B ulletin
Cornhusker Boys’ State
Volume 18, Issue 3
Lincoln, Nebraska
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Fierce Competition
By Connor Cross, Manila Bay
Yesterday was the first day of one of the most vigorous and competitive steps of the political process: campaigning. This consisted of all state and county candidates running to all the floors
to share their views and to support their candidacy. Many ordinances required candidates to complete challenges such as running, push-ups, dancing, and telling jokes. Although these challenges
proved significant, the most challenging part of campaigning turned out to be waiting in lines. The
campaigns ranged from serious discussion to delightful banter, but all were productive. Tuesday was
the kickoff of the campaigns with the primaries featuring fierce competition and interesting results.
In this Issue
Page 2: Primaries
Page 3: Tales From
Cornhusker Boys’ State
Page 4 and 5: Town Reports. Find out
what’s going on in the other towns.
Look for Boys’ State on:
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Cornhusker Boys’ State Page
The Primaries
Primary Meeting
By Bryce Sahs, Yorktown
Today at the Pre-Primary Election Meeting, there were
a wonderful display of talented
individuals from both Federalists and Nationalists. Many towns
were greatly excited in being able
to participate in both running for
positions and asking questions. A
famous quote from Wilhelm Von
Humboldt expresses, “True enjoyment comes from activity of the
mind and exercise of the body: the
two are ever united.” True excitement from the mind was truly expressed today in both the speeches and questions.
The agenda for the meetings started with a throughout discussion of the main platform. Then
the representation of delegate’s
speeches, and then a final bout of
questioning for both the running
delegates and audience. However,
a lot of talent and knowledge did
come from the questions asked by
the audience to the delegates, as
it was surprising that some questions stumped and even challenged some delegate’s decisions.
The meetings were an interesting
process that made a significant impact on the Primary election that
day, and even possibly the future
Governor and Attorney General
Election will be impacted through
this same meeting.
unfolded. As soon as the colors
ceremony concluded, Nationalists
and Federalists were sent to go set
their platforms and listen to their
peer’s campaign for primary elections. The nationalists spent a lot of
time discussing their possible platforms. They supported an increase
in infrastructure, legalization of
cannabis in all aspects as well as
other issues. There were several
good candidates on both sides
for all positions; overall, there was
an astounding number of people
who ran for every position. After
lunch, it was all about campaigning. On almost every floor there
was a line of candidates waiting
to present to the town. Within no
time there was a plethora of flyers
on every floor. 3:15 is when citizens
of Washington and Lincoln County
decided who they want to represent them. One thing people need
to remember is that even if you
don’t get an office, you’re still an
important part of Boy’s State and
can still accomplish great things.
Campaign Rules
By Shawn Sucha, Yorktown
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simply walk in. Joseph Hunter, a
candidate for Lieutenant Governor described his campaigning
experience as such, “I found it to
be a lot of hurry and wait.” Based
upon this quote, it seems like a
good idea for next year to limit the
time of campaigning to around
two to three minutes per person.
Primary Results
Lieutenant Governor
N: Dylan France
F: John Stuart
Secretary of State
N: Adam Mullin
F: Edward Li
State Treasurer
N: Connor Cross
F: Austin Hillman
State Auditor
N: Joe Taylor
F: Andrew Bauer
Attorney General
N: Gage Hamilton Bellamy
F: Andrew Stone
Public Service Commissioner
N: Matthew Ferguson
N: Justin Moore
N: Chris Petersen
N: Stuart B. Bohr
N: Paul A. Swope
F: Dalton Anderson
F: Tanner Johnson
F: Zach Martin
F: Wyatt McLeod
F: Matthew Schwab
The campaigning for all
offices in the counties and state
except Governor started Tuesday.
Every town set their own
requirements as to what you
had to do in order to campaign
on their floor which made campaigning interesting, to say the
least. Here are some examples of
what some of the candidates had
By Jestin Casas, Gettysburg
Boys’ State delegates put to do: Some had to tell a joke, do
their presentation, argumentation, push-ups, or dance to a random For a full list of state and county
candidates, please check the
and listening skills to work Tues- song while others only had to do
day as elections and campaigning a Batman impersonation or just bulletin board in the Harper Lobby!
