- What is Boys State
- When is Boys State
- Where is Boys State
- Who Runs Boys State
- A Typical Day
- Boys State Stories
Boys State was originally developed in 1935. This point in history saw a rise of the Fascist Party and other threats to democracy. The American Legion, all veterans of foreign wars who had fought to preserve our American democracy, recognized that these threats were best answered by educating future leaders on the value of the American governmental system. In the decades that followed, various threats to democracy came and went - the rise of Communism, for instance, and McCarthyism that followed. Regardless of the historical setting, over the past 70 years, Boys State has thrived, and continues to teach young men the responsibility of citizenship.
The goal of Boys State is to teach government and principles of democracy from a unique perspective. From the moment each Boys State citizen arrives on campus, he learns to appreciate that, in our American system of democracy, the character and success of government relies on the interest and participation of the citizen. Structurally, the government of Boys State will mirror that of our own state government. On a more fundamental level, Boys State citizens learn to appreciate that, however voluntary participation in a democratic system may be, its success depends on many integrated components, and it all begins with the citizen.
The 2010 Massachusetts Boys State Program will be held from Saturday June 12, 2010 to Friday June 18, 2010. This week was specifically chosen so that it would coordinate well with the schedule for final exams of most Massachusetts high schools.
Our host campus for the week of Boys State is Stonehill College, located in North Easton, Massachusetts. Recognizing that this may be the first glimpse of college campus life afforded to students, Boys State has chosen Stonehill College for its first-class campus and facilities, which provide a fine example for students and parents as they begin the college selection process.
The American Legion produces Boys State each year, along with the assistance of dozens of volunteers - most of them former Boys State citizens. The staff oversees the curriculum, presides over debates, umpires sports, monitors elections, and maintains the daily order of the program. They are college and graduate students, attorneys, education professionals, investment advisors, accountants, teachers, economists, and business people of many disciplines, all volunteering their time to give back what Boys State provided them.
6:30 am - Wake up
7:00 – 7:50 am - Breakfast
8:00 am - Pre-Primary Elections
8:30 – 9:15 am - General Education: Today’s topic: The Bill of Rights.
9:30 – 10:15 am- Municipal Meetings: Municipal officers begin preparing budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. Budgets will be submitted at Wednesday evening’s Municipal Meeting.
10:30 – 11:15 am- Elective Courses: Economics, Government or Law.
11:30 am –12:20 pm- Lunch
12:30 – 1:30 pm- Mini-Courses: Students who are elected to the State House of Representatives or the State Senate at the municipal level will attend the legislative session at this time.
1:30 – 5:00 pm - Recreation Period. Organized athletics, college bowl, Legislature in session.
5:30 – 6:20 pm- Dinner 6:30 – 7:45 pm- Party Conventions: Platforms and resolutions will be presented and discussed. Candidates for state-wide office are given a chance to speak to the convention.
8:00 – 9:15 pm- General Assembly: Evening General Assemblies are often used to give the Boys’ State participants a chance to hear a speech by guest speakers. Recent speakers have included Gov. Deval Patrick, Gov. Paul Cellucci, Gov. Michael Dukakis (alum), Sen. Edward Kennedy and Sen. John Kerry, and others.
9:30 – 10:00 pm- Municipal Meeting: Evening Municipal Meetings are often used for roundtable discussions on a variety of pertinent issues. Reports of the discussions are often given at General Education meetings the next day.
10:30 pm - Lights Out.
Boys State and a Village Far Away. . . .
Joe enjoyed his time at Boys State - so much so that he applied to join the staff and teach a new generation of students. After his junior year of high school, Joe received his commission to West Point. He returned to Boys State a few more times, but military service eventually made his continued time with the program impossible. Time passed, and Joe did several tours of duty in foreign lands. He had attained the rank of captain with the United States Army and, with war in Iraq upon us, a new set of orders arrived: establish a new government and preside over a small city in southern Iraq. Several weeks into his duty, it occurred to Joe that he’d done this before. He remembered back to his days at Boys State and was compelled to write to his old friends and tell them the story of how lessons he had learned at Boys State just a few years earlier were playing out in front of him on this much larger stage.
Joe is currently serving his latest tour of duty in Iraq, protecting Iraqi oil refineries from sabotage and theft.