HSLP 08 Day 4, Tuesday July 15

High School Leaders Program Class of 2008
Day 4, Tuesday, July 15
Reported by: Nathalie Navarrete and Andrew Werner

     Today’s sunny July morning brought about an air of enthusiasm to the students who were on their way to learning about the history of Virginia politics. Following yesterday’s talk on the way Virginia has acted as a key state in many important national political issues, we learned about the Byrd political machine and the way it influenced citizens. We later discussed the reasons for Virginia’s abrupt shift in voting patterns and how the state of Mississippi’s trend toward the GOP compared to Virginia’s.
     After lunch we were honored with the visit of Coy Barefoot, who taught us how to set up a successful political campaign following seven key points. Barefoot’s visit helped us better understand the work behind a candidate’s campaign and how the media plays a key role in politics.
     The second part of the Informed Citizen class encouraged us to analyze the Constitution of Virginia and think about what should be changed and why. We worked in groups where we each had the chance to share his or her views.
     We ended today's class by discussing how stereotypes often keep citizens from joining political parties, and asking ourselves what would it be like if the electorate was well informed about the different platforms that our presidential candidates bring to the table.
     We later made our way to the UVA Corner where we all celebrated a classmate’s birthday— making today another successful day for the 2008 Sorensen high school students.
— Nathalie Navarrete of Alexandria, T.C. Williams High School Class of 2009

     The powers that be assigned a complete reading of the Virginia constitution this morning. Following a late night of revelry we made our way to class with weary eyes. Mary Kathryn, Mitch, and Colin kicked off the morning with their explanation of Mark J. Rozell's article about the changing political landscape in our fascinating commonwealth. The article told much of Virginia's political history from the Byrd organization and the one-party system through Governor Wilder and up to the mid-1990's. Extensive discussion ensued. Following that, Sonora, Joi, and Michelle presented their opinions on their assigned speech by former Governor Linwood Holton about the current state of the Republican party and its future. The following talks, again mediated by Mr. Maguire, were both extraordinarily interesting and informative and proved even more polarizing and generated even better discussion.
     We ate lunch after which we were greeted by Bob Gibson, the head of Sorensen. Mr. Gibson introduced himself and told us that tomorrow we'd be meeting with former Governor Mark Warner while in Alexandria (pretty awesome). Mr. Gibson was followed by an incredibly enthralling presentation by Coy Barefoot, a best-selling author and the man in charge of media for the Sorensen Institute. He gave insight into the importance of the media from the politician's point of view and gave us not only tricks of the trade but also invaluable information we never would have learned about how politicians work with the modern media.
     Mr. Maguire then divided the class and gave each group a different article of the state constitution. We were given 40 minutes to write an amendment. My group, consisting of Caitlin, Ladi, and me, were assigned Article X, and we amended Section 6 subsection 2. We then had another group discussion of an assigned article; this time it was headed by Richard, Helen, and Nathalie. When five o'clock struck the end to our debates, we left to celebrate McCullough's seventeenth birthday.
     We walked down McCormick Road to the Corner and piled into the Biltmore Grill for the birthday bash. The food was delicious. I had a burger and macaroni and cheese; others at my table ate crab cake sandwiches and chicken fingers. After dinner there was a huge birthday cake and singing. Try as he might, McCoulough just couldn't seem to get all of the candles in a single blow. I'm now off to watch a documentary and complete my deadline for our group project. Tomorrow the bus pulls out at 7 a.m. for a hopefully exciting day in Alexandria!
— Andrew Werner of Norfolk, Norfolk Academy