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Holmen High School juniors Jake Rohde and Kayla Kujak already have a taste of how leaders have to compromise. As they discussed their upcoming visits to Badger Boys State and Badger Girls State later this month, they learned they have different views of how government should be run.
Rohde will join fellow Holmen High School classmate Austin Mahlum and about 900 other boys attending Badger Boys State at Ripon College, June 13-19.
Kujak will join fellow Holmen High School classmate Jenny Jensen and about 700 girls attending Badger Girls State at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh June 21-26.
Other area students attending include Jessica Kennedy, Agnes Mroz, Dan Roth and Alex Leslie from Onalaska High School and Chelsea Emmons, Tracy Traxler, Matthew Raabe and Ryan Zibrowski from Luther High School. Becky Riediger of Luther also is going to Badger Girls State as an alternate.
The Badger State activities are sponsored by the state chapters of the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary as part of their Americanism programs. The program is designed as government training for students interested in learning more about government, how it affects individual lives and how their individual talents can serve others. Participants are entering their senior year in high school.
Each Badger State session is designed to teach all the students about establishing and enforcing laws for living in an imaginary state: Badger State. The entire assemblage creates the 51st state, functioning according to the laws of Wiscon-sin.
Rohde, who said people just might see his name some day as a candidate for the highest elected office in the land, said he would like to change the balance of power in the U.S. government.
“There’s too much power in one position,” he said. “I have more faith in the people. I’d rather have the power in the Senate.” He said he would expand government control.
Kujak, who was more interested in local and state government, said she didn’t want the federal government telling the states what to do.
“I want to run my town the way the citizens want me to,” she said.
They’ll find they will have to learn to compromise their values to obtain support and agreements on those kinds of issues and more when they get to their respective Badger State programs. Once there, students will be divided into two political parties — Federalists and Nationalists. They will develop their own party platforms and formulate their own positions on issues.
Students will run for elections at the municipal, county and state level, and elect or appoint other officials to run their city, schools and counties. As leaders and aldermen and alderwomen, they will originate and pass their own ordinances and their sheriffs and police departments will enforce them.
In addition to this in-depth exposure to government, students also have the opportunities to join the Badger State band, join sports teams, attend discussion sessions and, for the budding reporters and editors, run their own newspaper.
Kennedy wants to run for sheriff and network with other students with like interests. Roth and Leslie both want to run for senator.
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