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By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
Two Walpole High students joined students from high schools across Massachusetts to participate in Student Government Day at the Massachusetts State House on April 1.
James King and Allison Cullen were picked to attend the student government day to represent Walpole High. Together, the pair took on the role of Walpole’s state senator, James Timilty.
The students began their day as lawmakers by meeting with various public officials at the State House. King and Cullen met with Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and other public officials. Then, it was off to the legislative chambers where the students participated in a mock legislative session.
For King, he was given an unexpected twist as the legislative session got underway. He was pulled aside and told that he had been promoted from a senator to the Senate President. He was quickly briefed on his new position, which included the important tasks of controlling the flow of debate, scheduling bills for debate and more.
He was then given his very first and biggest assignment for the day: presiding over a joint session of the student legislature. He was given a script and instructions for what to do, and soon found himself in speaking in front of over 300 students.
“Going into the day, I had no idea I would be leading this joint session and speaking in front of so many people,” King said in a reflection letter he wrote about his experience at Student Government Day.
For her part, Allison Cullen took King’s place as state senator in the simulated legislative sessions. She was originally picked to serve as a senate alternate, but soon found herself taking on King’s role as state senator.
“I was excited I had a chance to debate, and even offered an amendment for a bill regarding minimum wage, but the best part of the debate was listening to my peers share their opinions,” Cullen said in a reflection essay she wrote about her experience at Student Government Day.
By the end of the day, the high school legislators had successfully passed a bill that increased the state minimum wage, and had voted down a bill that would have banned the sale of energy drinks in Massachusetts.
Student Government Day, which was originally called Good Government Day, began in Massachusetts in 1947.
