Volume 77, Issue 2 Tuesday, June 16, 2015

As various campaigns launched and parties organized, positions and values had to be defined, and com-promise within both the Federalist and Nationalist parties had to be reached. Monday afternoon, del-egates from each city were sent to hold a convention for their respec-tive parties. Tuesday afternoon, after that morning's primary elections, a debate was held featuring the chosen state party candidates. Upon exami-nation of the chosen party platforms and the candidates from both parties, however, quickly it is realized that there is a stunning lack of diversity in both ideas and politics. The first evidence of this is the Nationalist and Federalist party plat-forms. Both platforms support large-ly unregulated gun ownership, lean prolife in reference to abortion, sup-port increased attention to Veteran Affairs, wish to allow and encourage natural resource extraction (such as fracking), and support maintaining the death penalty in Ohio. There are

admittedly some noticeable differ-ences between the two platforms, such as the Nationalist platform sup-porting a progressive tax scheme, where the Federalist platform spe-cifically endorses a three percent flat tax. Still, to the average observer, there may not be enough variation for an easy decision to be made. This trend can also be seen in past years of the Boys State program. For instance, during the 2014 Boys State program, both the Federalist and Na-tionalist parties built a platform that was anti-common core (and for the general restructuring of educational incentives), pro-death penalty, for some form of legalization of mari-juana, and both decided to in some way address corporate welfare and corporate tax loopholes. In 2006, both parties were against same-sex marriage, pro-death penalty, and for the reevaluation of legal gambling taxation to raise revenue. Tuesdays debate offered no relief from the trend. Throughout the de-bate, both attorney generals and trea-surers seemed to be running with the exact same bases. The secretary of state candidates had the same views on the issues of voter fraud and legal business licensing, excepting that the Federalist candidate, Eric Mc-Donald, acted as the only fiscally so-cial voice on the panel. Federalist Lt. Governor Candidate Austin Grumm can even be quoted as saying, as his refute to his opponents comment on

job training programs, I agree and have nothing to say. The most signif-icant difference between candidates was that between Federalist Jacob Stauffer and Nationalist David Emery for Chief Justice, as, where Stauffer supported a more strict interpretation of the Constitution and promoted the importance of imprisoning criminals, Emery supported the modernization of law and the promotion of rehabili-tation programs for criminals. Though it can be argued that this is simply the result of democratic major-ity rule, the questions still remain: if these same tenets and ideologies are, and consistently have been, the major-ity opinion within the Buckeye Boys State program, then is there, or will there ever be, room for the minority opinion to receive a voice within the program, and, exactly what is this size of this existing, suppressed minority?

The One-Party SystemJack WarfieldHetuck Reporter and Writer

Photo By: Liam Daves of Sklenicka

Photo By: Kyle Phelps of Allen

Federalist Candidate Isaiah Carter gave an overwhelming exceptional perfor-mance in the debate that got a standing ovation

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF BUCKEYE BOYS STATE, THE AMERICAN LEGION OF OHIO

2 The Hetuck

Voting Day

Life as a DelegateAs elections are over now, appointed positions have been filled, the Governor has taken

office, and we all begin to explore the various responsibilities of our jobs, we learn one thing that can be summed up with a simple movie quote Im sure everyone knows, We arent in Kansas anymore. For the feint-of-heart that possibly thought that this was simply a camp to learn ABOUT government in our state, they have been shocked with the revelation that we ARE the government. We are not learning by being taught, but rather trial by fire. This is our administration, and like our responsibility to pick our leaders, it is similarly our duty to our fellow delegates to execute our positions to the fullest extent of our ability. But many of us, roughly 50% of the people running, lost their elections. Sitting in our city meeting, Benjamin Myers, the head counselor of Balding City in Galbraith County, uttered a string of words that left us simply speechless. In regards to the losers of elections in our city, he told them this, Back when I attended Boys State, I lost my election as well. But we as men must not let our losses define us. This simple anecdote resonated among us thoroughly, and immediately had an impact on all those who may have settled for a job they had originally not been interested in. What Ben did was ignite a fire and took the boys who were settling and made hem avidly believe in their positions. As the great Vince Lombardi once spoke, It matters not how many times you fall down, but how many times you get back up. It is not how we fall, whether it be graceful or tempestuous. It is in how fast we rise, becoming the Phoenix from the ashes. It is in how hard we come up swinging after going down for the count. It is the rise after the fall that we find greatness, and it is our ability to not necessarily forget our losses, but learn from them. We mustnt dwell on defeat, but rather be motivated to greatness by them. Every delegate must remember this, and remember this they shall, because during this week to shape a lifetime;

these are the defining moments.

