, witnessed the folding of the American flag by military personnel and listened to officer reports. All state elective officers and public service commissioners spoke about their experiences touring the real offices yesterday, and each mayor gave a State of the City Address. A slew of awards were presented as well, including the city profile achievement award, which went to the city of Hayes. Citizens who did excellently in the government or current events quiz were also honored.

The final prize of the session was what everyone was waiting on: the announcement of the Girls Nation delegates and alternates. Drumroll please... The final four citizens were Caitlin Mann, Ronni Miller, Emma Redinger and Natalie Schieuer, in no particular order. The two who were chosen to represent the state of Nebraska and the two who are alternates will be announced at graduation tomorrow. Once the presentations and prizes concluded, it was time for some special entertainment: a skit written by the senior counselors. They joked about struggles of the week such as navigating the cafeteria, putting phones away and attempting to teach the older counselors snapchat. The skit brought everyone to their feet with a dance party that left all citizens and staff laughing and showcasing their best moves.

The final session of Cornhusker Girls and Boys State occurred Friday night with motivational speaker Scott Backovich. This was his first year at Boys State since he attended in California as a teenager. Backovich approached the evening with a balance of humor and solemnity while he discussed how, as the top leaders in Nebraska, their experiences this week didn't matter unless they went home, became catalysts and gave what they had to help others. The session closed with a serenade by the Boys State counselors followed by videos from both programs documenting the week. The Boys State video ended with an interesting bit of news... or so they thought. It revealed that in honor of their hard work they would reinstate the Boys and Girls State dance, although it turned out to be a prank. The citizens were rewarded, however, with a mingle session between programs in front of Memorial Stadium!

Today contained endless smiles from delegates and staff alike. Throughout the day they were able to reflect on the new information, experiences and friends they gained this week. Though tomorrow will bring tired eyes and sentimental see-you-later's, the citizens have confirmed that this was an unforgettable week. In honor of the soon-to-be graduates of Cornhusker Girls State 2016, thank you to the American Legion Auxiliary for sponsoring this enriching program!

There is no dance!

The citizens of Cornhusker Girls State did it. They finally made it to Friday. Through a gas-leak evacuation to doing pull-ups at the Nebraska National Guard, these delegates have seen it all and are more than prepared to graduate tomorrow morning. When they arrived on Sunday afternoon, the delegates had little to no idea what an impact this week would have on them. Tomorrow they will walk across the stage and grab the diploma beaming with the pride and confidence Girls State gave them.

Friday morning kicked off with session at the Nebraska Union where the 11 Girls Nation Candidates were announced and sent off to be interviewed. The remaining girls stayed to run through the Girls State songs and watch the mock trial performed by the District Court with the help of Attorney Jennifer Tomka from Boucher Law Firm.

After lunch the citizens headed back to the union for a fun-filled afternoon session. Kelsey Thomas, Abby Nguyen, Kamryn Sannicks and Allissa Flynn were announced as the top four candidates for Girls Nation. Tomorrow at graduation they will find out which two will be alternates and which two will be representing Nebraska in Washington D.C. at the end of July. Session continued with all state offices and city mayors reporting on their week and what offices they visited yesterday after touring the state capitol.

The excitement went up another notch when the senior counselors from each floor performed a skit for the Girls State citizens. The counselors highlighted moments from the week in a comedic manner and even made fun of particular citizen behaviors. The skit ended with a large dance party in the Union Ballroom, allowing the girls to let loose and celebrate their achievements.

Although the citizens are looking forward to graduation, they were a bit torn up by the fact that their last joint session with Cornhusker Boys State was this evening. The citizens came together to watch the energetic JoAnn Owen Nausler speak on the meaning of success and to share their slideshow presentations of photos and videos from the week. At the conclusion of the Boys State slideshow, it was announced that the citizens of Boys and Girls State would be celebrating the 75th Anniversary of CBS by having a dance in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Colosseum. The citizens cheered so loud it was a miracle the glass windows were not shattered at Kimball Hall. However, the video came back with a large, "just kidding." There was no dance. Instead the citizens of Boys and Girls State ended their evening with a mingling session outside of Kimball Hall.

