FRIDAY EXTENDED EDITION 25 FEB 2011

Joint session introduces new changes to program areas

Today’s Joint Session

was based on major

changes occurring in the

Lobbying, Press Corps,

and Judicial program

areas this year. Trying to

e n c o u r a g e m o r e

o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r

leadership in Youth In

Government, fifteen new

Suppor t i ng Of f i cer

positions have been

opened this year.

For the Lobbyist

Program, the positions

for Head Lobbyists have

opened up to better

integrate the lobbyists

with the rest of YIG and

to create a new sense of

competition and intensity

in the Lobbyist Program.

Unlike previously, where

Lobbyist firms would just

apply to be in the

program, Head Lobbyists

will be given the

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f

recruiting people around

the state to create their

firm, so that the Lobbyist

Program as a whole can

be more representative

of the Legislative bills.

According to Lobbyist

Program Coordinator

Clark Devore, Head

Lobbyists are people who

“present themselves as

strong leaders and are

de t e rm i ned , qu i ck

witted, strong willed, and

able to control situations

and delegates.”

A new Press Corps

Editorial Board is going

to be established for

recruitment of new

members as well as to

support the editor-in-

chief with monthly Page

Note editions.

D u r i n g c l o s i n g

ceremonies, a number of

students will be selected

to apply for membership

for the E-board. The E-

board will also assist the

Ed i t o r - In -Ch i e f i n

updating the YIG pages

on Facebook and Twitter.

The Judicial Program is

instituting the new

positions of Associate

Justices to encourage

leadership in the

Supreme Court. A group

of delegates will be

invited to apply during

closing ceremonies.

Associate Justices will

have the responsibility of

researching and even

helping to design the

District Court and

Supreme Court civil and

criminal cases.

BY MUMTU LALLA

Staff

The Sullivan House joined the Williams Senate for a joint session to

begin State Assembly. Photo courtesy of Eric Pait.

Former “Best Law Firm” returns to Supreme Court to defend title

Supreme Court

Firm K of the Suncoast

delegation returns to

State Assembly to

defend its title as “Best

Law Firm.” An ambitious

goal, some might say,

but this group is rich in

experience and was

feeling confident after

t h i s m o r n i n g ’ s

preliminary round.

Firm K, which

consists of delegates

from Palm Harbor

University High School, is

currently in its second

year of participation in

the Supreme Court and

has replaced one firm

member from last year

with first-year delegate

Jonathan Im, also of

Palm Harbor University

High School. Christian

Carvajal, Juno Lee, and

Nick Gobes, return as

s en i o r , t h i r d - yea r

delegates to defend

Burde and the state of

Florida in their firm’s

cases.

Carvajal, a third-

year delegate, expressed

h i s modes ty and

excitement.

“We were honored

to have received the

award last year and are

excited to be here at

State Assembly again,”

says Carvajal.

“Of course we’re

hoping for the best, but

we’ll see how our next

trials go.”

Juno Lee, a third-

year delegate, firmly

asserted that this is not

the same firm State

Assembly saw last year.

“We would like to

(Continued on page 2)

BY NOELLE FENNESSY

Staff

consider ourselves a

separate entity,” says

Lee. Regardless of Lee’s

sentiments, however,

this firm is still viewed as

last year’s Best Law Firm

and will be judged as

such.

Watch for Firm K in

Sa tu rday ’ s F i na l s ,

depending on the

outcome of Friday’s

preliminary round. This

group of gentlemen was

humble about past

successes, but we’re

sure they would love to

stay on top throughout

th i s year ’ s S tate

Assembly.

(Continued from page 1)

2 Friday Extended Edition 25 February 2011

It’s no secret that the

internet is well on its

way to taking over the

world of journalism, and

that is why even our

state Youth In Govern-

ment program has been

updating its own online

blog, The Page Note,

since 2004.

The Page Note is a se-

ries of monthly publica-

tions that can be found

on line. This effort is a

collaboration between

the Press Corps and

other fellow YIG Dele-

gates that are interested

in informing. Actually,

this is the first year that

the blog has kept up

monthly updates regard-

ing important news be-

fore State Assembly. The

main ideas of the blog

are to keep delegates in

the loop, help with

preparation, or even for

just entertainment.

Editor-in-chief and

fourth year delegate,

Emma Joslyn, is the per-

son who is in charge of

the publication. She re-

ceives submissions from

YIG writers and other

willing delegates via e-

mail.

“The publication is in a

PDF, so readers can ei-

ther look at it online or

print it from their com-

puters,” Joslyn said.

“I like how it was

easy to access and navi-

gate,” First year Dele-

gate Rachel Winston

from the Suncoast dele-

gation said. “I’m new to

the program this year

and The Page Note al-

lowed me to get a brief

idea of what I might be

experiencing.”

Don’t hesitate to take

a look at The Page Note

during your spare time.

It is available to all at

www.thepagenote.blogsp

ot.com. Simply click on

the link of the month’s

publication that you

would like to see on the

right hand margin of the

screen.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it…Online

BY REBEKAH LIPPENS

Volusia-Flagler Delegation

Palm Harbor University High School is back! Emma Joslyn Editor-in-Chief

Alexia M’Bark Asst. Editor

Gabriella Cesarano

Noelle Fennessy • Hallie Hahn

Mumtu Lalla • Victor Lam

Sydney Mitchell • Michaela Myers

Haley Oberhofer Lisa Oster

Michael Pappas

Catherine Smith • Kaley Witeck

Erika Amaya Program Coord.

At 10:30 this Friday

morning, senators in the

Bowen chambers were

given the chance to try

their hand at some of the

other jobs and positions

available through the

other branches of YIG.

The senators, all first

year delegates, were in-

vited to apply via page

note to become Presiding

Officer, Clerk, Time-

keeper, a lobbyist, a

member of the Press

Corps, or even a Page for

a two-bill set.

Chief Financial Officer

Alex Rix was on hand to

round out the various

departments (executive),

with a message on mis-

takes and making the

most of the YIG experi-

ence. Senator Braxtron

Mann’s bill, #1042, was

the first to be presided

over by a delegate- in

this case, Sen. Emily

Kincaid.

The senators, chosen

for their positions by the

Derek Summervi l le,

Graduate Advisor, and

assigned to a pair of bills

on the docket, were

given some of the duties

of their position— i.e.

writing a small article as

a member of the Press

Corps.

As Sen. Ariana

Agrios, who served as a

page for the first set, put

it, “It’s good to try out

and experience different

positions so we can see

what direction to go in

next year.”

This is the first year

that delegates in the Bo-

wen chambers have been

able to test drive differ-

ent positions.

Was it a success? We

must defer to practice-

page, and Sen. Madison

Savage: “This is so fun!”

Bowen Senators experience legislature and then some

BY KALEY WITECK

Staff

Bowen Senate delegates participate in multiple roles for the first

time in Florida YIG history. Photo courtesy of Eric Pait.

staff