CA Girls State Chronicles 2011

Girls State Slide Show

2011-07-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in downloading a photo(s) that you saw in our Girls State Slide Show feel free to do so in the Girls State 2011 Album on PhotoBucket. Link here!

Talent Show

2011-07-06T15:37:00.002-07:00

We had an amazing evening at the Girls State Talent Show! Thank you for the inspiring performances!

State Appointments from the Office of the Girls State Governor

2011-07-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

State Appointments:

Executive Secretary- Hannah Dillman

Assistant Executive Secretary- Kelatztli Mendoza

Legislative Secretary- Annemarie McDaniel

State Police- Alanna Carrol

Press Corps- Tori Schmitt

Appointments Secretary- Andriana Ricchiuti

Cabinet Secretary- Alexis Coello

Education Secretary- Mallory Grismer

Legal Affairs Secretary- Courtney Liss

Assistant for Community Relations- Arlene Jimenez

Secretary for Program Development- Kathleen Osea

Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs- Jenna Futch

Assistant for Research- Michelle Do

Office of Emergency Service- Peaches Boland

Homeland Security Advisor- Meredith Ross

2011 Girls State Newspapers

2011-07-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

ISSUE 1 - JUNE 29, 2011

ISSUE 2 - JULY 1, 2011

ISSUE 3 - JULY 2, 2011

City and County Clerks make the Girls State world go round....

2011-06-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Let's also give it up to all of the County Clerks, City Clerks and their Deputy Clerks for seamlessly running the filing period for nomination/petition for state offices yesterday! Here at Girls State we learn about how things are run in real life, and it certainly is not an exception when we say that we need clerks to hold the order and get a lot of the important things done! WELL DONE!!! Here are the clerks from each county:

Crock-a-doodle-doo!

2011-06-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

“Wake up in the morning in the City of Crocker,
Got my Girls State key and gonna hit the city,
Before I leave, lock my windows and door,
‘cuz when I leave for the day, I ain’t coming back.”

The ladies of the City of Crocker have done a wonderful job at raising the city spirit in the county of Larkin with all our creative cheers and unique city theme of “the Crocker Carnies,” (shorter for Carnival). Everything from our pink hats to our distinctive cheers, has made us one of the proudest cities in Girls State. We have our amazing Senator, Katarina Schweitzer and City Mayor Saskia Tingey, among other important leaders, to lead us to success.

Of course our first night at Girls State, we were a bit tired because we came by plane, bus or just underwent long hours of driving, but as soon as we got our rest, we were up and ready to go! Meeting after meeting, stick a meal here and there and with recreation time, we have all had the opportunity to know each other. Day by day, night by night, we find out more about the girls in Crocker City. Everyone feels free to hang out with all the girls. You may be with one group of girls the first day and the next you will be with another group of girls.

The atmosphere that the Crocker girls have created is magnificent! Everyone is incredibly friendly, talented and we have truly become sisters. With our Auntie Lou, we feel even more like a family. We have decorated part of the Green Room (we currently share it with the City of Balboa) and that was our time to bond, get to know each other and do some ice-breakers. We literally all know something personal about each girl in our city. It’s incredible how we have only spent 2-3 days here and it already feels like we’ve been here a lifetime. We’re off track as to what day it is and everybody agrees we have come so close. We talk about issues that we typically don’t talk about at home, like politics, education, the economy, etc. We share our perspectives and we’re not afraid of speaking about them because we know that everyone respects our philosophies.

By this time we have had city elections, county elections and now we’re getting ready to do state elections. We have completely forgotten about the outside world and have focused on our imaginary utopian world here at Girls State. We make speeches in front of the Girls State delegates and we’re not afraid of public speaking because there’s a mutual respect. The competition may be tough for elections but the trick is to have an awesome Verification Deputy (also known as the Campaign Manager) to help you gain votes and over all, just be yourself. There have been so many catchy slogans; probably the best one has been Emily’s “Real Deal” Phil campaign name. Some of us may lose but we’re all here for each other to gain confidence to get back on our feet and try again.