Primary Elections
The Voting Question
By Henry Jaros, Manila Bay
Yesterday we faced a new
paradigm here at Boys’ State: the reality of party politics. The two party
system allows us to get organized
and to present the best of the best for
each political position. It also fosters
a sense of competition and inspires
loyalty for something a bit larger than
our town. As we face the election of
our Lt. Governor, Secretary of State,
Treasurer, and a variety of other positions, we were again faced with a
new challenge: Do we stay loyal to
guys of our floor or do we vote for
the guys in our party? This question
has to be answered on an individual basis, but I urge you to consider
the issue before it slaps you in the
face on Thursday as we elect the officials for this year’s Cornhusker Boys’
State. I’ll leave with this quotation
from Confucius: “Success depends
upon previous preparation...”. If we
want this election to be successful,
please come into them prepared.
Mr. Smith
ByJoseph Hunter, Yorktown
“What do you want to be remembered for?” asked Mike Smith.
Mike Smith was Monday night’s keynote speaker during the first Boys’ and
Girls’ State joint session. Mr. Smith is a
professional teenager by trade, but
he also leads two non-profit organizations. Mr. Smith encourages teens
to get out of their comfort zone and
try giving back to the community. He
does this by sharing personal experiences and by advertising the ways
in which his foundations give back
to the community. One of the most
pronounced messages of the night
can best be summarized by Mr. Smith
himself, “When you see a problem, fix
it…we don’t talk about it, we do it.”
Mr. Smith also hit on his school life.
From middle school to college, the
stories that Mr. Smith shared were
bountiful and impactful. It seemed
as if there was a story for everything, but the one message that
we were instructed to take away
was this: “Speak for the silent, fight
for the broken.” As Boys’ Staters, we
have an obligation to fulfill this.
Bataan Flag
By Cy J. Cannon, Bataan
Many of you may have noticed
a member of Bataan carrying a colored, tattered t-shirt on a stick. For all
of the pessimists out there, this tattered t-shirt is actually Bataan’s flag.
Members of Bataan came together and decided they needed to show
that they have unity and loyalty to
Bataan. What better way to show this
than through a flag? This was a group
effort, with everyone pitching in. It
also taught members of Bataan that
when someone says, “Draw a ‘BEE’ with
a snake around it,” they actually mean,
“Draw a ‘B’ with a snake around it.” This
is one of the many ways that Bataan is
showing their pride and camaraderie,
and they challenge other towns to attempt to create a flag that is superior.
Federalist Party
Platform
By Connor McCoy, Alamo
On Monday, June 1st,
each house sent two Federalist
representative to a meeting to
determine what their platform
would be. The purpose of this
short meeting was to make the
next day’s meeting much faster.
To start out the meeting, the boys
all introduced themselves to one
another and elected a Secretary
and President. Many issues were
brought up including the common core, gun rights, marijuana,
renewable energy, genetically
modified organisms, gambling,
and the Keystone XL pipeline. At
the first small meeting, nothing
was finalized or defined clearly.
3
At the second meeting on
Tuesday, the whole Federalist party met at Hamilton Hall
and discussed these topics more
in-depth. The opportunity arose
for anybody to speak about the
motion if they so desired. After six
minutes of discussion, the platform
would be passed. In a non specific
way, the platform now is opposed
to the idea of common core, for the
second amendment and the right
to bare arms, taxing marijuana, and
limiting its legalization, improving
on renewable energy, supporting
farm aid and GMOs, and legalizing gambling for tax purposes.
Looking Ahead
By Shawn Sucha, Yorktown
Today is going to be a really exciting day. Here’s what you can
expect. In the early morning there
is a college fair and a political action committee fair to attend. In the
late morning there are 3 sessions
that you can choose from. The first
is communication seminar, the second is about being beyond the two
party system, and the final seminar
is about current issues. In the afternoon there is going to be a seminar
about the diversity of leaders. In the
evening there is going to be a band/
choir concert which is a joint session
with Girl’s State. Immediately following the concert, Governor Pete Ricketts is going to address the group.
