Looking Ahead to MGA 2020

Looking Ahead to MGA 2020 

By: Ainsley McCabe – YMCA Arlington – Washington-Lee 

As this year’s Model General Assembly Conference is coming to a close, thoughts of next year’s conference are on everyone’s minds. Will next year's experience be the same or different? How can I prepare for next year? And possibly the biggest question, what will be the hottest topic of debate at next year’s conference? A hot topic this year that gained a lot of popularity were the two bills on the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in Virginia. These bills were talked about all over the conference in formal and informal settings. After talking to Kaylee Frye from Kecoughtan High School, a lobbyist who was arguing for the bill to legalize marijuana, she explained that “It’s a very big problem right now in America, specifically in minorities,” which is one of the reasons why she thinks this bill got so much popularity at the conference this year. 

A prediction for next year’s hot topic is that of gun violence. According to The Guardian, 2018 witnessed a near 60% increase in the number of incidents regarding gun violence in schools going from a high of 59 in 2006 to 94 school shootings in the year 2018 (2018). This unwanted increase in gun violence has forced many students to speak up to legislators and voice their opinions. Virginia has not been immune to school shootings considering the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007 that ended with the death of 27 students, 5 staff members, as well as the shooter taking his own life (2018). School shootings have an effect on everyone involved whether that consists of the onset of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder for individuals who witnessed the event, grief over the loss of a loved one, or anger at the perpetrator, so many different people can be influenced by these events. As student Abby Woody, Kenston Forest School, stated about school gun violence, “I think that’s going to be a very big topic for MGA in the coming years.” Woody believes that harsher consequences should be implemented to scare people out of doing these acts of violence. Based on the large debate on this topic all over the country, the growing problem of gun violence in the United States has enough traction to become MGA’s next hot topic at the conference in 2020. 

References 

Lartey, Jamiles. “2018 Is Worst Year on Record for Gun Violence in Schools, Data Shows.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 Dec. 2018, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/09/sandy-hook-promise-gun-violence-school-shooting-report-2018. 

Kapsidelis, Thomas P. "Virginia Tech Shootings." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 3 Jan. 2018. Web. 22 Mar. 2019.