It almost feels like a Girls Scout Camp or Cheer Camp because everybody is in a good mood, we’re always debating professionally, and the best part…sing-along! We come together at night time in General Assemblies and sing songs like “Don’t Stop Believing,” or “Girls State Song (Fight Song)” or our ultimate favorite “Take Me Over to Boys State” – has some really hilarious lyrics!
I tell you that when you have a room full of girls, you know something is going on. Something positive. Something revolutionary. Something that will change not only our cities but our counties, political parties and the state of California. Something that will ultimately shape our stay here at Girls State. Something that we will take back home and improve our communities to be more politically involved and do our shares as good citizens.

Oh! And parents, just a heads up, we will definitely be singing our Girls State songs on our way back! The Girls State spirit will always be with us! Stay tuned for more updates on our stay here…

Urrrbody Tory... urr. URRRbody Tory!

2011-06-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

Good job to the wonderful ladies of the Tory Party and its Tory Party Leader, Tory Platform Committee and Tory Steering Committee!

Also, kudos to our two party leaders for facilitating Girls State today for primary election speeches (and later today, for the general election speeches)!

(L) 2011 Tory Party Leader - Tasha
(R) 2011 Whig Party Leader - Mackenzie

2011 Tory Platform Committee & Tory Leader

2011 Tory Steering Committee

Harte Heroes Are Ready for Action!

2011-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Day by day at Girls State, the heroes of Harte have indefinitely "engaged in power". Many of our citizens have taken initiative and decided to run for city, county and state offices. Though not all were successfully elected, the election process has been a beneficial experience to all of these ladies. Those who ran filled out their filing forms carefully, gave speeches filled with political rhetoric, and waited anxiously to hear election results. Here in the city of Harte, Sejal Aghera was elected Senator, Rachel Hendrix and Tabitha Peterson were elected to the Assembly, Olivia Regalia was appointed Clerk, and Melissa Villacarte was elected as our Treasurer. Furthermore, Harte has elected their council to include Ciara Holmes, Jamie Moore, Vanessa Sanchez, Jessica Slaght, and Kaylen Wilson; council decided to appoint Ciara Holmes as the mayor of Harte. Some of the citizens of Harte took their political passion one step further and ran for county positions. Hailing from Harte, elected Public Defender is Olivia Meme and President of the Board of Education is Scarlett Harris.

In recent days, the citizens of Harte have been actively participating in the beautification of our city. Many superhero sound effects and slogans have been placed on the walls throughout our city walls. The greatest architectural masterpiece of the city of Harte is our Manhattan-inspired cityscape. The city contains large skyscrapers with helicopters and heart-shaped searchlights. Another wall displays the layout of city with its slogan, "Healthy Keeps the Harte Happy"; the layout shows the location of our city's schools, parks, hospitals, roads, and shops. The city-planning commission members have proved themselves to be creative and organized overachievers.

Carson City's Candy Girls!!

2011-06-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Imagine this: Sugar Daddy's lining dorm room walls, huge candy canes located everywhere, gumdrops seem as if they fell off trees covering the ground, and the thought of chocolate on every girl's mind. No, we are not in your dream candy store; instead we are in Carson City- not to be confused with the Lassen Lollipops. Carson is a city like any other, with unique animal sightings such as Gummy Bears, Swedish Fish, and Animal Crackers.

This patch of girls from Carson City may be "sour" on the outside, but they are "sweet" and "chill" on the inside. I hope you have a sweet tooth when learning about theses candy girls as they take you on a journey. These girls always shine through like a rainbow with their kind words and actions.

City spirit is a huge part in our daily lives here at Girls State. Throughout the day we shout various cheers such as: C-C-C-A-R, S-S-S-O-N, C-A-R-S-O-N, GO CARSON!!!

Although we are one party composed of 29 members within our city we are divided into two political parties; the Whigs and the Tories. The Whig party tends to be more conservative while the Tory party more liberal. However, our city, along with the other cities of Girls State, are working hard to define and shape the two party views for ourselves. In Carson we have 11 Tory party members and 18 Whigs.

In a recent poll we learned the favorite candies of the Carson citizens:

Snickers- 9
Butterfingers- 7
Reeses'- 8
Skittles- 4
3 Musketeers- 1

(when leaving your comments, add your favorite to our poll!)

In our city we have Melissa Hazelwood, Zoe Binsch, Kassie Fuchs, and Priya Bisarya running for state office. We wish them good luck and for representing Carson in the upcoming elections! When the results are announced I will post a list of all the winners from Carson.

Signing off,
Christina Fawcett, Carson City Editor

Stay sweet and I will see you tomorrow!

