Boys State, Girls State takes over campus.
By: Lea Kahn
What do television news broadcasters Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley, former President Bill Clinton and former Texas Gov. Ann Richards have in common?
They all attended a weeklong session of the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary-sponsored Boys State or Girls State program in their home states as high school juniors.
Last week, the American Legion Jersey Boys State program was held at Rider University. This week, it is time for the American Legion Auxiliary Jersey Girls State. There were 875 boys last week, and 480 girls who are taking part this week.
The participants are all entering their senior year in high school. The boys and girls who take part in the program learn about the inner workings of New Jersey politics and the electoral process, and also get a chance to hone their leadership skills, said leaders of the programs.
The American Legion Boys State and Girls State programs were created as an antidote to the Communist Party’s Young Pioneer Camp for young people, said William Wilkins and Laurel Matthews, the volunteer directors of the Boys State and Girls State programs in New Jersey, respectively.
Like many of the volunteers who staff the program, the two directors are alumni of the programs. Mr. Wilkins took part in the program in 1968, and Ms. Matthews attended it in 1972. Most of the volunteer staffers who help out also are alumni of the programs.
Professor Hayes Kennedy, who taught at the Loyola University School of Law in Chicago and who was a member of the Illinois Department of the American Legion, created the concept of Boys State in 1935, according to a history of the American Legion Boys State program.
The American Legion Jersey Boys State program was started in 1946, and the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program, which is an outgrowth of the boys program, was begun in 1947.
"The purpose of the Boys State program is to train young men who are chosen to go to it because of their leadership skills," said Mr. Wilkins, who is an attorney in Burlington County.
Many of the Boys State representatives are the presidents of their high school’s student council, or they may be the captains of athletic teams or the editor of the school yearbook, for example. Each member, however, is sponsored by a local chapter of the American Legion, Mr. Wilkins said.
The girls who attend the Girls State program also are leaders in their respective schools, said Ms. Matthews, who is the tax collector for the Borough of Wanaque in Passaic County. They are sponsored by a local chapter of the American Legion Auxiliary.
The girls are generally in the top third of their class and take part in school activities, Ms. Matthews said. For some, it is a big adjustment because they are accustomed to being the best in their class. At Girls State, they meet others who also are at the top of their class, she said.
Upon their arrival at Rider University, the boys and girls are assigned to a dormitory that represents a city. A city consists of 60 boys or girls. Each boy and girl is assigned to one of two political parties the National Party or the Federal Party.
They are instructed on the various forms of municipal government in New Jersey, and then they are asked to choose one of those forms. They elect a mayor and council. They conduct business as if they were operating a real city, Mr. Wilkinson and Ms. Matthews said.
Two cities join together to form a county. The process is repeated the boys and girls study the various forms of county government and chose one. Then, they elect county officers. The same process is repeated up the political chain, as they select their state government representatives and operate as if they were running a governmental unit.
On the next to last day of the session, the boys and girls choose a state governor. And on the last day, they choose two senators. The Boys State senators and Girls State senators are sent to the Boys Nation Senate and Girls Nation Senate in Washington, D.C. That occurs in July.
Although it is a heavy schedule, it’s not all work and no play for the Boys State participants, Mr. Wilkinson said. The boys attend seminars on various topics. They learn about career options, from education to politics to business to public administration.
The girls also listen to guest speakers, who this week range from Susan Bass Levin, the former mayor of Cherry Hill Township and who is now the commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs, to Kathleen Donovan, the Bergen County clerk.
The boys and girls take part in various activities when they are not attending seminars or political sessions. They may take part in the band or chorus, or put out a newspaper. They also may take part in athletic activities.
So what do the boys and girls get out of attending the Boys State or Girls State programs?
Mr. Wilkinson and Ms. Matthews said the youths learn about government and the electoral process. They gain the experience of running for political office, or helping someone else to run for office.
"The slogan is, ‘This is a week that shapes a lifetime,’" Mr. Wilkinson said. "This is the first time away from home (for many boys), and they are thrown into a dorm room with a boy they have never met. They learn to make friends and cooperate with other people. Some of my best friends are boys I met at Boys State in 1968."
Ms. Matthews agreed. Although the girls, too, are new to each other, by the end of the week they have made new friends, she said. They don’t want to leave when Friday rolls around, she added.
"The girls find out things about themselves that they never knew," Ms. Matthews said. "They are scared to death that they can’t speak in front of two people, and they have to speak in front of almost 500 people if they are running for governor. It’s a week you always remember. You remember what you did at Girls State I don’t know why."
The first session of American Legion Boys’ State was held in 1946, according to the group’s program booklet. The first session was held at Douglass College in New Brunswick, but the program quickly expanded and was moved to the campus of Rutgers, also in New Brunswick.
The program was moved to Rider University in 1969. At that point in time, the Vietnam War protest movement was at its height and the boys were often heckled by college students who were protesting the war, he said. It was decided to move the program from Rutgers’ urban campus to the suburban campus of Rider University, he said.
The Jersey Boys’ State program also has changed with the times, Mr. Wilkins said. It has metamorphosed from a semi-military atmosphere to a more college-like experience, he said. The boys, however, learn the same civics lessons and it is hoped they take that knowledge back home, he added.
The American Legion Auxiliary Girls’ State Program also was held at Douglass College. The program was moved to Rider University in the 1980s, Ms. Matthews said. It is more fun than the boys’ program, in certain respects, she said. There are fewer lectures, for example.
For its part, Rider University believes that by hosting the two groups, it is doing its part to help develop the leaders of tomorrow, said Anthony Campbell, the college’s dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs.
"It’s nice to have young leaders on campus," Mr. Campbell said. "Part of Rider’s mission is to develop an engaged citizenry, which (Boys’ State and Girls’ State) does. We see it as part of our educational mission. It is a way to plant the seeds for the future leaders of New Jersey."