BY ILANA GRATCH
On Dec. 3, 25 MHS Model Congress students left for the 2009 Yale Model Congress Conference. Approximately 20 high schools from the Northeast attended this conference run by Yale University students. Eight MHS students received awards, and all were proud to represent the high school.
Junior Evan Brooker, who attended the conference, said, “The Yale Model Congress Conference gives the opportunity for young adults to experience the political thrill of debate.”
The students, or “delegates,” were accompanied by advisers Maria Fairbairn and Caroline Scudder, as well as Catherine Devlin. They arrived at Yale at 3 p.m., and, following registration, partook in the opening ceremonies.
This ceremony consisted of The President’s Address, Board Instructions, an a capella performance and a speech by the keynote speaker, State Representative of Conn. Gary Holder-Winfield.
Later on that evening, the delegates were broken up into committee sessions in which they would spend a total of approximately 20 hours over the next few days. In these committee sessions, students debated bills pertaining to their specific committees. For many, this was the most exciting aspect of the trip.
On Sunday, the last day of the conference, the Award Ceremony took place. This was an exciting hour for the MHS delegation. The awards were Distinguished Speaker in Full Session; Distinguished Speaker in Committee Session; Honorable Mention in Full Session; and Honorable Mention in Committee Session.
Awards went to Brooker, Matt Conley, Julian Dega, Jeffrey Eisenband, Nick Gersh, Kyle Giddon, Jordie Lesser-Roy and Jane Wiesenberg.
“I was particularly proud of the new attendees who received awards,” Fairbairn said.
Model Congress has served continually for eight years as a successful, serious and enjoyable club at MHS. Opportunities such as this Yale Conference help its students put forward their finest skills in a larger venue.
Students overall had a great time and held a positive outlook on the weekend. Gersh, senior and co-president of Model Congress, said, “It was a pleasant chance to meet with other politically inclined students from around the Northeast.”
Lesser-Roy, a Model Congress regular and conference attendee, said, “It was nice to see so many of Mamaroneck High School’s brightest political minds come together for one common purpose, while making our school look as good as possible.”
The teacher advisors shared the similar feelings about the trip. “I was extremely impressed with the high caliber of bills presented and proud that Mamaroneck High School students upheld their outstanding reputation,” Scudder said.
