ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCES

Delegates reflect on a fulfilling week at ALBBS

By Jacob Baltes

Two delegates of American Legion Buckeye Boys State (ALBBS) have enjoyed their time here and have shared their stories: William Randal of Shuck City and Aiden Doll of Jordan City.

Randal said he feels very lucky to have been chosen to attend ALBBS. “I'm kind of like the only one from my county that was nominated for it.”

Randal mentioned, “I was kind of expecting it to be more of like a really watered down version of everything. It hasn't really been like that. It's been more like… [you are] kind of just thrown out there and [are] actually trying to build a government by yourselves.”

Randal believes other rising seniors should attend. “It's not something that's just like a waste of a week.”

ALBBS has been a memorable experience so far for Doll as well. He believes this experience has helped him to meet some new people and ex- perience new things he hadn’t even thought of trying.

Doll believes that when a student wants to join ALBBS, they should “just go for it because you never know where you'll end up. You show up thinking you don't want to do much and then you get a good job. You start rolling and you have a lot of fun [and] meet a lot of good people.”

Doll didn’t come into ALBBS expecting to enjoy it, however. “I came into it not thinking I would do much and just kind of be like a fly on the wall, but I wish I would have stepped up and actually tried to get more done,” Doll said.

In addition to the values Doll has learned and the friends he has made, he also loves the food here, saying, “The biscuits and gravy kind of slaps.”

Although Doll and Randal are just two out of 600 total delegates, their perspectives can shed light on what many of the other delegates may have experienced as well.

Trooper Bayou Shares Immigration Experiences

By Nezar Shakaki

For over two centuries, the bedrock of American society has been the country’s acceptance of all people, regardless of race, religion, or gender, so long as they uphold the nation’s key values of freedom, democracy, and equality. Especially in recent times, many believe that immigrants have transformed the United States for the better.

One immigrant in particular, a gentleman by the name of Gideon Bayou, an Ohio Highway Patrol Trooper who immigrated to Columbus, Ohio from Ghana, serves as a member of the State Highway Patrol. Bayou also serves with the American Legion Buckeye Boys State (ALBBS), training delegates who have been accepted into its prestigious State Highway Patrol program.

Despite being from a different country, Bayou proudly shared his love for the United States. Specifically, he sees large differences between the legal systems of Ghana and the United States.

“The legal system here really works. People are held accountable for their actions, and there is a system set up to make sure you're held ac- countable if you did something wrong you don't see that in many African countries,” Bayou said.

Bayou also sees large differences in the democratic traditions between the two countries.

“[Ghanaian government officials] say, okay, there's democracy here, but is it practiced? No. They say it’s here, but democracy is not practiced in reality,” Bayou said.

Bayou compared this to what is happening in the US, saying, “There is democracy. Is it practiced? Absolutely. I'm in law enforcement, and I can tell you 100 percent that it's strictly enforced.”

Not long after Bayou moved to the US, he signed up for the National Guard and is still serving to this day to support his country’s values.

On top of this, Bayou mentioned his welcoming treatment as an African immigrant to America, saying the following: “I've never been treated any differently [in America]. People who have trained me, mentored me, given me guidance, were people from different races, different colors, and nobody looks at the color of your skin. They look beyond that. They look at you as human, just like them. That's howI've been treated my whole time.”

Though Bayou may not have begun his life in the United States, because of his love and dedication towards his new country, he has served his nation to a great extent.