Youth In Government (YIG) had its fourth meeting on Nov. 11, starting off the second year of YIG at Park. YIG is a club where students learn about the Minnesota government and end up acting as a member of one of the branches of the government.
Senior Eric Lindell said one thing members of YIG can do is write a bill and convince a group of other student senators to vote on and pass your bill.
“You get to be a senator and you write out a bill,” Lindell said. “Then you present it to a whole legislature of kids who are presenting their own bills and convince them to pass your bill and have it get signed by the student governor.”
YIG advisor Emma Engebretson said that YIG members can also participate in other aspects of government, like addressing issues with NIFs (National Issue Forum) and participating in the state supreme court.
“It simulates student government so students can participate in various activities and some aspects of government,” Engebretson said. “They could write bills, they could be on the supreme court or anything else that is a part of our government.”
Junior Sylvia Tolzin said the community is a reason why she joined, as well as the feeling of doing something she hadn’t done before.
“I’ve enjoyed the community,” Tolzin said. “I’ve loved the support of my peers and Ms. Emma. I have also enjoyed trying something new. This is my first time in youth in government.”
Lindell said he started YIG because he had done Model UN before, and he knew that it was similar to that.
“Well, it’s similar to Model UN and I did Model UN before it was a club here with some friends and I really enjoyed it, so the next year we started this club,” Lindell said.
Tolzin said the driving factor for her to join YIG was to boost her college application.
“Honestly, college (was why I joined),” Tolzin said. “I need to do a bunch of extracurriculars and this seemed like fun. It also seemed a bit out of my comfort zone so I could try something new.”
Engebretson said that right now, they are still in the early stages of the process and are currently just doing the prep work and logistical pieces. She said the club is mostly student-run, so she is focusing on getting everybody registered and everything turned in.
“A lot of the prep work at first is getting everybody registered and making sure everything is turned in,” Engebretson said. “After that, it’s really our student leaders that take the lead on things here.”
YIG doesn’t present their ideas until January, so they are still in their early phases of the process. They meet next Thursday Nov. 16