Tomorrow morning the citizens will say goodbye to their counselors, roommates and friends. However, they will never say goodbye to the memories they made during the week. Congratulations Cornhusker Girls State Class of 2015!

Don't rain on our parade

The citizens of Cornhusker Girls State awoke to rain falling outside their windows, but there was nothing but sunshine provided by the citizens inside Mari Sandoz Hall.

The delegates spent their morning voting for Girls Nation senators joint session. Friday morning the Girls Nation finalists will be announced and the finalists will be interviewed. After the interview and some heavy consideration the two Girls Nation senators will be announced Saturday at graduation.

After voting the citizens took a soggy walk to Kimball Hall for the second to last joint session with Cornhusker Boys State. Citizens met early in the day for a debate between the chairs of the Nebraska Democratic and Republican parties. J.L. Spray and Vince Powers introduced themselves, said their opening statements and then let the Girls and Boys State citizens ask questions. The respective media groups formulated the questions for the debate; focusing on Nebraska issues like gay marriage, the TransCanada pipeline and the transportation of marijuana from Colorado.

If seeing the boys wasn't exciting enough, a few hours away was the governor inauguration. Citizens ate quickly and walked quickly in the spitting rain the mile to the Capitol. Once there, the citizens got the chance to explore the historic building and get a bird's eye view from the top observation deck.

With exploring done, the main event was on. The 2015 governor of Girls State, Kamryn Sannicks, the senators and the rest of the inaugural group were sworn in. Sannick's mother, sister and other close friends watched her raise her right hand and repeat after the Supreme Court Justice. After all was said and done the citizens dispersed to different offices within the Nebraska government system to learn about their elected or appointed positions.

Rain continued to dampen the ground, but not the excitement of the impending visit to the Nebraska National Guard base. White buses came to pick girls up and take them to the base. The soldiers on the buses encouraged the girls to cheer as loud as possible all the way to the base and back again. Citizens got up close and personal with the equipment the National Guard uses on a regular basis, including Comanche aircraft, BAMBI buckets and the base control center. The base also had a jungle gym set up, allowing the girls to release all their pent up energy.

One would think all the excitement from the day would wear a teenager out. After floor meetings many girls went to different lobbies or rooms to hang out and unwind after the whirlwind day. They had realized that today marked the over half way point and Girls State is coming to an end.

Visit the Girls State Gazette Online tomorrow for coverage of Girls Nation interviews and the last joint session with Cornhusker Boys State. 

Ricketts Speaks

Story by Sarah Van Horn

Gov. Pete Ricketts, 50, was the honored guest at the Kimmel Center for Boys/Girls State joint session on June 3. Ricketts was welcomed by thunderous rhythm of clapping by both States when he was escorted to the podium by recently appointed governors Kamryn Sannicks, 17, and Hunter Traynor, 17. Rickets started the session with a prepared speech, then ended with a short Q&A session.

This being Ricketts first year, ever, speaking at Nebraska Cornhusker State he began by saying how honored and humbled he was to be in the presence of students before him.

“You represent the best of Nebraska… Our future leaders,” Ricketts said. “Our state is great because of people like you.”

Ricketts explained the key challenge of being Nebraska’s Governor: Growth. In 2019 the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) will be implementing a hydrogen runned engine that has been burning coal for over for over 50 years. NPPD will switch one of two engines to use Hydrogen. Engines will then be electric powered and no longer spew carbon toxins into the air.  Nebraska will be one of 17 Hydrogen-based engines. This makes Nebraska, “water vapor pioneers,” open up the state to new engineer occupations and “offers a great opportunity” to expand engineering and the Nebraska workforce.

