- Our recently created chant goes as follows: You know it! What?! You know the story! What?! You tell the whole darn world this is Mason territory!! MMMMMMMASON!!!!
- Our counselor Emily and junior counselor Andy are pure genius (they bribed us to say that).
- We assigned town jobs last night; this blog post is courtesy of Health Board members, a Select Board member, the town lifeguard, and Ms. Mason.
- Our prompt and punctual arrivals, our enthusiastic and energetic attitudes, and our orderly and organized areas are putting us in a prime position to win Model Town.
- We have residents running for every position, so we're proud to say that we're really taking advantage of the opportunities given to us.
Zumba is calling, so ta-ta for now!!
~ Mason Members
Welcome to the town of Coutts! In our lovely second-floor jungle, you may see some creatures like a toucan, a white tiger, an elephant, or even a penguin or peacock. Well, you wouldn’t actually see these animals. Each member of our town chose an animal in our jungle theme that they felt represented them. But anyway, almost all of our members are In the Federalist party, and Coutts dominated the party convention! The Chair, the Secretary, and all three members of the platform committee were represented by Coutts residents. Go Coutts! We in Coutts are looking forward to finding out the results of the primary election today. Hopefully our town is well represented in the general election.Today, all the towns listened to Katie Lavasseur, Miss Vermont of 2011, speak about her role and accomplishments in amending the Vermont constitution. This amendment allows seventeen-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they will be eighteen by the general election. Katie inspired us all to want to be leaders, and to stand up for what we are passionate about. Miss Vermont 2010, Caroline Bright, is our co-director of GMGS this year, and she has been really fun and enthusiastic in all of our meetings. Thanks Caroline!
Socializing at Green Mountain Girls State is like everything else here; it is what you make of it. We have such a busy schedule that relaxing time is hard to come by, and when we do have down time at the end of each day, a lot of us would much rather spend the time sleeping instead of making friends. With the chances we do get though, we find different girls from all over Vermont, with many of the same interests as ourselves. Meal times are the best chances we have to get to know the people in our towns better. Since we have such long stretches for eating, there is a lot of extra time to talk. Many of the girls find that they know each other from past activities or have different connections to one another. It’s interesting to see who’s becoming friends with who so far. Cliques are already starting to form, but not in a negative way. We’re only on the second day of Girls State, but already towns are becoming closer and more spirited! As for roommates, it can go two ways. If the girls are friendly and social, it’s a blast, but if one of them is really shy or introverted, then the times alone can be quiet and relatively awkward. The majority of the roommates are getting along great though, and we’re all having an awesome time getting to know each other here at GMGS! :)
Here at Girls’ State, each member is grouped into one of four towns: Berrio, Coutts, Denis-Fleurant, and Mason. All the girls in each town room in the same hall, have town meetings, and eat meals together. The towns help each member to form a strong sense of community. At the end of the week, one town is chosen to be “Model Town” by earning the most points. Points can be gained for timeliness, spirit, and election success. As members of Berrio and Coutts, we thought it would be interesting to compare the different elements and dynamic of each town. Berrio is a very motivated and spirited group of twenty-two girls. They manage to stay serious about politics while still being able to crack jokes and have fun. Town meetings are held in a classroom in the basement of the dorm. In the town meetings, they strategize how to gain more town spirit points, plan the town skit, and discuss the election. Each town member has been elected to a certain role ranging from clerk and mayor to cow operator and energizer bunny. This helps to build the sense of community as everyone is given the opportunity to participate in their own way. Coutts is a very diverse group, including twenty-four girls with many different strengths and interests. Six girls ran for offices and many were involved in running for party positions. Most of the group is in the Federalist Party, with three others in the Nationalist Party. They have been planning their town skit, ideas for decorations, and pranks in town meetings – which are held in “the dungeon”, also known as the smelly rec room. Every girl holds a town position, including mayor, clerk, shower police, town mom, and town Barbie – just to name a few. Our town activities have helped build a strong bond between each girl. Overall, the towns share similar aspects, but they are each different in their own way.
We have already experienced the mock government setting with primary elections of auditor, treasurer, attorney general, secretary, lieutenant governor, and governor by the Nationalist and Federalist parties. Everyone has already been thrown into making friends, speeches, and coming up with ideas.In the short time that we have been staying at VTC, we have already met celebrities, including Miss Vermont 2009 Caroline Bright (Co-Director of GMGS) and Miss Vermont 2011 Katie Levasseur. They have both spoken about the importance of getting involved both at camp and in our communities. It can benefit everyone to take advantage of the opportunities that come to us; once we seize these, positive changes can be brought to both ourselves and our world. Girls came to this camp hoping to gain government experience and knowledge and create friendships—this has fortunately been the case. --Katie Lazarus
So far at this program, the girls have separated into two parties: the Nationalists and the Federalists. Within these groups, the girls have created major issues, or platforms, that they would like to focus on throughout this week. When learning the goals of both platforms, it was seen that even in these mock government situations, people are caring about local situations and the surrounding environment. The Nationalist Party created a platform based on their concerns for energy, education, and the economy. They are focusing on creating green energy alternatives, cheaper, more local education, and returning to a small, yet inexpensive, business committees. While speaking with members of the Federalist Party, many parallels were seen in their platform goals. The group showed concern for the “three E’s”, which represent the environment, economy, and education. Though these are two parties that shall come head-to-head in tomorrow’s final election, real political influence is shown in these mock-government situations, for though the parties differ, they both have similar goals and show a strong commitment towards the promotion of Vermont citizens. Though Girls State is bipartisan, it is a great experience for everyone to feel the heat created between two government parties, which happens constantly in the real world. - Nina Merriam & Annavitte Rand
