By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
While politics in the U.S. may be quite divisive and bitter, the atmosphere at Buckeye Girls State in Bowling Green last week was above the fray.
“This is how politics could be … it doesn’t have to be the way it’s portrayed in America,” said Romy Nazario, a participant in this year’s summer program. There was an “esprit de corps” in the air that prioritized finding common ground and shared values.
Bowling Green State University hosted Buckeye Girls State for the third consecutive year last week. The program invited more than 500 incoming high school seniors from across Ohio to spend a week learning about the various roles in local and state government.
Two Bowling Green High School students, Nazario and Emily Blakeman, shared their experience at the midweek point.
The participants (or in BGS lingo, delegates) at BGS learn about the U.S. system of government via immersion. “We’re building a government from the bottom up. Totally ground up. We’re going through every step of the election process,” said Nazario.
BGS is a microcosm of a familiar hierarchy: cities are run by council members and a mayor, commissioners administrate counties, and the state governs both via its legislative, judicial, and executive branches. In lieu of Democrats and Republicans, candidates at BGS belong to either the Federalists or Nationalists.
Blakeman and Nazario had just cast their ballots and were waiting to hear the results of their parties’ primaries.
Nazario was running for Associate Supreme Court Justice. “You can kind of see how cutthroat politics can be. You’re taking a bunch of some of the kindest, brightest, most ambitious girls … It’s like I want to meet people and make as many friends as I can but I also want to win. So it’s a very interesting atmosphere,” Nazario said.
Blakeman, not particularly inclined toward campaigning, was appointed by her mayor to fill a school board position. “I want to make the friends … just for the friend part.” After the elections have been settled, the delegates are given mock scenarios applicable to their respective positions.
Every attendee has a role at BGS – be it as state governor or city dog warden. One could even join law enforcement and enforce traffic laws while the girls walk the campus, including use of hand signals, wearing seat belts (represented by a rubber band around their lanyard), and strict prohibition of cell phone use.
Buckeye Girls State Director of Public Relations Ashley Dell spoke about how BGS tries to balance civic education and the light-hearted atmosphere of summer camp. “We really do our best to have fun with this, but also to make it applicable to things that we can do here on campus. They can get a taste of it in a controlled environment to make them responsible citizens of our cities, state, and country.”
For the girls, the best part of BGS was its spirit of camaraderie. “At the end of the day, you’re all just trying to make friends. You can leave here being lieutenant or Chief Justice, but most people are going to speak about how they left meeting a best friend or their future college roommate,” Nazario said.
“It’s very empowering to be doing it in a space with only girls. That breaks down the barrier, that mindset that’s so engrained socially of ‘I’m going to have to fight harder because I’m a woman.’”
“One of our city’s mottos is ‘We cheer for everyone, but we cheer for ourselves the loudest.’ We’re really friendly with each other, but there is a bit of competition,” Blakeman added.