Weather
High of 86 with chance of
scattered thunderstorms.
4
Town Reports
Yorktown
Manila Bay
Bataan
By Bryce Sahs, Yorktown
By Henry Jaros, Manila Bay
By Andrew Stone, Bataan
As Manila Bay progresses
through the week, election campaigns have been booted up,
sports have been played, and ordinances have been passed. With
resounding shouts of “MANILA
BAY” and equally resounding response of “ALL DAY,” Manila has
set the tone for enthusiasm. With
a multitude of candidates for a
wide variety of positions, Manila
Bay has shown its interest in Cornhusker Boys’ State’s unique government. Even more than its interest in CHBS government, Manila
Bay has shown a passion for the
sports here. Winning three of their
four sports on Monday, Manila Bay
started off the right way. They are
excited to continue the athletic
competitions this week and are all
greatly anticipating the track meet
this Thursday. The boys here in Manila Bay are enthusiastic and are all
looking forward to a great week!
Tuesday was a banner day
for the fine men up on the Ninth
floor. We went undefeated in
sports, picked some strong candidates, and fired ourselves up for
the primaries today. Our grand,
beautiful, fearless (yet somehow
loopy) leader Lyle asked the gods
for rain, and they delivered. Clouds
parted, the sun shone through.
Needless to say, Tuesday morning,
after the good old red white and
blue was flown, our colors went
up. Anyway, having discussed our
plans for Tuesday’s primaries, we
were prepared to meet the competition head on. So when primaries did roll around, Bataan was
ready. Questions were asked of every candidate from the Gray, with
strong speaking, and excellent
question responses.
would be best for them. While
two representatives were gone,
the rest of Alamo was very busy
deciding what office they would
want to run for. After breaking into
their respective party, the boys
talked about which office would
be best for them. The possibilities
of state offices included Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of
State, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney
General, and Public Service Commissioners. The choice of county offices were Sheriff, Attorney,
Clerk, and Treasurer. Finally, after
filing for office, the Alamo boys retired to their rooms.
The next day, Tuesday the
2nd, would prove to be one of
the most important. After talking
about our plans for the day, we
were directed to the Harper Chow
Hall where we would eat breakfast. Following that, Alamo was
marched out to watch the flag raising. Led by counselors Zach Parshall, Marcus Manley, Dylan Dam,
and Landon Schmitt, the boys
were quickly addressed about
offices and were sent to Primary
elections. After dinner, the young
men found out how they did and
what offices they may have gotten.
Show your moves! Tuesday
at Yorktown, we took full envelopment in the campaigning process,
as we had delegates prove their
worthiness with their amazing
dance skills and jokes. A broad
range of talented individuals came
to sway our votes for their desired
position. Also, we had our especially talented group of individuals
strongly campaign on other floors
to prove their worthiness for the
positions they deeply desired to
reach.
Yorktown was prepared
for the impending challenges of
doing jumping jacks and telling a
joke before the individual spoke,
to showing your special dance
moves to a ridiculous song. All of
which we took full enjoyment in
watching and participating in it
for good sport. We, as a town, have
prepared ourselves to win the upcoming elections for Governor and
Attorney General. As a dedicated
bunch of individuals, we will push
to better ourselves for the upcoming future. Yorktown is prepared.
Yorktown is ready. The question is,
are the other towns ready for us?
Alamo
By Connor McCyoy, Alamo
After inspirational and informative speeches by Mike Smith
and Matthew Waite, Boys’ State
attendees were ready to get the
week started; however, before
lights went out on Monday night,
two representatives of each Alamo
party (Federalist and Nationalist)
were sent down to a political party
meeting to decide which platform
Town Report (continued)
Belleau Wood
By Chase Samuelson, Belleau Wood
As the Primary Elections
came to a close, Belleau Wood
boys concluded their election
campaigns and listened to the
convincing campaign speeches
of other Boys’ Staters. The Belleau
Wood boys fired off their campaigns early afternoon and continued campaigning up until the 3:00
cutoff time. Boys went around to
each floor, trying their best to win
over the votes of other delegates.