After discussing that he believes that agriculture and manufacturing can work hand-in-hand – aside from putting more stress on another – he said that he, “Runs [the government] like a business: always trying to be better and cheaper.” Ricketts used an analogy to explain his thoughts. Without dairy farms there’d be no milk; without milk there’d be no cheese manufacturing. The two work as system, a team, as opposed to rivals in a baseball diamond.

Also Ricketts never said he wanted to be a professional baseball player, he did say plenty of others paths he’s tried. Rickets graduated from college with a major in biology; discovered that’s not what he wanted to do with his life. So he tried getting a job in economics; but he still didn’t feel at home. He later went back to college and got an MBA in marketing and finance. To him, finding one’s life is about the process of elimination.

“The only bad decision is the one you didn’t take,” Ricketts said. “If one doesn’t work, keep trying. Don’t sweat it. Keep hold of your opportunities.”

Following the conclusion of his prepared speech, the floor was open for questions for the delegates.

Briefing of Ricketts Q&A

(Q) How do you plan on promoting diversity in Nebraska?

(A) By keeping people here in this great place. And by creating new opportunities for new people to come – like the new plant that will run on Hydrogen.

(Q) What is your stance on medical marijuana?

(A) As with all dangerous drugs, they need to be safe and effective, that is endure by the FDA. I feel the same process is needed for marijuana. However, the legislature isn’t made of scientists and doctors. We need to be sure that is safe before we make a decision.

(Q) What are your thoughts on gun control?

(A) I believe in the Second Amendment. Our Founding Fathers knew. People need the right to protect their rights.

(Q) How do you feel about the pay gap?

(A) They didn’t get their jobs because of their gender.

Boys State

Story by Dharma Blake-Cole

Just like the citizens at Cornhusker Girls State, the delegates at Cornhusker Boys State experienced some of the awkward encounters and starts of relationships on the first night. The boys have become great friends with town bonding exercises and great group chats.

Unlike the common belief that the boys at Boys State have a lot of free time, they are actually just as, if not more, busy than the citizens at Girls State. The boys have many activities to keep them busy including football, softball, sand volleyball,  track, basketball, newspaper, band and choir.

The boys had a choice to compete for as many offices as they wanted to and if they did not compete for offices they were required to join an activity during the time the candidates would be competing. The boys that did compete said that it was not difficult and very fun. Their campaigning was also just as crazy as ours. Justin Casas said “No one cares about how much you know until they know how much you care.”

During their campaigning the boys were allowed to use social media to help them. They could buy ads in their newsletter that goes out every day and is created by the media citizens.

Boys State has had many great speakers brought in for them. They have many sessions and are kept busy all the time. The boys have enjoyed the different speakers, the opportunities given to them and the teamwork involved in Boys State.

The boys have a virtual money system in place to use for campaigning and supporting their political action committees (PACs). They all start out with the same amount of money and can earn more by doing surveys on their website among other ways. The boys donate money to the PACs, which are a group of people that represent an idea, then the PACs can use that money to support one of the candidates.

The boys were not required to adhere to a specific dress code although it was highly suggested that they wear either jeans or slacks. The boys did not have to take a current event quiz or a government test, but the candidates running for office could be asked questions from the Nebraska Blue Book.

Boys State and Girls State are highly different in the rules and regulations the citizens must follow but are both a fun and exciting week of learning and growth.

‘[Girls] You ARE Beautiful’

Story by Sarah Van Horn

One way speakers or advocates convince whom they wish is by constantly repeating one’s stance – another way is by the advocates personally communicating with said persons. Earlier in the year, Bryce Sahs, 17, was told to apply for Cornhusker Boys State by an advisor at from his high school in York. Sahs was not impressed. He was unsure about the program and had few plans for applying. Yet, he is now the presiding as a member of the School Board at Boys State.

“A woman from the Legion (ALA) literally came and knocked on my front door,” Sahs said. “They really wanted me – they said I was the perfect delegate – she convinced me to apply.”

