Volume 81, Issue 4
First Day on the Job
Thursday, June 13th, 2019
Political Cartoons
Reporter: Noah Weaver Today was a special day for most of us here at American Legion Buckeye Boys State. Today marked the end of campaigning and the beginning of work. With first days comes a mix of different emotions. Some went into their first day confident with the job that they wanted in the first place, on the other end of the spectrum some people felt stressed because of the new experience. At lunch on Wednesday I found some different delegates to ask about their first day experiences. Hunter G. Wells, Supreme Court Associate Justice, said that his job was his first choice, and that it has been everything that he expected and he enjoys what he is doing. “With the group that we have I think that things will go pretty smoothly,” he said. Two other delegates that chose to remain anonymous both had their first day as house representatives. One said that this was his first choice but the other said the house of reps was third on his list. But both representatives could come to a consensus that they would be able to work together to do great things for their community. One thing that was constant throughout all interviews was that whether or not the job they got was the job they wanted, they displayed every intention to do their best. It doesn’t matter as much whether or not you get the job you wanted. What matters is that you run with your position and will likely have a great week.
Marketing cartoon(top) by James Koehler Jr. “Campaigners” cartoon (left) by Nevada Lowden
“Beware the Engineers” cartoon (right) by James Koehler Jr. Cartoon(bottom) by Nevada Lowden
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Profiling the Court Reporter: Noah Lowery
Among the most common jobs here at American Legion Buckeye Boys State are those dealing with the boundaries of the law. Directors of Law lead the judiciary of their community, each county has their own system of courts, and at the top lies the law of the land: The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Antonio Alejandro. While talking about his elected position, Alejandro remains excited and interested to see what the Supreme Court will rule on this week. When asked about the clash of personalities among the justices, Alejandro said the following: “I think we are a close group of justices and all feel very comfortable working together.” While an ambivalent group, some of the cases they will decide may not be as such. The Supreme Court of American Legion Buckeye Boys State makes rulings on the most contested of subjects. “Whatever we hear will have most likely already gone through intensive debate and deliberation, so there’s never one specific type of case we will decide upon” Chief Justice Alejandro said. Currently, Alejandro only knows of a possible lawsuit against the election board in their midst, and he and the other justices will have to wait and see the type of variety of cases they may face this week. Overall, those whose cases make their way up to the Supreme Court shouldn’t worry about any bias permeating their rulings, as Alejandro knows all of the cases lie “circumstantial” to the details surrounding them. On a different spectrum of American Legion Buckeye Boys State litigation, Assistant Prosecutor for Munson County, Owen Meadows, shared his experience thus far. As Assistant Prosecutor, Meadows believes that this week he will mainly deal with “crimes
such as traffic violations and tax evasion.” Like most delegates, Meadows hopes to utilize his position as a learning experience. “I’m not the best at delivering straight arguments to my opponents and I’ll definitely need to plan it out first”, Meadows said when asked what skills his career will help him improve. However, those weary of their cases going to lawyers with little experience shouldn’t be concerned, as practicing attorneys complete mock trials before taking actual cases, and Meadows agrees he will be just fine “with a little prep.” Criminal to Civil, Supreme to County, the courts of the American Legion Buckeye Boys State continually play a crucial role in the function of the state, and all levels of the judiciary are equipped with lawyers ready toprotect your rights and justice of the law.