Lassen Lollipop Land Update

2011-06-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

We have spent the day voting on Party Platforms and finalizing our City Code of Conduct. The Lovely Lassen Lollipops have been working so hard on decorating their city and with all this Lassen love, they are really are becoming city sisters.
We are getting ready to go file for STATE OFFICES with all of Girls State. This is an exciting and stressful time for our ladies, so send them good wishes and love through the air from home. :)

2011-06-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

GS in Action!!!

2011-06-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

Bidwell County Update from your Lassen Lollipop Counselors

2011-06-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Family and Friends of the Lassen Lollipops!
After some good sleep last night, our Lassen Lollipops are back to their SWEET selves again. This mornings breakfast menu: eggs, spicy potatoes, bacon, a wide array of juicy fruit, oatmeal, cereal (including Greta's delicious combo of Coco Puffs and Raisin Bran), waffles, juice, milk, coffee, and hot chocolate.

After breakfast, the County Election results were announced.

Bidwell County:

Supervisors: Vanessa N., Gitaine C., Emily M., Courtney L., and Abby S.

Clerk: Hannah D.

Recorder/Auditor: Maddie S.

Treasurer/Tax Collector: Holly S.

Assessor: Becca B.

Superior Court Judge: Kaiya G.

District Attorney: Alex S.

Sheriff/Coroner: Rachel R.

Superintendent of Schools: Jessica H.

Public Administrator/Defender: Amanda L.

Board of Education: Cassidy V., Phoebe H., Melissa C., Sandy G., and Liesel S.

Congratulations Bidwell County and our Lassen Lollipops.

Harte Heroes - ENGAGE!

2011-06-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

The ladies of Harte take super to a whole new level! They have decided to be the Harte Heroes and fight injustice throughout Girls State. These ladies have experienced hardships and triumphs of elections and campaigning, yet they have managed to stay united as a city. Throughout these past few days, the heroes of Harte have taken opportunities to form allies and build friendships.

Elected Officials: Cabrillo

2011-06-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Tiger family members! I wanted to give you all a quick update. Thus far, we have elected our city (Cabrillo) and county (Bidwell) positions. The primary election for the state positions will take place tomorrow (Thursday). We have several strong candidates from Cabrillo, but they have a tough campaign road ahead of them. So, send some positive energy their way! Go Tigers!!!

City Elected Positions:

City Mayor: Maria Gutierrez
City Council: Lauren Grabowski, Pranasha “Mocha” Shretha, Elizabeth Herman, & Alexus Estrada
City Clerk: Sarah Klenha
City Treasurer: Christina Ferretti
Assembly women: Emily Godown (Whig) & Yesenia Varela (Tory)
Senator: Becky Stifer (Whig)

Party Elected Positions:

Whig Party Leader: MacKenzie Austin
Whig Steering Chair: Jordyn Doyle

County Elected Positions:

County Supervisor: Abby Strout
County public administrator/defender: Amanda Leon
County Clerk: Hannah Dillman
County Board of Education: Melissa Cardona

Elected Officials of Super Serra!

2011-06-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is a list of all the Serra City Elected Officials and Kelsey County Officials :)

City Council-
Samhita H. (Mayor)
Kory M.
Dilreet D.
Lexy J.
Courtney N.

City CLerk-
Rebecca L.

City Treasurer-
Janelle F.

COUNTY:

Board of Supervisors-
Kathleen O.
Caitlin P.
Victoria R.
Kelsey S.

Auditor-
McKenzie F.

Assessor-
Essence F.

Superior Court Judge-
Lisa B.

District Attorney-
Taryn E.

Board of Education-
Maggie S.

Treasurer/Tax Collector-
Jacky G.

CONGRATS to all the girls who got elected :) We are SO proud of you!

Fremont Freedom Fighters

2011-06-29T08:48:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the city of Fremont!!
We have 27 Fremont Freedom Fighters, Ryna, April, Julia, DJ, Kate, Jamie D., Itzel, Jessica, Jenna, Elizabeth, Emily, Casey, Alli, Allison, Helen, Mariana, Genesis, Katherine, Kimberly, Briana, Jamie S., Tab, Nasia, Naomi, Rachel, Valerie &Maddie!! They are incredibly, bubbly, and bright!!

I am the City Counselor Miss Dae (Desireá), We have Assitant Counselor Wendee, and Our Counselor in Training Alyssa!!

