Around 90 Oak Park students, among thousands from across the state, attended the final conference of the Youth and Government season in Sacramento Feb. 18, in order to elect the next Youth Governor.

As a simulation of actual state government, this conference not only allows delegates to debate on bills, but to have passed bills heard by actual legislators.

Youth and Government is an organization that creates space for students to model the state government. From the passing of bills to the election of the next governor, the entire program, which the YMCA runs for high school students, puts its participants in the place of actual government workers in order to give them the true feel of the Californian government.

The Sacramento Conference, an annual tradition that has been taking place for nearly 70 years, was the final conference that concluded months of work put in by the delegates of the YG program.

In the first two conferences of the year, in November 2016 and January 2017, delegates chose and then specialized in their program areas, in which they later made a final project to present in Sacramento. One program area, dubbed “Political Parties,” requires members to create a political party with a feasible platform and get a candidate running for Youth Governor to endorse them.

“I participated in the program area of ‘Political Parties,’ in which we created the Sunrise Party from scratch and advertised ‘20 percent race, 40 percent environment and 40 percent health care’ in order to elect the 70th Youth Governor Cole Cahill, who ended up winning,” senior and Triunfo Branch President Hannah Bartolomea wrote to the Talon. 

Although Bartolomea’s party was the ultimate victor, much like an actual election there were many other parties that ran on different platforms. This in turn means that newly elected Cole Cahill, a student delegate from South Pasadena, will have the responsibility of acting as the student-elected governor for not only his hometown of South Pasadena, but for the entire state of California.

Besides electing the next head of the YG program at the conference, attendees also passed and argued bills, acted as lobbyists or made a mixed-media presentation of the event. 

Several students said the camaraderie is what makes the conference unique.

“The amazing people that you meet and get to spend time with keep me coming back each year,” junior and team member Summer Chavez said.

The sense of family and the chance to learn about the government in an interactive way is what leaves an impact on members, according to Bartolomea.

“The Youth and Government program has truly changed my life for the better,” Bartolomea said.