CLP 2010: Day 19, Thursday, June 17

College Leaders Program Class of 2010
Day 19-Thursday, June 17
Recorded by: Brittany Gentry, Old Dominion University

As we piled into the classroom, we had barely planted our bums into our seats when we were greeted with the challenging and mischievous smile of Professor Bagraw as he stood boldly next to his word document projected on the screen ahead of us. Our names were split within two categories: HOUSE of DELEGATES and SENATE. We then knew what was awaiting our time and effort for the remainder of the morning....BUDGET GAME!!! Thirty minutes of game rules and dynamics and one handout later, CLP 2010 split into a bicameral body.

The scenario painted a picture of a healthy, thriving economy in the Commonwealth of Virginia which presented us with an anticipated surplus of $240 million. The House delegates were members of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee and were up for re-election in the same year. The Senate members were part of the Senate Finance Committee and had substantially more freedom to make decisions because they were not facing re-election for another two years.

We began by selecting a committee chair and a recorder, then by adopting rules for the decision-making process. Each body decided to tackle the budgeting process with separate strategies and approaches while encountering the same difficulties. The House first looked at Cuts with the logic that forming an idea about what cuts the body agrees to make will give a more accurate amount for Spending. The Senate took the opposite approach, spending first. Time was short, and the aroma of Chick-fil-A filled the air. The budgets were balanced and finalized with the House ending with a $9 million deposit in the Rainy Day Fund and the Senate with a 0-0 balance. We then divided again into two more groups comprised of a mixture of delegates and senators to negotiate our budgets with each other. Finally, the motion to adjourn for lunch was made and the groups darted after the food.

After lunch, we broke from the budget game for our only speakers for the day from McGuire Woods Consulting. Both speakers lectured the class on the importance of the core Sorensen values and how they came to be involved in their prospective careers. William Pace asked his infamous two-part question ending with his request for an explanation of why each speaker chose their specific party affiliations. Katelyn Temple and Ramon Gamble went for the bold inquiries about internships and jobs, giving the entire class, including our speakers, a good laugh for the afternoon.

We then reverted back to the budget exercise and split into our second groups. Post debate and negotiations, the final results ranged from $9 million to $14 million excess to be deposited into the rainy day fund. Professor Bagraw tied up the class with discussion over the budget game while relating the experiences we had during the decision-making process to the concepts and theories within our readings for the day. We came to one solid conclusion: the Sorensen College Leaders are one rocking group of budget professionals!