Our Elected City officials are:
City Council- Tab (Mayor of Fremont), Julia, Valerie, Emily, & Jenna.
Our City Treasurer is Maddie, and our City Clerk is Genesis.

Assembly Women: Case & Alli H.
Senator: Jessica

We have 5 Freedom Fighters who were elected as Kelsey County Officials!!!
Board of Education: Katherine, April
Superintendent Of Schools: Nasia
Public Admin/Defender: Helen
County Clerk: Rachel

Stay Tuned as the Week Goes on!

GO BIG! GO STRONG! GO GIRLS STATE!

2011-06-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hello to all you folks back at home!

Apologies for not getting this blog update up any sooner; I’m sure some of you have been awaiting one eagerly. You have probably begun missing your daughter by now, or maybe you’ve been missing her since the moment you parted ways- either way, have no fear, she is in the capable hands of Girls State.

We’re on day three and so much has already taken place. It’s a thing of wonder to be in a room with 30 girls that have known each other for less than 48 hours with no one sitting silent. What can be heard at all hours of the day are the “WOO!”’s and “YEAH!”’s that shall never expire, hysterical laughter from blossoming friendships, and every so often, the tender sharing of secrets spoken in hushed voices. Excitement and spirit follow this pack of girls wherever they go.

On Monday, the first election was held in our city. It involved the girls driving off any and all anxiety and giving an informal oration in front of our citizens. Every speech was awarded with applause and cheers. Winner or loser, they’re always feeling the love in our city of Muir.

“I’m having so much fun, I could barf!” claims Jane Kelly, a newly elected councilwoman, on an hourly basis. Kelly’s comment satisfies the feelings of most here in our city, Muir.

Days are long, nights seem too short, but never a complaint is heard from a ‘Muir-maid’. Monday night brought the results of our city council and candidates for Senate and Assembly.

MAYOR: Micah Isabel S.
COUNCILWOMEN: Ellen D., Natalie G., Jane K., and Taylor P.
CITY CLERK: Veronica M.
TREASURER: Alyssa S.
SENATOR: Maya P.
ASSEMBLY WOMEN: Imogen B. and Desiree G.
POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Brittany H. and Colleen W.
PLATFORM COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Raquel A. and Parisa E.
STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Kirstie M. and Jessica R.
MUSIC COMMISSIONER: Magdalene C.
CITY EDITOR: Parisa Esfahani

The fair maidens of Muir would be at a lost without their two lovely councilors, Ashlie and Margaux, and their mommy-away-from-home, Mama Tric. Though your baby girl is missing you, she is exploring her potential in this world and experiencing the power behind womanhood.
Love, hugs, winks, high-fives, and all that jazz to all of you back at home!

Long Day for the Lassen Lollipops

2011-06-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

The Lassen Lollipops have been busy all day at the Girls State Candyland Factory!
We started the day with City Pictures (which will be available for purchase later this week), then filed for Bidwell County Offices. We had County Speeches in the evening.

So many of our Lollipops were on the Bidwell County Ballot.
On the ballot tonight, (from our city):
Amy H.
Arlene J.
Sadie P.
Deeply D.
Holly L.
Rachel R.
Jessica H.
Meredith R.
Cassidy V.
Natalie C.
Kelatzi S.
Diesel S.

Good Luck Ladies! Results will be posted tomorrow morning!
Good Night from your Lassen Lollipop Counselors! <3

Super Serra!

2011-06-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hey there, Lauren (City Counselor) here!

Sarah (Assistant Counselor) and I have had the most awesome day watching all the girls do their thing on the city, county and state level today. They are truly amazing :)

This day has been jam packed with meetings, meetings, and oh...you know...more meetings.

The ladies of Serra have been busy Super Heroes fighting for justice by way of running for different county positions. We spent a lot of time with our fellow Kelsey county sisters listening to speeches from the various candidates. We anxiously await the results, which will be announced tomorrow morning! Stay tuned for those...

A special congrats to all of our ladies who were elected on the City Level yesterday--check them out below!

Also, a big congrats to our very own Tasha P. who was chosen to be the Tory party leader for Girls State 2011! Couldn't be more proud!

Stay tuned for a complete list of elected Serra citizens tomorrow, but for now...goodnight!

