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

Volume 77, Issue 2

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The One-Party System

Jack Warfield
Hetuck Reporter and Writer

Photo By: Liam Daves of Sklenicka

As various campaigns launched

and parties organized, positions and
values had to be defined, and compromise within both the Federalist
and Nationalist parties had to be
reached. Monday afternoon, delegates from each city were sent to
hold a convention for their respective parties. Tuesday afternoon, after
that morning's primary elections, a
debate was held featuring the chosen
state party candidates. Upon examination 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 platforms. Both platforms support largely unregulated gun ownership, lean
prolife in reference to abortion, support 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 differences between the two platforms,

such as the Nationalist platform supporting a progressive tax scheme,
where the Federalist platform specifically 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 Nationalist 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 marijuana, 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 debate, both attorney generals and treasurers 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 McDonald, acted as the only fiscally social 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 significant 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 rehabilitation programs for criminals.
Though it can be argued that this is
simply the result of democratic majority rule, the questions still remain: if
these same tenets and ideologies are,
and consistently have been, the majority 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?

Photo By: Kyle Phelps of Allen

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

2 The Hetuck

Voting Day

R.L. Cambers
Hetuch writer and
reporter

Photo By: Liam Davis

of Sklenicka

Life as a Delegate

As 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.

The Hetuck 3
Counselor Spotlight:
Kyle Williams

By: Michael S. Vince

Hetuck Reporter and Writer

What is his hometown? He

currently lives in Newark, Ohio
and he is from New Lexington,
Ohio.

What is his position at

Buckeye Boys State (BBS)?
Band counselor, counselor

Where and when did he graduate high school? - He graduated from New Lexington High
School and he likes to keep the

Photo By: Liam Davis of Sklenticka

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 anyone until the last day because
it adds more mystery and
coolness.

year he graduated a secret too

because he says it adds to the effect. He says he tells everyone
on the last day as his grand finale.
What did he like about BBS
that makes him come back today? 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 going 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 Review
Logan 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 examination given to those who wish to
practice law in a given jurisdiction. Many who enter into the
judicial branch exit with their
heads hung low due to this grueling test of knowledge.
The Buckeye Boys State
Bar examination is no different. 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 openbook.
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 seemingly straightforward assessment 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 fortyfour correct answers needed to
pass.

Campaign Tactics

Ryan Oates
Hetuck Reporter and Writer

Photo by Kyle Phelps of Allen

From hordes of posters to one-onone conversations, state candidates
use a variety of tactics to attract the
attention of Buckeye Boys State
voters.
Some candidates, like Federalist Governor Candidate Ragan
Tuffey, use witty slogans and puns
to make their names more memorable. 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 annoying, but they do actually help in
remembering names.
Another major campaigning decision for state candidates is choosing
between approaching groups of people and approaching individuals oneon-one. I like talking one-on-one,
said Nationalist Governor Candidate
Adam J. Champer, Ill talk to an entire 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 appealing to the general public and remaining 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 ridiculous. 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 genuinely 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 similar 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 approach. 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.