Bipartisanship was a common
ideal that most Belleau Wood delegates integrated into their campaign strategies. Their purpose for
integrating both Federalist and
Nationalist ideas and morals was
to become a unified government
which not only stood for, and
heard, all the people’s opinions,
but also become the best government attainable at Boys’ State.
Earlier in the day, Belleau
Wood delegates, along with delegates from all other towns, split
into the two political parties for
party meetings. The primary purpose for holding the party meetings was to develop a platform
for each. Delegates brainstormed
ideas the night before to propose
to the party as a whole during the
meeting. At the Nationalist party
meeting for example, legalizing
medical and recreational marijuana was a hot topic. The Nationalists also debated their stances on
legalizing gambling, being for or
against the death penalty, and reforms for prisons and educations.
Similarly to the Nationalists, the
Federalists also support the legalization and taxation of gambling
and marijuana along with education reform, and specifically the repeal of common core. Additionally,
the Federalists were in support of
GMO’s and federal farming along
with the implementation and research of existing and new renewable energy sources. The reform
of gun control and the promotion
of outreach programs for those
negatively affected by gambling
was also presented and approved.
As a whole, the majority of both
Nationalists and Federalists had
strikingly similar views and ideas,
resulting in similar party platforms.
Gettysburg
5
seat state positions include Michael Lord and Captain Colton Kirk
for Treasurer; Vincent Hunter for Attorney General; Caleb Greenough
for Secretary of State; and Jamel
R. Johnson for Lieutenant Governor. Many of those campaigning
for state and county offices were
highly backed and supported by
the citizens of Gettysburg. With little disagreement within the town,
Gettysburg boasts a strong uniformity and strong determination
to be the best town at Boys’ State.
Many who filed for an office had
high qualifications, as so do those
running for Governor. Onward to
greatness!
Bunker Hill
By Jared Shipp, Gettysburg
By Wahleed Rahmen, Bunker Hill
Gettysburg has been active
in campaigning and working hard
to obtain offices across the state
and county. Various positions from
Gettysburg have been petitioned
for by its citizens, from county
clerk all the way up to Lieutenant
Governor, to run in the evening’s
elections. Such elections have already taken place, with Governor
having the luxury of extra time for
campaigning. Governor elections
are to be held on Thursday, instead
of being held with the rest of offices for election. The town of Gettysburg endorses James Moseman of
the Nationalist Party and Emmet
Storer of the Federalist Party to
run for the position of Governor
of Boys’ State. They will be campaigning throughout the week up
until their time for elections. The
remainder of the positions were
campaigned for earlier in the day.
Some citizens who ran for high-
June 2nd, 2015, was a very
exciting day for members of Bunker Hill. After the pre-primary
meeting of the two political parties, campaigning went into full
swing. Many members of Bunker
Hill ran for state and county offices.
While campaigning, Paul Swope
came to our condo and played a
ukulele. He was then forced by
our consoler Garrett Shaal to play
two other songs. Everyone loved
it and asked if he could transfer
towns and join the greatest town
of all time, Bunker Hill. Members also chanted “The Fridge” in
support of Austin Hillman while
walking back from state conventions. Many jokes were told and it
was a very successful day for the
members of Bunker Hill overall.
