Learning the Skills to Pass the Bills

Learning the Skills to Pass the Bills

By: Kiernan Green, Faith Christian School

Model General Assembly for the first-timer can be a myriad of things: Intimidating, nerve-wracking, and exciting to name a few. When asked if they could try to describe their personal experience of MGA thus far in either one word or a short phrase, the diversity of the first-timers’ answers were astonishing. Hopefully for long-time MGA goers this article provides a little nostalgia, and for other side of the spectrum, hopefully this article helps first-time MGA goers to get rid of any sense of loneliness or isolation, if the experience itself thus far has not already.

Hendrick Younger, a Sophomore attending MGA for his first time, answered with the word interaction. Clearly this is essential to the MGA experience to anyone who has been here before. Being able to interact with students all across the commonwealth is one of the greatest experiences of MGA, being able to learn about their lives, their stories, their favorite foods, and even their favorite dinosaurs. However, also being able to interact with state government in such a real way is an incredible learning experience for everyone.

When asked to describe his experience in one word or phrase, Ryan Tremain, a Sophomore from Benedictine College Preparatory, responded with a laugh saying: “I don’t think the chair person likes me very much,” then he continued with, “No, but really it’s been great. It’s all a learning experience at the end of the day. I’ve just been having too much fun already, I love it.” When asked about why he personally decided he wanted to attend MGA he responded with a thoughtful quote: “When there’s an opportunity that comes my way, I usually almost always say yes.”

Dexter Smith, a Senior coming from Bethel High School, answered the question with the word different. Dexter went on to explain his reasoning, “I say different because difference is the reason we’re here. Everyone has a different opinion. We all have different beliefs, different ideas, different reasons why we think this should be passed. So I really think difference is the key word, everyone is different and that’s what you special.” Dexter then goes on to reminiscence about his whole experience remarking, “This whole time since we’ve arrived I’ve loved everything about it, I wish I could have another year of doing it.” When asked why he personally decided to come to MGA this year he had said, “It was a personal goal of mine to come here and meet new people to make lifelong relationships with.”

Finally, Adonis Ortiz, another Senior attending MGA for his first time from Spotswood High School, used the word life-changing. His story provides important context as to why he chose this word: In his Junior year he was selected to be part of an elite group of young men to attend Boys State, during which he ran for the position of governor. During his experience, a couple states north, Antwon Stanley II, a teenager in Pittsburg, was shot and killed in an act of police brutality. Later, a poem Antwon had written prior to his death was publicized featuring a general theme of him seeing himself heading down a dark path because of his surroundings. That poem spoke to Adonis on a personal level he explains, saying: “I related to Antwon because I moved here to Virginia from Queens, New York for that exact same reason. I saw myself going down a bad road, the people I was hanging out with, the things I was doing. It’s like I knew Antwon even though I didn’t actually know him. That’s when I knew I wanted to get involved in politics. The idea that this process actually happens and we have the possibility to change all these lives for the better is incredible.” He then described how impressed he was by how real and official MGA felt, which he said, “gave me another assurance that this is what I wanna do. My dream, end goal is to be the President one day. Going through MGA is helping me draw the bigger picture for how things get done.” Adonis used the word life-changing because MGA has inspired him to continue to pursue this government and politics. Though, he is not only speaking on how it changed his life alone, but how he hopes it can better impact and change others’ lives too on his path of politics. When asked for any final comments, Adonis answered with a smile, “Vote for me for your 2040 President.”

Child Support in the Courts

Child Support in the Courts 

By: Dylan Zito – YMCA Arlington – Career Center 

Marriam Webster Dictionary defines child support as: “payment for the support of the children of divorced or separated parents while the children are minors or as otherwise legally required.” In Virginia, child support is legally required in divorce cases.  

Set up in the year 1975 by President Gerald Ford, child support is typically ordered in cases of divorce by a judge. It can also be ordered if a third party is caring for the child. The person whom it is filed against much pay a set amount of money each month, which is based largely upon the custodial parent’s level of income and the number of children.  

If the parents of the child are unmarried, a paternity test will be needed in order to file for child support. The father can do this voluntarily but if he does not, the mother may need to obtain a lawsuit to establish paternity. In Virginia, child support is a legal right in order to insure the child’s proper care and upbringing.  

