Goodrich – From the classroom to the senate floor’passing a bill took a new twist for some area students.
In late April, 11 high school students from the Youth in Government Club joined about 800 other students from across the state to practice a simulated/mock congressional experience.
The statewide event is sponsored by the Y.M.C.A. Other sponsors include AT & T and the Holiday Inn.
‘Six-hundred bills were composed and written up by students,’said Youth in Government President Christine Fiedler. ‘I wrote an environmental bill about the disposal of batteries and how harmful the mercury in them is to the environment when they are dumped in a landfill. I was really excited to see it pass. It’s my understanding that Governor Jennifer Granholm is supposed to look at it.?
Fiedler said it’s one thing to learn about government in a textbook, but another to experience government firsthand, practice parliamentary procedure and pass a bill.
‘Students debated and lobbied each bill to discuss its merits. It’s great to see so many students take all of the issues so seriously. They didn’t think it was boring,? said Fiedler.
Government teacher Dan Hartley said this is the fifth year in a row he has taken students to Lansing for the annual event.
‘The bills were anything from recycling to environmental bills. Some dealt with new Michigan curriculum requirements and some were about the drinking age, marijuana, welfare and affirmative action and the legal age to drive,? said Hartley.