FUTURE LEADERS
Students get real-life civics lesson

Smoking banned from all public places except bars and designated employee areas; stop lights that give a count-down before turning red; discontinuing Daylight Savings Time; and establishing a safety zone around courthouses that would allow for tougher penalties for crimes committed in that safety zone: these are a few of the ideas the students of Brook Hill presented as legislation in the Youth and Government District Meet.

Eleven students in all participated in the meet Saturday, Dec. 9 at the SMU campus in Dallas .

All but one bill passed. All legislators who attended now have the opportunity to present their bills on either the State’s House floor, the Senate, or a freshman/sophomore learning house called the Hyde House.

Student legislators were: Luke Beekman, Kameron Frisby, Cody Smith, Austin Pile and Curtis Dean.

Brook Hill’s Youth and Government also participated in the judicial branch’s mock government.

For the judicial branch, Brook Hill was represented by student attorneys Steven Anderson and David Brown and student witnesses Brandon Frisby, Kip Picarella, and Mason Leiberman.

The students were coached by Brook Hill parent and attorney, David Dobbs.

The team competed against 33-plus other teams and placed as an alternate to the top 10 teams in the Dallas area.

In addition, the students gained a wealth of information about law and judicial protocol.

This year, Brook Hill Middle School also sponsored Junior Youth and Government club.

Sixth grader, Julia Frisby, represented Brook Hill as a legislator. Her bill passed and she was also able to serve as a Hearing Committee Chair.

The upper school students will now move on to the state meet February 2-5 in Austin.

At this meet, thousands of other Youth and Government clubs will converge on our state’s capitol to set up a mock legislature and participate in all branches of government.