Newsroom Archive for 07/21, 2009

High School Leaders Program Class of 2009
Day 10— Monday, July 20
Reported by: John DeVilbiss, Radford

    Once again I woke up this morning in the tiny cramped dorm room and to the now common call of this random rooster. I see an ironic connection to Henry Thoreau's Walden. "I do not propose to write an ode to dejection, but to brag as lustily as chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, if only to wake my neighbors up." I feel that is an appropriate quote to describe my experience. I have only been here one week, a mere drop in the pond compared to Thoreau's two-year learning experience but what I have learned is comparable.
     The wilderness of politics is massive. Every day I am woken up with a new fact, statistic, and tool for life.  The day starts with a simple breakfast and we set off to explore at about 9. We stay seated most of the day until 5, but when you are busy thinking about political ethics, the day goes by quickly— especially when you are processing some of the startling problems of the real world. We stay pretty clean in our professional attire (except at lunch). On the contrary, the debates require you to get pretty dirty; not in the sense of disrespect, but down to the nitty gritty.
     The Sorensen Institute really enforces and makes you embrace the fact that it is unacceptable to be disrespectful when arguing an issue. The issues are separate of the person. That’s what politics is about, the issues. Another important point they teach is that you may not win every argument, but it is important to see both sides, after all that can help you win. Finally, just losing one battle doesn’t mean you lost the war, there is whole area of issues to fight for and against.
     This past week has been filled with so much more than just prime principals but how to make these principals aware to the public. There has been good food, good times and good people. I have been to summer camps and programs every summer for most of my life, and I have never had an experience like this. I wish I could have done this every summer, and I’m pretty set on trying the College Leaders Program here. Some of our speakers were graduates of this one-of-a-kind school. Each one is an exemplary and impeccable member of their community and actually making a difference. Everyone should have this experience because there is nowhere else can you learn the politics of politics except at the Sorensen Institute.
 
— John DeVilbiss, Radford

High School Leaders Program Class of 2009
Day 10— Monday, July 20
Reported by: Megi Hakobjanyan, Mechanicsville

     My alarm went off at 7:30am. Catherine and I completely ignored it. See after a long, relaxed and fun weekend, it is very hard to wake up at 7:30 especially since Brea Thomas with her marvelous voice did not let us sleep till 2am. Anyways, we made it out of the bed, got dressed, had breakfast and we were out of the doors by 8:30.
       Our schedule said that we had class lecture from 9am till 12pm. Of course everybody’s first reaction was “Oh dear Lord…” But professor Steve Bragaw managed to keep us engaged and interested the whole three hours of the class. Personally I enjoy his classes very much. It is so interesting. We talk about things that you think you already know about, but when he asks us questions you really realize how much you don’t know and how much you are actually learning here. It is a weird feeling to explain. That feeling that you are getting so much smarter in those three hours.
     For example, today we were talking about policy making. I have already learned about policy making in my high school government class, but today I got to learn about it in a complete different way. Today I got to learn about the thinking that goes into policy making. It is not just set steps that you do to create a policy. There is a philosophical thinking that goes into each step. Then from policy making we started to talk about equality. That was when the professor brought in two delicious looking and tasting brownie pans with fresh brownies and gave us the simplest directions. “Split the two pans of brownies amongst yourselves.”  It took us 10 minutes, but afterwards everyone was happily eating a fair share of their brownie. Then the discussion changed to equity, efficiency, security and liberty. Again, I thought I knew about all of those words, but today all of us got to know the deep meaning behind these words and their connections to our every-day decision-making process.
     After a nice lunch, we all returned to the class room and met with Charlottesville Chief of Police Tim Longo. He was probably the funniest and at the same time the most touching speaker we had. He changed the way I viewed the police department in general. I never knew that policemen try so hard to open communication lines with all of the citizens, and gain their trust. I think we were all amazed by the amount of passion that Chief Longo put in his work, and the amount of dedication he had to reach every member of his community.
     If you ever want to get involved in a political campaign and be politically active, Michael Snook is the person to go to for advice. He has been politically active most of his life, and he shared with us the steps you can take to be effective in someone’s campaign. Of course the best way is to go door to door, which is not very pleasant, but always effective.
            As rain was pouring down outside, Karen Kobler, our next speaker rushed to the classroom. Our topic was fundraising— or in other words, the most essential part of political campaigns. Karen Kobler was very entertaining and fun. We learned how little tactics and moves can get you a long way and help you raise any amount of money you want. It is very simple. You find the cause you want to fundraise for; you find the people who you are going to talk to; find the most personal way to reach those people; you ask for the specific amount; and last but not least, you thank them no matter what. Very simple lesson, but probably one of the most valuable ones.
     So this was the second Monday of Sorensen. As the days are going by, we all can not believe how fast the time is moving. I guess, it is true, that time flies when you are having fun.

—Megi Hakobjanyan, Mechanicsville