Ninja Cow (Portola) Election Results and Key to the City Presentation

2011-06-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

It's that time....we are announcing the City Election Results and the Senate and Assembly Primary Results and Senate and Assembly Representatives....

We are proud to announce our City Council members

1. Mayra D.
2. Brittni B.
3. Alyssa H.
4. Kelly I.

Our City Clerk

1. Keziah I.

Our City Treasurer

1. Patricia G.

Whig Party Candidates

Senate - Emiko S.

Assembly - Janel P. & Kaitlyn S.

Tory Party Candidates

Senate - Natasha Y.

Assembly - Grace C. & Ravina G.

After our fifth city meeting, the representatives for Senate and Assembly were

Senate - Natasha Y.

Assembly - Ravina G. & Kaitlyn S.

Tonight, we had the opportunity to present our key to the city to our wonderful Grandma D, who represents the American Legion Auxilliary and the Portola Ninja Cows with love and lots of hugs. As our girls say, "Grandma D ROCKS!"

Last night, we had our second city friendship time and continued to share three new interesting things about ourselves while working on getting our Operation Military Gifts together. Our friendship time has been a great time to bond with each other and solidify our new friendships.

Today, the women are hearing about filing for County Offices, our first Party meeting, discussing bills and party platforms, electing County Officials, and finalize their city Code of Conduct.

We have to get back to pasture, but we look forward to mooooving forward with our week! ....

....and we will be posting pictures later in the day!

A Lassen Lollipop Ladies Update

2011-06-28T00:32:00.001-07:00

Here are some election results for the City of Lassen:

Mayor:

Talia C.

City Council:

Kim A.

Brina P.

Alyssa M.

Madison F.

City Clerk:

Shannon K.

City Treasurer:

Arriane S.

State Senator:

Lila T.

State Assemblywomen:

Alysha S.

Lizzie R.

The Burnett Bandits!!!

2011-06-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

Girls State has finally begun!! The City of Burnett has decided upon being the Bandits and have an entire Western theme to go along with it! They have decorated the City Dorm with Horses made of Pipe Cleaners, Cactus' made from Construction Paper, and even a designated Jail for those bad girls who don't clean up after themselves!

So far in our election process the 5 City Council, 1 City Clerk, 1 Treasurer, 1 Senate and 2 Assembly Women have been elected! Many congratulations to them for their amazing accomplishment!

The girls have been designing City Hats and they decided upon a Cowboy hat and a fabulous Mustache to keep up their Bandit Spirit!!!

This is only the beginning to an AMAZING week here at Girls State, I know this will be an experience they will all remember for the rest of their lives!!!!

Love always,
Your Burnett Bandits!

Cabrillo Tigers!!!

2011-06-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Written by: Tori Schmitt, City Editor

“Everywhere we go!
People want to know!
Who we are!
So we tell them,
We are tigers!”

The Cabrillo Tigers have kicked off the Girls State 2011 session with a bang! Working with the city color of orange, the girls fully embraced the theme of tiger (decorating the hallways in jungle theme, inventing new cheers, and even using some face paint for added effect). This would not have been possible without the help of the Cabrillo counselors and City Mama. City moms and grandmas form a special bond with the staters and help them feel more at home, including duties such as nighttime tuck in. In celebration of the city moms, all the different cities created hats, mirroring each city’s individual theme, to wear to dinner on Monday night. With much appreciation, the Cabrillo Tigers presented a special white tiger themed top hat to their Mama Jackie.

In addition to all their spirit activities, the Tigers have also been working hard running for office. Positions, in a simplified format, can be divided into two types of categories; elected positions and appointed offices. Each stater can only hold one elected position and/or “as many appointed offices as [she] can responsibly handle.” Both positions are extremely important to Girls State and their main difference lies only in how the office/position is obtained. (Elected positions campaign officially, while appointed does not.) On Monday, the tiger girls held their city and party level elections. (The levels being city, county, party, and state) The Tiger girls were extremely successful and had no disqualifications in their elections. With County elections following today, the tiger girls are ready to pounce on those important County positions. “C-A-B-R-I-L-L-O -> GO CABRILLO!!!”

Up, Up, and Away!!

2011-06-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

It's a bird...

No, it's a plane....

No, it's the awesome girls of Super Serra!

We have been busy all day cheering, voting, singing and so much more. The girls got an awesome head start on decorating their city, and it is lookin' mighty fine!