Judges getting sworn into office. Photo by Andrew Fogt
The Nurses of Boys State By Logan Davis
Even if you’ve never seen them all the delegates at American Legion Buckeye Boys State have medical professionals watching over you at all times. In every building, there’s a dedicated room full of medicine, water, and equipment ready for whenever someone gets hurt. The medical staff does not get
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enough credit, and some people probably don’t even know they exist. One of the nurses interviewed, Mike Koessel, described how he got into the Boys State program. “My wife is a nurse in Boys State, and she got me into it,” he said. “She’s been volunteering here for a few years now, and recently got me into it. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s very rewarding to help people out. We’re also both veterans, so it’s nice to give back to the American Legion.” Despite the near constant service they have to be ready to provide, they also have regular jobs outside of Boys State. “My civilian job outside of this is a telemetry nurse at Christ Hospital, which is a hospital close to the town of Cincinnati. I’m also a part of the Air Force reserves, and work as a flight nurse.” It only makes sense that a registered nurse would put his experience to good use. Of course, there’s also the grisly side of being a nurse: the patients. Unfortunately, when you visit a nurse, chances are that you’re hurt and need medical help. Luckily for the delegates of Boys State, they don’t normally need to treat anything major. As Mike describes it, “we normally help the elderly, usually people that are over the age of 40. Even then, we normally only treat minor things. It’s nice to see the kids, even if it’s for a bad reason.” Of course, they’ve also had some serious issues. For example, one year he had to treat a child that had a seizure. “We found him on the opening day, but his parents had already left, so we had no idea who he was. We also had a kid with appendicitis, and he had to have surgery later on.” Mike is also assisted by other nurses, as well as an officially licensed medical doctor, and an EMT named Ryan. If you happen to be around Withrow Hall, feel free to stop in and say hi, even if just to thank them for all the work they do.
Big smiles from the people who keep us healthy. Photo by Andrew Fogt
City Wars: Ultimate Frisbee Reporter: Dustin Kirtley
American Legion Buckeye Boys State has always been about the importance of forming lifelong friendships with the best and brightest young men from across Ohio. The camaraderie between those in attendance is always formed in a very short time, which allows for great friendships to grow. However, with the initiative and ability that every chosen delegate has, there also comes fierce competitiveness in some cases. Competitions between cities and counties are common as each tries to earn the most honor and awards for their respective residences. For American Legion Buckeye Boys State 2019, there have been several unique expressions of this competitiveness from a few specific cities. Outside of Martin Dining Hall, there is a large green space that is open for delegates to use for recreation. In this space, there have been several instances that cities have created ultimate frisbee teams and played against delegates of other cities. These cities include Estepp, Zulch, and Merritt from Munson and Warner counties. The driving motivation behind these games is the tension between Estepp and Zulch, and Merritt’s desire to establish themselves as the most dominant city in the state. While walking past this Continued on 4 area, you can hear and
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see the competitions taking place from a long distance away. To this point, Merritt City has created a physical and competitive reputation for themselves in these games, dubbing themselves the “Merritt Squad.” Undefeated so far, Merritt City hopes to be able to keep their streak going and continue to further their prominence in the state. With these competitions come the opportunity for bonds to be strengthened even more. Even though the competitions can be fierce at times, the relationships here at Buckeye Boys State far outweigh them. This truly has been a week to shape a lifetime, with relationships to last a lifetime.
The Blood Drive Reporter: Logan Davis
Within the American Legion, there’s a strong sense of purpose, and with that purpose comes the intent to give life. With the blood drive coming, that desire becomes more apparent. Saturday, June 15th, the American Red Cross is coming to Miami University to give us the opportunity to donate blood. The Red Cross collects around 450500 milliliters per donation, or around one bag of blood each. According to the Red Cross’s website, 37% of the US population is eligible to donate blood, but only 10% do. These 10% constitute around eight million people in the US, and if only one more percent donated, blood shortages would be almost nonexistent in the foreseeable future. Each unit donated can be used to help three different people. This is why it’s imperative for active delegates to donate wherever possible. There is virtually no risk when donating or receiving the blood since the trained professionals use both sterile blood bags and sterile needles to take and store the blood. Using the blood received last year from the nearly 250 Boys State citizens that donated,
around 600 lives were saved. That’s a phenomenal number for the short amount of time it takes. According to Red Cross, the entire process takes just short of an hour; that’s 60 minutes that could save a life. The actual blood drawing takes only 10 minutes, and you’re made as comfortable as possible with custom chairs, stress balls, juice, crackers and bandages. Anyone who’s over 17 and weighs at least 110 pounds can donate once every 8 weeks. That’s six and a half units of blood every year if you donate every time you’re allowed. This results in the possibility of saving almost 20 lives. The procedure is completely safe, and only .5% of people who donate blood feel any sort of discomfort afterward, and it is never permanent. If it takes just an hour of your time, including the paperwork that you’ve probably already completed since before Boys State, why not donate? At the end of the day, there’s really no reason not to donate. In just one hour, you can be the difference between life or death.
Health Department employee is filling a bag for blood donors. Photo by Mike Alvarez