The ECR Sound 2010

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Miles Halpine 12

A mity H igh S chool

The first time I heard of JSA summer school was at the breakfast presentation at Fall State2008, my first state convention. To be honest, I only went for the cheap food and I never thought Id

actually be attending summer school myself. They had a presentation and a few people spoke, in-cluding Northeast State Program Director Elliott Nguyen and a few people that had gone already.

They explained all the classes (American Government, International Relations, Constitutional Law,

etc.) and places to go to (Capitol Building, Department of State, Embassies, Pentagon, etc.), and all

of them spoke about how much fun it was. Not until last year did I become interested in and actually

start looking into attending.

Since I am very interested in politics, I chose to attend Georgetown, which is located in the

heart of Washington, DC. This was a decision I will never regret, for the rest of my life. The first, and

only, obstacle in my way of attending was the cost. With help from JSA via member discounts and

scholarships, I was able to lower the cost to $3,250. At that point, I downloaded the JSA fundraising

packet, read every word of it, and got to work. In the end, my parents only had to pay $425. I sent

the last check six days before Georgetown Session II started.

From start to finish, those are three weeks I will never forget. Why, you may wonder? My an-

swer is so long that it couldnt even be measured. To save time, I have shortened it into the rest of

this article. I went on the long drive down in current Vice-Mayor Jacob Meisels car, with his mom

driving. His younger sister and another Staples JSAer, Mark Schwabacher, accompanied us on the

trip. After arriving, we unpacked, settled in, and went to an orientation meeting. At this meeting, we

met Elizabeth Ventura, the program director of the Texas and Mid-Atlantic States, and Elliott. They

are also in charge of running the Georgetown summer school program every year.

There are numerous highlights about the program which I could elaborate on for hours and

hours, but some of the best were going to the Capitol and the Saudi Arabian and Israeli embassies. I

enjoyed watching my roommate, Sam Dorn, dress up in traditional male Saudi Arabian clothes and

then see him proudly present a water bottle to our speaker at the Israeli Embassy. I also had a great

time traveling around DC on Sundays. I went on the Metro and to the Spy Museum on my first day off.The next Sunday, I got a drastic haircut and a nice meal at a local favorite called Wisemillers, also

known as Wiseys to the Georgetown attendees.

Again, my stories of Georgetown, Session II 2010 are endless and could take up thousands of

pages. However, I am an environmentalist and want to conserve paper. Overall, I had such a phe-

nomenal time that I, along with every other new friend I met at Congressional Workshop, International

Relations or any other fun course I took, was so sad to see it end. It was such an amazing time that I

will never forget. I strongly urge you to sign up! It will change your life.

Georgetown Session II 2010: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience.

Georgetown University

ECR Fall Regional 2010


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While JSA elections are still in the distant future, national, state, and local campaigns are kicking into fullgear. If one looks at the political climate, it seems as though Democrats are caught in a cold tundra, while Re-publicans are parading in the sun, moving forward with heated passion. Republicans, energized by the TeaParty, have brought forth a conservative movement, backing mostly non-incumbents in what they call areferendum on Washington.

In the NY/CT area, this referendum has inspired people to turn their feelings into passions and cam-paign for candidates. On the Democratic side, candidates in Connecticut are being outspent by Republicans byas much as 16 to 1. President Bill Clinton gave his response to the Tea Party movement while speaking to acrowd of over 2,000 democratic supporters in New Haven.

It is obvious, Clinton stated, that what the members of the other party want to do is to just make this areferendum on peoples anger, our disappointment, our apathy, with a good dose of amnesia thrown in. And ifthis is a referendum weve got a lot of trouble here...[but,] this is not a referendum. This is a choice.

In 2008, when Democrats ran on a campaign of change, theywere the referendum. Clinton suggeststhat they still are. The only thing they lack is momentum. In every election, since the days of the originalteaparty, movements have required people with a passion for something to speak out and spread that passion.That still holds true today.

Over the summer, I had the chance to intern for former-Stamford Mayor and Gubernatorial candidate DanMalloy. His opponent in the primary, businessman Ned Lamont, spent over $11 million dollars on his campaign,compared to Malloys $2.5 million.

