Two Southern Nevada seniors will debate issues at Girls Nation

Aaron Clemens

Wednesday, July 19, 2000 | 9:50 a.m.

Two Southern Nevada high school seniors will represent the state at Girls Nation next week in Washington, D.C.

Girls Nation is a gathering of young women from around the country who will debate various resolutions passed by their respective state levels.

Representing Nevada will be Amy Northrup of Green Valley High School and Shweta Shrivastava of Rancho High School. Both girls will be seniors this fall.

Among the issues the two will argue before 96 other delegates are government funding for grandparents who step in to perform parental roles.

They will suggest that grandparents deserve to be treated like social workers or foster parents if they take in abandoned grandchildren.

"We always wonder why our kids are so bad," Northrup said. "The root of this problem is that people are not living with their parents. With the right amount of money, grandparents could step in and give them proper care and morals."

This issue of grandparents and funding was one of 10 resolutions drafted at the state level. Other resolutions included urging tax breaks for water conservation, banning smoking in or within 25 feet of eating establishments, continuing funding for art programs in the schools, providing early childhood education on sexual assault and eating disorders, and offering the continuous study of language from elementary through high school.

Northrup and Shrivastava were chosen by the nearly 100 delegates to the Nevada Girls State session in Carson City in late June.

"Both young women were selected on the basis of their involvement with the Girls State program, coupled with their leadership skills and overall citizenship," Geraldine Connolly, the director of Nevada Girls State for the past 20 years, said.

Connolly said the long tradition of Girls State, which has been sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary since 1947, will continue with these outstanding young ladies. The American Legion Auxiliary is composed of the female relations of military veterans.

Shrivastava, who is in the aviation magnet program at Rancho, said she is interested in both aeronautical engineering and government. Northrup wants to go into broadcast journalism, although she enjoys biology.

Girls Nation will run from Saturday through July 29.