Differences seen in Boys State

By Kate Finley, Elyse Helkenn, Brianna Schreurs

Boys Sate rumors have been circulating since the beginning of Girls State. What do delegates at Boys State do? Do they attend seminars? Do they campaign? Do they really swim all day? Do they do what Girls State delegates do?

These questions have been asked numerous times. That is why Journalism City felt compelled to uncover the truth about Boys State.

“They (Boys State delegates) have a lot of extra free time where they can go to the pool, participate in fun Olympic events and play basketball,” said Emma Littel-Jensen and Mikiah Stukel, Boston.

Unfortunately, the Girls State delegates could be easily misinformed. There is not a large amount of direct contact between the Boys State delegates and the Girls State delegates since we are all busy with our own different activities and events.  Therefore, the summarization and comparison between the two “States” could cause negative feelings that are without reason.

“It goes on the whole basis of equality, and Girls State is trying to have it equal. Make us equal to the guys,” said Stukel, Boston.

Some Girls State delegates agree that the Boys State delegates have it easier than them. The Girls State delegates keep their days busy by attending and participating in workshops, seminars, flag ceremonies, general assemblies, elections and many more. If the delegates ever receive down time, they are usually found working on campaigning strategies, speeches or catching up on some needed sleep.

“I am having a lot of fun, but I am feeling cramped, especially with the Judiciary system,” said Stukel, Boston. “I am the Deputy’s State Attorney and I have all these things I have to go do today. There is not enough free time.”

While we keep our days full of events, we continue hearing rumors about the Boys State delegates, but what are they really doing?

“We do not receive a lot of recreational time. The rec time that we did receive was the Olympics,” said Christopher Loutsch, 2015 Boys State delegate “Every day, we’ve only received about, maybe, an hour or so of rec time. I don’t know how much (time) you guys received, but a lot of our scheduling conflicts did not allow for a lot of rec time. You can go and swim and play basketball (during rec time).”

Even though the Girls State delegates do not receive this kind of facility access, that does not make Girls State any less of a Girls State experience. Students participate in Girls State because they wish to learn more about their government, their country, leadership qualities, workplace confidence and politics.

“I hope they take away a lot of new information from Girls State. We have a lot of good speakers. They have lot of good mentors working with them. The judicial and the law enforcement provide a lot of information,” said Cheryl Hovorka, Girls State Director.  “ There are a lot of prayer opportunities out there for them as well. And hopefully they enjoyed the career fair. And it will help them decide on their choice of colleges from South Dakota.”

Boys State delegates do not receive as many extra hours of rec as some of the female delegates once thought.  They do participate in many of the same events as inGirls State, but they also have their own opinion of Girls State.

“We have also heard rumors about Girls State. Girls State is a little bit more uptight,” said Ryan Howe, Counselor of media team at Boys State. “They expect you to be in a dress all the time.”

Both Boys and Girls State strive to make a learning environment as fun as it is educational. They are both unquestionably using all of their power and resources to make sure the delegates leave the state conference with memorable moments and educational experiences.

“My philosophy is learning to be fun. And so you try to come up with all these ideas that are going to be fun for them, but at the same time, they take something out of it,” said Hovorka.