Dinner was spent incognito in our lovely masks...I don't think people recognized us :) We also presented our amazing City Grandma Esther with her Super Hero outfit, and city hat to match us girls.

We've all bonded today over sharing speeches, voting for our city sisters and spending friendship time swapping boy stories. It's been a good day, and we can't wait to see what Day 3 will bring!

Up, Up and AWAY! Goodnight from Super Serra!

Lassen Lollipops Sweeten Up Girls State

2011-06-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

The City of Lassen has come alive at Girls State this week. They have elected their new mayor, city council, clerk and treasurer. They have also elected their representatives for the Senate and the Assembly.

Tonight they have celebrated the theme of their city, Lassen Lollipops, by adorning their heads with lovely lollipop hats.

During dinner, they celebrated their city "mom" - Mama G with a lovely crown of lollipops and a huge lollipop septor.

The girls are all having a great time making new friends, learning about city development and singing silly Girls State songs at their general assemblies.

Welcome to Portola!

2011-06-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

The Portola Ninja Cows would like to say hello to all our parents, family, and friends! It has been quite a hectic start to the 2011 Girls State session. The girls arrived, checked in, and then got started right away creating their city theme and planning for office.

The women chose to represent Kelsey County by being the Portola Ninja Cows! After introducing ourselves in our city, there were quite a few similarities of women who live nearcows, raised cows, have cows as friends, and also think cows are quite tasty (we keep that one very quiet). Since we are a stealth group of women, it just made sense that we would be Ninja Cows. It definitely helps keep with tradition of Portola being the best city EVER! (although, we recognize that other cities are pretty awesome also).

On the first day, the counselors spent a great deal of time explaining the rules of voting, filing, and running for office. Since this involves a lot of detail, it was almost information overload. There are so many rules, specifics, and “musts” that have to be done in order to be qualified. Even though it is a lot of work, we realized that learning how to do things correctly is just as important as making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. That is exactly what we did while filing our first set of election papers, we made a lot of mistakes but we were able to learn from them. When we start to file for County, Party, and State Offices, we will know what to do in order to not get disqualified.

We are in a general assembly learning about Operation Military Kids and are very excited about helping the families of those who are deployed or serving….we have a lot of great ideas for how to raise money and give back to the families who sacrifice a lot for our individual freedoms! http://www.operationmilitarykids.org/public/home.aspx

Oops, the Portola Ninja Cows need to get back in stealth mode as the assembly is over. We are udderly excited to get our hooves under us and get mooooving toward doing some incredible work in the State of California.

Bye for now……MOO-YAH!

First Girls State Election

2011-06-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Today is our first election at girls state and we are voting electronically for the very first time in California Girls State History!!!

We are creating history today!

The Girls Check-In!

2011-06-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

History of Girls State

2010-04-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Girls State began as one and two day sessions in the late 1930's. Washington, D.C. and Delaware are credited with first launching the program. In 1939, Girls State was expanded to a week-long government education program. Since 1948, it has been a regular part of the American Legion Auxiliary's curriculum. .For more than 60 years, the American Legion Auxilary has succeeded in giving young women the finest citizenship training program possible. The program has grown from a few hundred participants to nearly 20,000 Girls State Delegates annually. Each state holds their own Girls State session each summer.

What Is Girls State?

2010-04-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Girls State offers training in the practical processes of self government and good citizenship as practiced in a democratic society.Each summer, approximately 500 enthusiastic young women from different high schools throughout the state of California participate in the session. At Girls State, the "citizens" study local, county and state government processes. They do this by setting up their own miniature city, county, and state governments and administer them according to the laws of California.After arriving at Girls State, the citizens register to vote and choose one of two political parties, often named the Whigs & Tory's. These parties do not reflect the two major political parties in today's system of government. The parties platforms are decided by the Girls State citizens and allow them to gain knowledge about the operation of a two-party system.Girls State citizens participate in these instructional political parties, and elections are held to fill city, county and state positions. Activities include legislative sessions, campaigning, party rallies, debating and voting. The citizens also receive special instruction in parliamentary procedure. During the very busy week girls also have the opportunity to participate in the publishing of the daily Girls State newspaper, the Girls State Choir, the Girls State Orchestra and talent show.It's truly amazing what a group of well informed, talented young women can accomplish in a week. They discuss and debate real issues facing our Nation...they might just be able to teach our current leaders a few things!!