Lamont controlled the airwaves and was favored to win by a landslide. Yet, on Election Day, Malloywonby nearly twenty percent. What led to this upset victory? People did. People firmly believed that Malloy could dofor the state all of the great things he did for Stamford. They spread this belief by making calls, knocking ondoors, and attending rallies.

This is not to say that volunteering is always 100% fun. If you make 100 calls, maybe 15 people will pickup. Of those fifteen, ten will hang up after hearing the first line of your pitch. The key is those last five. If you canchat for a few minutes about their concerns and your candidates ideas to fix those concerns, then those fivepeople become five votes - five more votes than you had before.

Miles Halpine, an active JSAer from Bethany, CT, has made over three hundred calls for candidates inConnecticut. When asked about whether those calls had an impact, he replied:

I think I did have an impact, because...everything counts. Anything, meaning one hour of phone calls oreven simply putting up a yard sign, will help the effort to get any candidate elected.

Elections are won by reaching out to one person at a time. Every candidate in an election always has apassionate following. People on both sides believe that their candidates have to win. The successful ones arethose whose followers can spread their passion - their confidence - across the state, and get people to the polls.

An epitome of this election year is the Senate race in Connecticut, where Attorney General Richard Blu-

menthal is running against World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon.Halpine, a Blumenthal volunteer said: What I like about Blumenthal is that he has worked for Connecticut

over the past two decades, ...fighting for the people who elected him to office.

A volunteer for Republican Linda McMahon agreed that campaigning is a valuable experience andmakes a difference.

Working for Linda McMahon has been a great experience, said Sam Greco, a Hopkins student andMcMahon intern, It's very exciting to be involved in Connecticut politics this year because its so rare in this statethat there is a real competition for the Senate that either candidate could win. If theres a year to be in-volved...this is it.

Why Should I Campaign?

Michael H oltz 13

The H opk ins School



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One of the most exciting aspects in kicking off a JSA year is witnessing the establish-ment of new JSA chapters throughout the Northeast. Starting up new chapters is essential tothe growth and development of the Junior State, as it brings new minds and ideas into the con-ventions and minicons. However, starting up a stable, successful chapter is most certainly notan easy task. As an Expansion Agent and president of a small chapter just beginning its secondyear, I have come across numerous challenges that one may face during this process, and ifthese obstacles are handled properly, a chapter will reap the benefits.

Perhaps the most difficult task to accomplish in constructing a JSA chapter is finding areliable teacher adviser. Having a teacher adviser to provide suggestions and supervision inmeetings and at conventions is absolutely essential to the prosperity of a chapter. Without one,a chapter simply cannot exist. Last year, my chapter went through three different teacher advi-

sors, due to the fact that our former TAs were unwilling to attend conventions. The best way toassess this problem is to contact your administration and get your schools front office to vouchfor the establishment of a chapter. This method proved to be very successful at my school lastyear, as my principal was all for the club after I spoke to her about what JSA is. She placed ourchapter within the hands of two different teacher advisers in just two days.

Another pressing issue that many prospective Chapter Presidents face is money. Manychapters, including my own, face the sad fact that many JSA events are expensive and somepeople simply cannot afford to go. Getting a chapter as a whole to fundraise in any way, shape,or form can result in more kids from your chapter being able to get involved and attend conven-tions. Selling baked goods at lunch or raffling off a gift card at a football game is a great way toraise money for your chapter, as well as spread the word about JSA to your classmates. Fund-raising also works very well outside of school in the community. Asking for donations at localsupermarkets or getting a restaurant to sponsor your chapter and donate a portion of their prof-its for a certain time can potentially raise hundreds of dollars for your chapter. Currently, mychapter is planning to host both a bake sale at school, as well as trying to get a local restaurantto sponsor us for a period of time.

Other debate organizations often hinder ones ability to start up JSA at their school;however, they can be building blocks for success. First off, it is imperative that you meet withthe teacher advisers of the other debate-oriented clubs to discuss differences between theclubs and how your chapter can work together with them. Also, advertise to members of clubslike Model UN and local debate teams how unique JSA is. Although I am Chapter President ofmy schools JSA chapter, I have attended numerous Model UN and CDA Debate Team meet-ings and advertised JSA to their members. While some fear that other clubs will prevent themfrom starting up a chapter, they can in fact lead to progress in constructing a legitimate JSAChapter.