Sahs was directly told he was perfect. Much like a laser pointer it was precise and directed towards him. However sometimes, compliments of perfection come from a flashlight – attracting a much broader audience. 

Both Boys and Girls State were spoken to by Mike Smith, Professional teenager on Monday evening. During the evening he spoke of his highs and lows, his charity, being the best person you can be and ended with saying, “Lastly, Girls you ARE beautiful. Even you don’t think you: you are. I want you all to know that; it’s very important.”

“Him saying that threw me for a loop,” Sahs said. “I come from a small town; we don’t get too many motivational speakers. Especially ones that say ‘you’re beautiful.’”

Sahs has never been called beautiful; none of his friends have been called beautiful (to his knowledge). Yet, he feels it is important that girls know that they are beautiful. He said he was glad Smith added that final point.

“Men aren’t women,” Sahs said. “I don’t really care if no one calls me handsome. But I feel like girls do care. From what I’ve gathered, I think that girls always remember if someone calls them something they don’t want to be called. And I feel like they sometimes forget when they’re told that (they are beautiful); that’s why they should be told a lot.”

According to a study by Romin W. Tafarodi at the University of Texas at Austin men have more self-esteem than women at a ratio of 26:21. Although confidence varies between men and women, overall men typically are more confident than women. Reasons for this may come from pressures, from society, peers, men and many other forms.

“Society thinks that girls have to be skinny, attractive and dependent,” Sahs said. “But I don’t think so. You can’t build a person so they fit all of you needs. People are people, I feel like more people need to be told they’re OK, or beautiful, especially girls.”

Spread the word. Beauty is back in style.

The differences

By: Haley Pierce

Throughout the week, many girls have noticed differences between Boys and Girls State. Truly, both camps are a powerful experience and learning instrument in leadership and government. However, each accomplish their goals in their own manner. Here, specific differences between Boys and Girls State are revealed.

Town bonding

While girls are often considered more emotional than boys, it is the Boys State citizens who have experienced specific bonding exercises. The Boys State cities played various games and shared personal information for team building. As Joseph Hunter explained, the exercises were, “kind of weird.” Over in Sandoz Hall, specific exercises were not used, and team building was the responsibility of the citizens. Even though the girls did not engage in specific bonding activities, the floors have become close throughout the week, and each citizen will leave with a new friend.

Activities

Throughout the week, Boys and Girls State citizens have participated in many activities. Many of the boys’ choices included sports. Football, softball, sand volleyball, track and basketball were all available. Options for girls included service learning and places of interest. Both camps offered choir, band, and media. However, the media programs demonstrate their own differences. At Boys State, a newsletter is produced every day; whereas Girls State produces a final newspaper. The Boys State news crew was even so lucky as to receive a presentation by a journalist who uses drones.

Cell phones

The use of cell phones also differentiates between the camps. Neither group is allowed to use cell phones during session. However, boys are encouraged to use their cell phones for campaigning and other Boys State activities. At Boys State, a website is used to manage campaign funds. Through this website, delegates can support people and ideas by forming Political Action Committees (PACs). Campaign space is also available in the newsletter. In contrast, Girls State citizens are discouraged from using technology and are not allowed to campaign on social media. Most boys are satisfied with the cell phone policy, while many girls are not.

Education

Girls State and Boys State take different approaches to educating the delegates. For the boys, there is an emphasis on leadership, and less time is spent discussing government specifics. Boys State often brings in guest speakers, but Girls State prefers in-house experts. Additionally, Virginia Nelson puts together exams for the Girls State citizens. A current events quiz and a government test are part of the Girls State curriculum.

Even though Boys and Girls State have their differences, everyone can agree the week has been fun-filled and educational. It is an opportunity that everyone will cherish. One thing will always be true of Boys and Girls State, along with many real political elections. As Jestin Casas explained, “No one cares about how much you know until they know how much you care.”