Las Vegas Valley students getting a national perspective

Annie Flanzraich

Friday, July 8, 2005 | 5:03 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 9-10, 2005

While legislators at the national level gear up to tackle U.S. Supreme Court nominations, three Las Vegas high school students will have the chance to go to Capitol Hill and enact their own bills this month.

Gibran Baydoun, a senior at Green Valley High School, will be attending Boys Nation from July 22 through 30. It's a program put on by the American Legion every year to provide youth firsthand experience in the operations of federal governmen.

Wen Hui Tan, a senior at Coronado High School, and Mallory Cyr, a senior at Clark High School, will both be participating in Girls Nation, a similar program put on by the American Legion Auxiliary.

In both programs, two representatives from each state go to Washington, D.C., to act as senators. They conduct a caucus at the beginning of each session and organize into committees to conduct hearings of bills according to the rules of the U.S. Senate. The representatives are chosen at Girls State and Boys State conferences where the same students learned about government on a state level.

At Nevada Boys State, which was held on the UNR's campus last month, Gibran ran for local and state positions in mock elections over a three-day period. He started out running for municipal court judge and eventually put a bid in for supreme court judge. While campaigning, he ran into trouble when he took money from National Rifle Association and tobacco industry lobbyists. He said he only took the money from the special interest groups to enrich his experience at the conference.

"Then minutes afterwards I was like -- I just took money from the NRA and tobacco corporations," Gibran said. "So I gave it back, and then they said I donated money to the NRA and the tobacco corporations."

Lionel Motta, the state adjutant for the American Legion Nevada who was in charge of organizing Boys State, played the role of the lobbyist from whom Gibran accepted money. Motta said the experience was a valuable lesson for Gibran that helped prepare him for Boys Nation.

"I guarantee you if he runs for any position (at Boys Nation) he won't be taking any money," Motta said.

Even though she lost her bid for governor at Nevada Girls State, Wen Hui said she enjoyed learning about state politics at the conference that was held at the 4-H Camp at Lake Tahoe June 12-18.

"It was a good way to get in touch with the system, with our lawmakers and with the work it entails," she said.

Going to conferences such as Girls State and Girls Nation is a way for girls to develop confidence and speaking skills, said Geraldine Connolly, the director of Nevada Girls State.

"We really stress the confidence in their own abilities, to set goals and aim for them," Connolly said. "You can be anything you want to be."

Mallory ran for city clerk, county commissioner and then became a state senator at the end of Girls State. But for the national conference, she has her eyes on a higher position.

"I was thinking maybe president," Mallory said. "We'll see how it goes."

She got involved in Girls State after she heard about it from a government teacher at her high school. Before getting interested in politics, Mallory wanted to be a veterinarian. Now she said she thinks about going to college for a degree that would help get her to the United Nations.

"A fire was lit under me to get involved in politics," she said. "And from there I just really got into it."

Many state female leaders went through Girls State, including former Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, who spoke at the Girls State conference. Mallory said hearing women such as Del Papa speak makes her think her own goals are a definite possibility.

"It's really neat to see the women who are involved," she said. "Politics has not always been something where women can work, so it was great to me to see them come and say, 'If I did it, then you can too'."