All in all, I encourage any of you trying to start up a JSA Chapter to be resilient. Forminga chapter is a process that is bound to have problems that one will need to resolve. However,do not fear adversity when forming up a chapter, as overcoming such obstacles will make youand your chapter much stronger as a whole. And if one does succeed in forming a sustainablechapter, the results are incredibly rewarding.

Overcoming the Obstacles in Constructing a Successful Chapter

Neil Govoni 12

Brien McM ahon H igh S chool



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Northeast State Activism Cause

Stephanie Ostroff 11

Staples H igh School

Hello Northeast State! For those of you who dont know me, my name is Stephanie Ostroff, andIm a senior from the Staples High School chapter. For two years, I have served as the NES Director of Ac-tivism, spearheading our efforts for Nothing But Nets and now College Summit. Last year, the NES raisedover $5,000 to support the Nothing But Nets anti-malarial campaign, and I couldnt have been more thrilledabout the results.

But this year, I know the NES can reach even greater heights by supporting College Summit, a na-tional non-profit organization that helps bright, low-income students attend college by partnering withschools and universities in an effort to raise college enrollment rates. Politicians, such as President BarackObama and Connecticut Representative Jim Himes, are advocates of this organization and its goals.Throughout the year, we will be fundraising at conventions to raise funds for College Summit by having a $1

campaign, selling JSA souvenirs, and raffling off dates with elected officials.But we will also be doing much more. We plan to create a partnership with several of the participat-

ing schools in the New York and Connecticut area by establishing JSA chapters at these high schools. Stu-dents would then have the same opportunities that we do as JSAers to participate in debates, discuss cur-rent events, hear politicians and lobbyists at conventions, and make lasting friendships.

It will be an exciting year, and I look forward to working with all of you to achieve our goals to sup-port College Summit.

(cont. from page 1) Both of them trail by wide margins in their respective races. The Democraticnominees, Blumenthal and Cuomo, have responded to their opponents' controversy-filled back-grounds by seeking to define them early with negative advertising on broadcast and cable televi-sion. McMahon and Paladino, though, have had some serious gaffes in the final stretch of thecampaign, as McMahon spoke out against the minimum wage, while Paladino made offensiveremarks against homosexuals at a recent campaign event.

Two other important races in New York and Connecticut have drawn considerably lesscontroversy and media attention. Incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, leads RepublicanJoe DioGuardi by a wide margin in the New York senatorial race. Gillibrand was appointed toreplace Hillary Clinton by David Paterson after Clinton was named Secretary of State by Presi-dent Obama. In Connecticut, Democrat Dan Malloy seems poised to win his states gubernatorialelection. The former Stamford mayor is running against Republican Tom Foley, an ambassador

to Ireland under the Bush Administration.

With only days to go until Election Day, voters in these two states will soon pick theirnext leaders, and will become part of the national election narrative on cable television and innewspapers across the nation the next day. Connecticut and New York, which have historicallybeen politically sleepy states, have been anything but this election season.


Elections 2010


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Can I get a Subsequent?

Simone Wien 12

N ew Rochelle H igh School

Welcome back to another exciting year of JSA! As a political organization, we want everyones voice to beheard, which can be very challenging at the times. Our goal as the Debate Department is to improve debate quality andgive every JSA member accessible recourses to help them become a great debater, which can be can be done throughchapters, conventions, and even online.

This Fall State, the Debate Department will be conducting helpful and entertaining workshops during the Organ-izational Block. There will be several Beginner Debater workshops, Advanced Debater workshops (for those of you whoare always looking for ways to improve your speaking skills), and Moderator workshops for those who have signed up toModerate any debate at Fall State.

Although we have not created any additional debate formats for this year yet,we do have something for those who are new to JSA or are still uncomfortable debat-

ing. In each block there are one (or two) debates that are specifically for novice speak-ers. Here each step is thoroughly explained as the debate progresses, and all who at-tend are encouraged to do subsequent speeches and ask questions.