While most people view child support a good thing, many people are against it. They claim it is unfair and state that the child support system is failing to keep up with the times. People also claim that they are losing their jobs due to missing child support payments. Shawn Garrison says in his article 4 Problems With Modern Child Support, that “The core of the problem with modern child support laws is that there is too much emphasis on enforcement and not enough focus on getting fathers involved in their children’s lives”.  

Commonwealth Senate Bill NO. 3 would make it so this child support is no longer required in the state of Virginia by removing the section on child support from the bill in question. The bill was amended in committee but did not make it to the floor.  

The patron for this bill is Madison Lewis, Nandua High School. Lewis chose this topic because she felt like removing child support from the courts and passing it on to social services would let it be more personal and help decrease common issues that arise. Lewis feels the topic is important because child support needs to be more in favor of kids and support their needs, not the parent’s needs. She thinks her bill did not pass because people got confused and didn’t comprehend what the bill was trying to do when it was amended in committee. 

While the bill didn’t pass in committee, the vexed, complex issue of child support and whether or not it should be legally required and by whom will still be heavily debated by Virginians for years to come.  

  Pictured: Commonwealth Senate floor during debate     References 

“Child Support Basics.” Findlaw, family.findlaw.com/child-support/child-support-basics.html. 

“Child Support.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/child support. 

“Citizen's Guide To U.S. Federal Law On Child Support Enforcement.” The United States Department of Justice, 7 July 2017, www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-child-support-enforcement. 

Garrison, Shawn. “4 Problems With The Modern Child Support System.” Dads Divorce, 6 Mar. 2019, dadsdivorce.com/articles/4-problems-with-the-modern-child-support-system/. 

Pao, Maureen. “How America's Child Support System Failed To Keep Up With The Times.” NPR, NPR, 19 Nov. 2015, www.npr.org/2015/11/19/456632896/how-u-s-parents-racked-up-113-billion-in-child-support-debt. 

Robles, Frances, and Shaila Dewan. “Skip Child Support. Go to Jail. Lose Job. Repeat.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Apr. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/us/skip-child-support-go-to-jail-lose-job-repeat.html. 

  

"It's about sending a message:" The Necessity of Gun Alternatives

"It's about sending a message:" The Necessity of Gun Alternatives

By: Paul Bean - YMCA Arlington- Bishop O’Connell

        

Gun violence is a heavy issue that weighs heavily on the country. In an era of mass shootings and murders fueled by firearms, finding a way to prevent these catastrophic events is essential. The most forward way is to regulate who can and cannot get a gun, and other methods like banning certain gun attachments and specifications are being considered and passed. But what if that is not the only way to prevent these crimes from occurring? What if there was a universal alternative?

         Senate Bill No. 17 attempts to promote pepper spray as such. The bill essentially restricts stores from refusing to sell pepper spray to anyone over the age of eighteen, and no quasi-municipal corporations (think schools) or localities (think local parks) can prevent the use or ban the carry of pepper spray by individuals over eighteen, as long as it is used to defend someone or detain trespassers. The goal of the bill is to make pepper spray, which is seen as an effective non-lethal deterrent, the new equalizer; all adults should have access to pepper spray at all times, which makes each person a larger threat in the eyes of a potential assailant.

         The effectiveness of pepper spray and the logic of the bill cannot be denied, but is this bill necessary? Pepper spray is already legal in Virginia, but many offices still ban pepper spray on their premises. The patron of the bill, Senator Madison Bennett, wants this to change. “With this bill,” she says, “nobody can prevent anyone, eighteen years or older, from using pepper gas, or pepper spray, to defend themselves in a way that will save both the lives of the attacker and defender.” Senator Bennett also makes note of how the proposed bill has no penalties. The bill only prohibits the banning of pepper spray and gives guidelines for use that is not illegal. Any use outside of the given guidelines is covered by other sections of the Code of Virginia.

         There is more to this bill than just what is written, however. Senator Evan Rose, who worked loosely with Senator Bennett while she formed the bill, believes the bill is more ideological than functional. He admits, “pepper spray might not be able to stop a mass shooting, but that’s not the point. It is a lot less radical of an idea than arming teachers, but it’s about sending a message, that we will not stand for this violence anymore.”

         The bill would provide many people with adequate protection against muggings and assaults. The effectiveness of pepper spray is undeniable. However, the bill intends to be the first in a long line of gun alternatives that say to our culture that it is time to stop with the senseless violence. We can defend ourselves, and we must be strong in resisting the pull of fear and terror propagated by the mass of shootings and assault in the world.