NAME — Quinn Andrews
AGE — 14
Nic Morden, 18 from Spokane, Wash.
Nic Morden is an officer in the Junior State of America chapter at Central Valley High School in Spokane. JSA is a nationwide, non-profit organization composed of more than 500,000 high school students who are interested in politics and current events. The organization is entirely student-run, within each chapter and at the state and national
levels (see www.jsa.org).
Nic explained that his chapter gets together with JSA groups at other schools for
debates on issues and to hold mock legislative sessions and mock trials. In May, his
school is holding a mock political election. “We take a whole day and the whole school is
in the gym, and we elect people, and like people represent the different candidates,” he
explained.
What do you consider your biggest success in the Junior State of America?
We have garnered a lot of interest in (the chapter). Last year we had maybe 10 or so
people in it, and this year we have about 30. So we’re getting a lot of people involved,
and they have connections to other schools in the area and they’re getting different
schools involved.
If you could pass any piece of legislation, what would it be?
Honestly probably for me, I would be interested in working to pass a bill for the
legalization of medical marijuana throughout the country. I’ve read a lot of books on it,
and I think it just has a lot of potential and is largely ignored.
What advice would you give to other kids who want to get politically involved?
Look for different clubs or organizations around your area that are specifically for
politically active kids. They definitely get you in touch with people who have similar
beliefs as yours. They’re just really fun things to do.
Copyright 2008 Y-Press