by Jordan Mamorsky

It’s a dreary early Thursday morning. Rain fell on the pavement as twenty rather tired teens got on a coach bus en route to Boston. Talk was at a minimum as students slept or did some last minute preparation for the conference. A little while after digesting crummy food at a road stop, the bus reached Boston, Massachusetts and the Sheraton Hotel, final destination.

Here, there is excitement in the air. Besides wanting to know room assignments, students were more interested in what it would be like? What hot girls/or guys came from other schools? Was the trip worth the long bus ride? Indeed, as every participant would soon discover, the 4-day trip was to become well worth it.

Seventeen hundred kids made the trek from all across America to participate in Harvard’s Model Congress. Assigned roles of members of the press, Senators, Representatives, Lobbyists, members of the National Security Council, the Supreme Court, and more, those with their new identities vied for their pressing issues which ranged from women in the military, arm sales to Taiwan, peace keeping missions, the environment, and more.

Students were placed under the direction of Harvard students who acted as Chairs of various governmental committees. Teens learned how to pass laws, respond to national catastrophes, speak in front of large groups, compromise their positions, and vehemently argue their point of view. Many enjoyed debating the issues, like Cristi Pirro, a junior at Rye Country Day who professed, “I love debating.” Pirro was interested in Model Congress because she has a “thirst” for politics. “I am very interested in government reform so it seemed like the perfect thing for me to do.”

Harvard’s Model Congress provided a forum for teens to learn about political issues, yet participants learned about these issues in a fun way. Rather than having a teacher lecture, students defended the issues they had to research and represent. They learned about other points of view as argued by their peers. Kids were really interested in what they were doing and when a bill was passed in favor of their political party, cheers of jubilation would permeate the room.

Of course no mock government would be complete without partisanship. Matt Cohen, a senior said, “I learned why partisan politics takes place.” Despite some partisanship and personal attacks on politicians representing the other side of the aisle, teens learned how to compromise. Unlike actual government proceedings that seem to take an eternity to resolve, teen representatives passed legislation that was mostly beneficial to both Republicans and Democrats. This made all the difference to Kyle Doppelt, a congressman, who said, “I enjoyed learning about the inter-workings of government.”

While many would describe the Y generation as cynical, apathetic and indifferent to political issues, the Harvard Model Congress proved the contrary. Students wanted to be active participants in their government, and didn’t care about who would be the next Britney Spears or what would be the next box office hit teen movie. For many, like Cristi Pirro, “It further intensified my desire to become involved in civil service.” For first timer Dustin Fleischmen, it was simply, “A life changing experience.”