Volume 83, Issue 4
Thursday, June 16th,
A Visit From The Governor By Abdul Farhan
Trainers, coaches, mentors, and teachers; they all guide us on our path to leadership. Governor DeWine visited Boys State on Wednesday with that exact purpose in mind. The Hetuck got an exclusive interview with Governor DeWine after he spoke and was able to ask him a few questions in regards to his thoughts on the program and any advice he might have for the delegates in attendance. When asked why he thought Boys State is important he stated he believes it’s political, but mostly about learning trust, voting, and some campaigning. “A lot of this is personal. Personal relationships are trust and that is something that we sometimes forget in politics and government. Issues are one thing and important but people vote for someone they like and someone they think will get things done,” he said. Piggybacking off of his advice for Boys State, we asked if he had any additional advice, specifically for governor Jon Hovance. To which he responded with the importance of effort in being a leader and accomplishing the goals and important ideas he has. “Your job as a leader is to try to get those accomplished, get the best ideas and put them into practice,” said DeWine. The topic was then shifted towards the governor himself and his office. When asked Governor Dewine speaking for the delegates. Picture credited to Joseph Federle about his goals in the last year of this term as governor of Ohio, he said, “We want to continue to focus on mental health. We want to focus on early childhood education and early childhood development. The first 5 years of a child's life are the most important.” He also discussed the importance of the idea of barrier lifting. “So trying to eliminate those barriers so that everyone can make their own choices about what they want to do, but also have the skills to be able to do that.” Finally, DeWine shared what motivates and guides him in his day to day life. “Well, I think the belief in God, the belief in that I can make a difference and trying to make a difference every day. The question I ask myself every day is ‘Am I doing enough? Is there anything more I can do?’”
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Wake me up Before you Wee-Woo By Corwin Sexton tory signal, in case any delegates at BuckA House bill was passed on Thurseye Boys State were hearing impaired and day that seeks to protect Buckeye Boys unable to hear the auditory signal. However, State delegates from unfair treatment by the measure ultimately failed due to some State Highway Patrol Officers seeking to House members' belief that it would put abuse their powers and curb misunderstandundue strain on Ohio Highway Patrol. ing regarding the giving of arrests and citaUpon introduction of the bill in the tions. Senate, it was clear Senators believed the The bill would require highway pameasure was a joke, but after consideration, trol to make an audible siren noise whenevsupport from members of congress grew as er they want to issue a citation or make an many found there to be a practical use. arrest. This bill was intended to give drivWhen asked about his thoughts on ers a warning that they were being pulled the bill, Member of the BBS Senate, Elias over in light of fears that delegates may be Young, had this to say about the bill, “We unwittingly charged with attempting to esliked the idea of having some way to let us cape the law. know when we’re being arrested, and it’s There were many concerns that the more fun that way.” act of making a siren noise would embarrass The bill passed the House 35 to 1 or make a mockery of the State Highway and the Senate with a 23 to 1 vote. Now the Patrol, but it was decided through further bill heads to the Governor’s desk for signadebate that it was more important to protect tures, where it is expected to be signed into the rights of citizens. law with immediate effect. Another purpose of this bill was to try and prevent future lawsuits against the state from those who believed that they were not arrested in a fair and acceptable manner by providing an addition to the process. The hope was that by making clear when an arrest was made, the process of citation would be streamlined. One member of The House sugBills being passed. Picture credited to Kody Barhorst gested an amendment to the bill that would provide a visual signal along with the audi-
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BBS Bank Grand Opening By Michael McKenzie
The BBS Bank (BBSB) opened Wednesday, June 15th. Delegates looking for a loan, a bond, or a deposit needed to go to the BBSB which controls the checking accounts of the delegates and works with the cities, counties, and state officials to set a budget. At BBS, delegates found that three hots and a cot is not, in fact, free. A mortgage payment was required. The total mortgage loan was 80k BBS money, with an annual interest of 6%. The bank would type in your badge number and have you sign paperwork to fill out the loan. There was a small signing fee of 15 BBS dollars. At the end of the week, delegates are required to pay $5,755.65 of BBS money.
Bank Tellers on the job. Picture credited to Christopher Paterson
You get paid while working at your current position. The BBS delegates had also been paid for their services to their cities, counties, and state. With a lump sum of money, the delegates needed a place to put ithere comes the bank's job. Delegates would take their paychecks and have them processed by the bank tellers. The tellers put the checks into your account, and then put the check in a “data collections box” for collection.
A Governor or member of the Senate had a lot of people to keep track of. Clerks, tellers, speech writers, and other assorted positions had a lot to do and a lot of places they had to be. When a delegate had an important meeting they needed their whole staff to attend, they could go to the bank to find their employees. With the bank tracker installed at the BBSB, all that was needed to find your clerk was a four digit number. The tracker would then show the bank teller the job the delegate worked and where they should be. A signout sheet was required to be filled out if a delegate had to leave their job for any arbitrary reason, so the program would be able to show where the delegate should be and where they are going to. A delegate elected Mayor of a city was required to get a bond to help run their city. BBS delegates that were elected to this position had to purchase a blanket bond for their city. A short interview with the Mayor of Voisard City had explained the bond simply. He explained that the bond was used to help the city if they had happened to run out of money, and to help the city function. A bond like this had small expenses for the city easily and painlessly taken care of. Without this blanket bond, the mayor would have to pull out money every time a little task needed to be done. The city would have surely fallen into anarchy if the money had run dry with no bond to fall back on. All in all, the BBSB is an essential part of the BBS program. Without the tellers, clerks, and treasurers, the delegates would not have had an understanding of loans and mortgages. The BBSB gave the delegates a look into life in the real world with the deposits. Knowing how money works and how the process of getting a loan happens will surely help this next generation of leaders succeed in life.
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Musical Excellence At Buckeye Boys State By Zachery Simpkins
At Buckeye Boys State, delegates were encouraged to bring their prefered instrument from home to play in the Buckeye Boys State Band. During the first day, the band assembled right before the evening ceremony. With only 45 minutes to prepare, the band director, Jeff Jordan, set an expectation of playing three songs and the Miami University fight song. This was no small feat. Although it was daunting, the band pulled through and played all three songs beautifully. This set a precedent for the whole week. The band was confident and ready to take on anything. The second day had two band rehearsals, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. Monday had a formal evening ceremony, with full suits and ties required. The band played God Bless The USA during the ceremony, giving goosebumps to the crowd. After giving goosebumps to the crowd, the band lightened the mood with the piece, Feel It Still. The modern pop tune had the crowd clapping along to the beat in merriment. There was no evening assembly on Tuesday for the band to play at, but there was a Meet the Candidates rally. The band plays for the evening ceremony. Picture credited to Carter Kohli The band themed their music around how a debate feels for the candidates. The 2022 Buckeye Boys State Band was the first BBS Band to play Blinding Lights by The Weeknd. This was meant to symbolize how the candidates at the debate were under the blinding lights of the stage lights. The band also played High Hopes because a candidate has to have high hopes to win. The last piece they played for the assembly was Don’t Stop Believing. The candidates needed to keep believing they could win their elections. Jordan had a way with teaching the delegates. Director Jordan graduated from The Ohio State University and played in the marching band. He knew how to squeeze as much learning as possible into an hour or less. He was an amazing band director, but what is more amazing is the hunger the delegates had to learn. The delegates truly wanted to pursue music and wanted to evolve as musicians. Director Jordan helped the BBS Band learn quickly and efficiently. A resounding ovation given at every performance said that the BBS Band had grown as musicians.