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01
May
2012
Cabinet Applications & Chapter Leadership Forms
Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 May 2012 18:09
 
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21
Mar
2012
Naperville Central Minicon

It was a cloudy day on March 3rd as JSAers from across the region entered Naperville
Central High School’s Auditorium to begin a day of debating. NCHS JSA chose to theme their
minicon ‘Elections’ to commemorate the heated political atmosphere that America will soon
experience. Schools as far as Port Huron Northern and as close as Naperville North were in
attendance, bringing in a total of over 50 students.

The day began with the usual round of debates but things were quickly shaken up with
the first ever Teacher vs. Student debate on the 21st Amendment. Jack Carbonara vs. Mr. Ulrich
of Naperville Central argued it out about whether the 21st amendment should be retained
or repealed. NCHS JSA also presented the best speakers of each debate with an extremely
original award: Goat trophies. Each best speaker was awarded a Great Orator Achievement
Trophy(GOAT) that displayed a goat mounted on a platform. The convention also included
a great section of Press Secretary and Musical Chairs where numerous students engaged in
impromptu speeches.

Naperville Central is only in it’s 3rd year as a chapter but this was their 2nd
miniconvention and a great one at that. With many JSAers having the ‘post-Winter Congress
blues’ the NCHS Minicon livened them up and recharged their JSA spirits for the final
convention of the year while allowing novices and experienced members alike to have a great
time debating serious and fun topics alike.

“The Naperville Central Minicon was moderate in its size but substantial in execution. It
deviated from the normal standard set for JSA minicons by adding some needed flavor. Things
like the beautiful goat trophies (Great Orator Achievement Awards!) as well as musical chair
debates made the Minicon this year around really fresh.”- Neil Dave(Junior at Naperville
Central)

“It was great, but still very hip and indie, with the goat trophies adding a retro, yet
modern touch’ Will Donnely(CIA Agent and Illinois Senator Candiate, NNHS)

"The NCHS minicon was one of the most successful minicons I have been to this year. From
the serious atomic bomb debate to the more laid-back musical chairs debates, I found each
member intensely engaged and involved. Hats off to Lisa Swanson and Edeline Chen for putting
together a fantastic minicon." Hari Ravi(Lieutenant Governor Chief of Staff and LTG Candiate,
NVHS)

Written by Administrator   
Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 March 2012 14:45
 
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05
Mar
2012
Winter Congress 2012

Winter Congress 2012. For some JSA-ers, it was their first Winter Congress, or even their first convention. For others, it might have been the culmination of their Winter Congress experience, in their fourth year of being a part of the Junior State. The Midwest, Ohio River, and Southeast states came together in Washington D.C. from February 17th-19th for an incredible taste of the legislative process.

One of the greatest parts of Winter Congress is the location; students took advantage of the historic city by visiting famous museums, national monuments, and walking around the capital of our nation. Many chapters arrived one or two days early to have more time for everything.

But after most of the sightseeing, students were ready to come together for the opening session on Friday evening. In addition to comments from the governors, program directors, political party chairs, and other convention planners, we were lucky to have Mr. Peter Loge, a political advisor, as our guest speaker for the night. Giving an interesting speech about power and its intricacies, Mr. Loge gave a completely different perspective from most of the politicians that JSA welcomes as guest speakers. Following Mr. Loge’s speech, various night activities followed, including caucuses for the Democratic, Libertarian, Republican, and Socialist parties, a Mr. JSA competition, and the ever-popular dance.

On Saturday, the next morning, the heart of Winter Congress began. Different from any other JSA convention, delegates had submitted bills, resolutions, and amendments beforehand. Split into various House and Senate committees, every JSA-er debated the legislation that they themselves had proposed and sponsored. Also unique at Winter Congress is the ability to change legislation – any delegate could propose an amendment, and if it passed, then it would get sent over to its corresponding House/Senate committee. The bills, resolutions, and amendments that passed in both the House and Senate were then brought into the full House and Senate committees, where several committees of either Representatives or Senators were combined. If the legislation passed again in full committee, then it was declared law.

New this year was the political party point system – in previous years, party chairs and their whips had gone around to different rooms debating issues that their political party supported or opposed. This year, a point system was introduced to give a little bit of competition between the political parties. Points were awarded when a bill passed that a party supported and spoke on, and when a bill failed that a party opposed and spoke on; extra points were awarded if another member of a political party spoke as well. The winners ended up being the Democrats, with the Libertarians coming in a close second.

Other parts of Winter Congress included the Political fair, featuring a number of different organizations, the Saturday moonlit tour, giving students a chance to see the national monuments in a night setting, and the annual candidate declarations for elections at Spring State. Nominees were Karthik Bala (Naperville North High School) and Hari Ravi (Neuqua Valley High School) for Lieutenant Governor, Shaker Samman (Port Huron Northern High School), Kimberly Liu (Neuqua Valley High School), and Summer Wu (IMSA) for Governor, Kylee Radulovich (Arrowhead High School) and Alex Lubbers (Port Huron Northern High School) for Michigan Senator.

As the convention came to a close, delegates seemed tired but happy. Not only was everyone pleased with how the convention was run, but with the people that they had the chance to meet. Rare are the chances where students can have an intelligent, reasonable debate with students just as passionate about politics. Rarer are the chances that the people that you debate with are people that you can hang out with afterwards. Winter Congress is one of those rare chances. All of the students from different areas of the country managed to come together and culminate in one of the most unique experiences that JSA has to offer: Winter Congress 2012.

click here for a list of passed bills and best speakers from Winter Congress!

Written by Administrator   
Last Updated on Monday, 05 March 2012 15:45
 
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20
Jan
2012
Cabinet Profiles

 

Governor's Cabinet

 

Joint Cabinet

 

Lieutenant Governor's Cabinet

Written by Administrator   
Last Updated on Friday, 20 January 2012 21:19
 
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11
Dec
2011
Midwest Cabinet Announcement: Cabinet now open for applications

Are you in JSA? Do you want to get more involved? If so, apply for cabinet and prepare to experience a whole new side of JSA! Whether you're a sophomore who's only been to a few conventions, or a senior who's just finished off you're college apps, you won't want to miss out on this rare opportunity to make a difference in the Midwest. If you have any questions concerning the jobs/roles of the different departments, e-mail Summer Wu, the Midwest Chief of Staff at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Any cabinet member will testify that working as a part of Midwest JSA is extremely rewarding- just remember that when you apply, you are agreeing that you will make cabinet work your number one priority.  All applications are due by January 1st, 2012.

Click Here for the Application

 

Written by Administrator   
Last Updated on Sunday, 11 December 2011 09:06
 
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