Valley Forge
(and not a good one), it is mind-boggling to me when I hear that someBy Jack Shea, Valley Forge
one ran a 17:00 minute cross country
race. For those of you that may not
The fourth floor, previously know, that is 3.1 miles in 17 minutes!
empty with the ominous aura of op- The towns of Boys' State are
portunity, is just beginning to ignite off and (literally) running to gain a
after the spark of leadership prompt- lead on the other towns. Competied many town members to file for tion is one of the great things that
County and State offices. Yesterday fosters development, and these
in the Primary Elections, Valley Forge high-functioning,
high-achieving
had a delegate running for every of- groups of men at Boys' State are perfice at the State level in the Federalist fect examples of this! While I tend to
Party. In preparation for the elections, be athletically stunted, except for
members of the town spent the eve- volleyball, I'm proud that we have
ning giving short practice speeches students with an interest in health
and quizzing each other on various and fitness from all across Nebraska.
issues while discussing the strategy While some towns may
of answering said questions. In addi- be feeling the sting of defeat this
tion, Valley Forge started their cam- Wednesday morning, and others the
paign by creating the “VALLEY 4G” adrenaline of victory, it is always imsign that dominates the South Wall portant to remember why we are
of Harper Hall. Morning showers were here. We are here to have a good
much more efficient in Valley Forge time, make friends, learn about govTuesday morning due to the new ernment and politics, and to leave a
time limit enforced by the shower po- legacy. This legacy is important for
lice. A spark ignited a flame in Valley the generations we will mentor and
Forge, and each delegate is eager to will eventually inherit the earth. So if
kindle that flame as the week goes on you lose in sports or if you win, stay
until it grows into a roaring inferno. humble, make friends, and above all
have a good time! From what every
counselor and legionnaire has told
me, Boys' State is one of the greatest moments of your youth, so don't
squander it, take advantage of it!
By James Moseman, Gettysburg
Thoughts on
Sports
Teamwork,
competition,
dedication, reliability. When thinking about these words, one thing
seems to come up more than the
others. This fun, energetic, (and
sometimes difficult) thing is sports!
The world of sports isn't just
one crazy fan throwing tailgate parties or cheering and booing at the respective teams. Athletes, the people
who come in at 6:00 AM or earlier, also
go through a whole day of school, and
then go to practice until 6:00 PM or
later. That's easily a twelve hour day!
Athletes deserve our respect
and admiration, because they do
things that some of us could never
imagine. As a cross-country runner
6
close to winning an election
in one of the State’s most conservative counties. Once married, she relocated to Nebraska. Here,
she found a new issue which she did
not have much interest in at first,
the Keystone-XL Pipeline. Two years
ago, Kleeb and her rival, Brad Stevens, held a heated debate over the
pipeline. During this debate, the two
could not come to a mutual understanding on the topic at hand. Both
speakers will make an appearance
again at Boys’ State sometime this
morning. Stay tuned for the results!
Fearlessness
By Andrew Stone, Bataan
Boys' State is a time to reflect and consider what one believes
in. For some, this is just the kind of
stimulation they need in order to
become a leader. Others are simply
just trying to get by with only a few
waves being created in the process
of their existence. I’ll start by saying
there is nothing wrong with that at
all. As a man who has made a living
off of being loud and bordering obnoxious, I’d love to tell them the following: start small. What most people don’t understand about being a
good public speaker, is that most of
us don’t speak to large crowds. Having been in debate for three years,
and speech for two, most of the time
By Joey Hunter & Bryce Sahs,
it’s two to five people. Even that is
Yorktown
Jane Kleeb is a speaker at difficult sometimes. Yet, like any oththis morning's “Issues Campaigning” er fear (and Gallup polls confirm that
workshop. Kleeb comes from a Flori- people fear public speaking more
da family which is very conservative. than death), the more you encounGrowing up, Kleeb’s mother was par- ter it the more comfortable you get.
ticularly active in local politics in their I won’t go telling you that public
southern Florida town. As she grew speaking is ever going to be easy.
older, Kleeb evolved into a profound You’ll never be perfect at it. But say
leader within the Democratic Party. you’re really shy, and more than oneShe became the Executive Director to-one conversation makes you really
of Young Democrats. While work- nervous. The only place you can posing with the Democratic Party, she sibly go is up. My advice? Try talking
met her future husband, Scott Kleeb. to two people. Then do it again. Just
Her husband was one only keep working your way up. Stay
the only Democrats to ever come strong, people. Work hard. Move up.
Rivals Reappear