R.L. CambersHetuch writer and reporter

Photo By: Liam Davis of Sklenicka

The Hetuck 3

Counselor Spotlight:Kyle WilliamsBy: Michael S. VinceHetuck Reporter and WriterPhoto By: Liam Davis of Sklenticka

What is his position at Buckeye Boys State (BBS)? Band counselor, counselor

for the state department, the development agency, and the taxation bureau.

What year did he attend BBS? He likes to keep that a secret until the very last day. He says he doesnt tell any-one until the last day because it adds more mystery and coolness.

What is his hometown? He currently lives in Newark, Ohio and he is from New Lexington, Ohio.

Where and when did he grad-uate high school? - He gradu-ated from New Lexington High School and he likes to keep the

year he graduated a secret too because he says it adds to the ef-fect. He says he tells everyone on the last day as his grand fi-nale.

What did he like about BBS that makes him come back to-day? When he came to BBS he was terrified. He was sweating and shaking. He was changed

and BBS is in him.If he could tell the boys of BBS anything, what would he tell them? He says, Be persistent enough to dare. What he means by that is that sometimes in life you may not win something, whether it be an election, a job or a debate. The sheer will to

persist and the will to keep go-ing no matter what life throws at you is important to him. Be so courageous that you cant stop trying and you only shoot to be the best of the best because you are the best of the best. Shoot for the stars and never give up.

4 The Hetuck

A Bar Exam ReviewLogan Hall

Hetuck Reporter and Writer Amidst the organized chaos on the second day of Buckeye Boys State, one challenge many delegates have had to face is the Boys State Bar exam. In the real world, the Bar exam is a two-to-three day long examina-tion given to those who wish to practice law in a given jurisdic-tion. Many who enter into the judicial branch exit with their heads hung low due to this gru-eling test of knowledge. The Buckeye Boys State Bar examination is no differ-ent. Young delegates wishing to claim their seat in the Boys State Judicial branch must first pass this exam, albeit a smaller version, consisting of only 50 questions, taking place over just one hour, but also being open-book. Its tough, said delegate Dylan Beltz, who attended the first session of the test this morning. According to my sources, over one-hundred boys attempted the Bar exam this morning, but only seventeen of them came out with a passing grade, showing that this seem-ingly straightforward assess-ment could be a considerable challenge for those who havent had enough time to ponder their study materials. In my journalistic efforts, I actually made an attempt at the test during the second ses-

sion. I found myself flustered, as, although the test is open book, it was easy to get lost in the words and lose time while searching for answers. My results reflected my frustration, with my score being a thirty-four out of fifty, with forty-four correct answers needed to pass.

Campaign TacticsRyan Oates

Hetuck Reporter and Writer

From hordes of posters to one-on-one conversations, state candidates use a variety of tactics to attract the attention of Buckeye Boys State voters. Some candidates, like Federal-ist Governor Candidate Ragan Tuffey, use witty slogans and puns to make their names more memo-rable. My Lieutenant Generals last name is Barren. My last name is Tuffey, said Tuffey, so we took Tuff from Tuffey and Barr from Barren and made our slogan Reagan is back and hes tougher than a bear. While these slogans are creative and memorable, they often lack policy-based substance and require voters to look deeper for more information. When asked about slogans like this, voter Cole

Zemella said I kind of find them an-noying, but they do actually help in remembering names. Another major campaigning deci-sion for state candidates is choosing between approaching groups of peo-ple and approaching individuals one-on-one. I like talking one-on-one, said Nationalist Governor Candidate Adam J. Champer, Ill talk to an en-tire city if I need to, but one-on-one is usually better for me. This brings up another concept that relates not only to politics, but to life in general: the struggle between ap-pealing to the general public and re-maining genuine to oneself. Campaigning, in all honesty, is a lot of rear-end kissing, said Governor Candidate Taylor Golden, I mean thats essentially what it boils down to and I find that completely ridicu-lous. I dont want to be considered a candidate. I want to be considered a competitor. Because candidates are cautious. They dodge. They evade. They dont answer the hard-hitting questions. They dont want to genu-inely help the people My approach is just to be genuine with people. Often in politics, candidates neglect to engage in sincere conversation, and are too busy with formalities such as handshaking and name promotion. Federalist Governor Candidate Grant Gardiner brings a mentality very simi-lar to Goldens. Im trying to relate to a bunch of seventeen-year-old boys, not men in the government, said Gardiner, I try to be more casual and approachable rather than coming in, looking different from everyone in a suit and tie all the time. Perhaps the point to be made is this: the best campaign approach is the human ap-proach. Flashy slogans and posters dont win elections. Integrity does. Sincerity does. Its about time our state candidates start communicating with voters on a human level.

Photo by Kyle Phelps of Allen