But debating doesnt have to end here! We want chapters to work on theirdebating skills as well. The Debate department will be sending a crash course debatepacket to all chapters in the NES. This will serve as recourse for individual JSA mem-bers and chapters alike. The packet will include parliamentary procedures, such a howto conduct Thought Talks, Speed Chess debates, and other debate styles. More impor-tantly, there is a section on how to become both a master debater and moderator, along with how to use DebateNetChapter Presidents can hand out these packets to members or read through them during meetings. Ask your CIA Repre-sentative for one!

You can also check out the Northeast JSA Website, were you can contribute ideas for new debate formats, top-ics, and tips that you would like to share. You can do all of the aforementioned by clicking the Students tab on the web-site.

Wed love to hear form you! If you have any questions, new debate formats, or any suggestions on how we canimprove debating in the Northeast, please feel free to contact me or Assistant Directors of Debate Eric Essagof, DivyaShah, or Sam Dorn.

The NERA Region to Look Out For

Jesse Hanson 12

A shland H igh School

You may know of it. You may have forgotten about it. Maybe you knew of it and then forgot aboutit. It is the New England Region of the Northeast state and we're back.

Despite the fact that Boston is the oldest major city in the U.S., the New England Region is fairlyyoung. With approximately 20 chapters only found within Massachusetts, there's a reason why the NER'simpression is not so impressive sometimes.

But were changing: Last year's Fall Regional was a staggering 150 kids an incredible increase

from the previous year. The Spring Regional was also a huge success, although there was not nearly as

much attendance. Still, with a Harvard professor (John Della Volpe) as a keynote speaker, (continued on page 7)



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Upcoming ECR and NES Events

NOVEMBER 6 Rye High School Megacon Rye, NY

NOVEMBER 20-21 Fall State Boston, MA

JANUARY 16 Newtown High School Minicon Newtown, CT

JANUARY 30 Brien McMahon High School Minicon Norwalk, CT

FEBRUARY 11-13 Winter Congress Washington, DC

FEBRUARY 27 Amity High School Minicon Woodbridge, CT

MARCH 6 ECR Spring Regional To Be Determined

MARCH 13 Staten Island Megacon Staten Island, NY

MARCH 20 Clarkstown South High School Minicon West Nyack, NY

APRIL 2-3 Spring State Stamford, CT

(cont. from page 6) the regional's quality was extremely high. This year, we plan on continu-

ing that quality except with quantity to prove we plan on continuing that quality and add

quantity to prove that we are strong in numbers. Not only are we working hard to maintain

strong chapters, but we are also collaborating with the NES cabinet, CIA, and the Director of

Expansion and Expansion Agents to increase numbers within those chapters and build newchapters. A couple things we really look forward to this year are our new chapters all the

way from Spr ingfie ld , MA to Ipswich, MA and f rom Londonderry, NH to our newest develop-

ing chapter in Rhode Is land we welcome them al l with wide open arms as well as the chal-

lenge of keeping our region alive.

Additionally, the NER cabinet this year is comprised of some of the brightest and

most enthusiastic JSAers in the Northeast State. Each one is from a different school

throughout MA, each of broad and varying backgrounds. Not to mention, out of the seven

cabinet members and elected officials, four have been selected to go to the Montezuma

Leadership Summit within their high school careers. In fact, of the six Northeast State repre-

sentatives at Zuma this year, half were from the NER. The NER is on a roll and is expecting

great things this year.

Of course, we must always realize that our counterpart region is indeed much larger

than us and arguably more active, as well. But instead of creating a race to the death, we're

trying to collaborate as much as possible. With this, it is assured that we are aiming for a

kind of stability that will ultimately benefit the NES. After all, we are one state, no?

With that said, you may have forgotten about the NER... but we're back.


The NERA Region to Look Out For


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Car r y Out t he Park 51 Developm ent P lan


One of my political heroes, the late Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, once famously said

that The Constitution does not just protect those whose views we share; it also protects those with whoseviews we disagree. In all the recent hoopla about the mosque at Ground Zero (actually a community cen-

ter and not truly at Ground Zero), the same logic should apply. Consequently,let me be forthright in saying that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is well within hislegal Constitutional rights to build the mosque.

What I find disconcerting is in the wisdomof building the communitycenter. From the constant media reports and the involvement of political fig-ures from the President on down to Mayor Bloomberg, it is easy to see thatthis issue is fiercely contentious, particularly because it is so inherently tied tosuch an emotional time as 9/11. Not only does 9/11 bring back strong emo-tions for us as Americans, for those who lost loved ones on that day, thewounds still have yet to heal.

Unfortunately, what also needs to be accepted is that there are thosepeople who, as a result of 9/11 and the actions of 19 Islamic extremists,equate the peaceful religion of Islam with terrorism. I condemn this correlation

with all my being. However, this whole situation with the mosque is like adding oxygen to that fire of intoler-ance. It promulgates the bigotry and serves no noticeable purpose.

I believe that Islam should be restored to its rightful reputationas a beautiful religion dedicated to peace. But the means of achievingthat is not by flaunting Islam in the face of the world and by playingwith such hair-trigger emotions as those incurred by 9/11. Conse-quently, I strongly believe that carrying out the Park51 developmentplan would be yet another obstacle on the road to world tolerance andthe eradication of prejudice. As Olympic runner Carl Lewis once said,The trials on the road to world harmony are no greater than the

courage of those who accept the challenge.Take the first steps on that long road to world harmony. Say

no to the Park51 development plan. And together, we, as a commu-nity and as a nation, can join together to show the world the indomita-ble nature of the American spirit and the tolerance we have for all of our citizens. God Bless America.

Sam Dorn 11

R ye H igh School

CONCROSSFIRE


10/10

Christine ODonnell may not be a witch, but she and the rest of the Tea Party have cast aspell on America. As the midterm elections approach, Republicans fear the results of what shouldhave been easy victories, and Democrats can capitalize on the opportunity to remain in power, pro-longing the tenure of a Congress with record-low approval rating. And the worst part is, any moder-ate, reasonable voices are being drowned out by lunatic partisans and their extreme rhetoric.

How did America come to this? As with many political issues, the media deserves some of theblame. In the past, people had been perfectly satisfied to let politicians stay in office long enough toactually get anything accomplished. Now, in a 24/7 news cycle, the media over-emphasizes immedi-ate results. Anything else is a disappointment.

As a result, the Tea Party was born. The rift in the Republican Party that formed after Obamawas elected led to conservative leaders deciding to take the term maverick to its most radical lev-els. Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and FOX News grabbed the entire spotlight, marginalizing any ac-tual Republican leadership. With vicious anti-establishment campaigning, the Tea Party managed toturn Republicanism upside down.

Thats how we ended up with races like the one in Delaware, where longtime CongressmanMike Castle lost in the primary to ODonnell, the much-ridiculed Tea Party favorite with no politicalexperience. What was once considered an easy win for a good candidate is now a battle between aDemocrat, Chris Coons, and a crazy person, ODonnell. If America chooses to vote out the Democ-rats, they shouldnt replace them with amateurs. Alas, the ballots will be dominated by Tea Party out-siders and Democrats who are trying to appease their partisan base, much like the Republicans didtwo years ago. There are few, if any, moderate options on either side.

As much as we hate to admit it, we need Washington insiders. People like Lisa Murkowski(Alaska) and Charlie Crist (Florida) know how to handle Washington, and they would be able to helptheir respective states and the country if they werent so overpowered by partisanship. Imagine theTea Party favorites who defeated them in the Republican primaries suddenly knowing how to helpAmerica from their first day on the job. It wont happen. And what happens when they fail? W ill there

be new Tea Parties every election year, throwing out as many Congressmen as possible? What willAmerica be like then?

This is where we come in. One of the main purposes of JSA is to fight apathy. We want tomake sure that all of Americas youth understand how to solve Americas problems. We are (orshould be) the smartest and most mature kids our age, and we need to make sure that America wontneed a Tea Party ever again. To do that, we need to realize that the reason there is a Tea Party isthat Congress gets nothing done, and Congress gets nothing done because of partisanship. AsJSAers, it is our duty to evaluate issues and make decisions based on what we actually think is right,not based on which party we like more. We need people who can see the positives and negatives ofboth parties, and understand how America should be. Mohandas Gandhi once said to be the changeyou wish to see in the world. I urge all of you to be the change and lead the charge for a better Amer-ica.

Jordan Shenhar

Staples High School

Editor-in-Chief

FROM THE EDITOR

A Divided America

The ECR Sound 2010

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