Harvard Model Congress: Students Get Firsthand Government Experience
Juniors Aren Rendell, Tom Kutilek and Max Slosburg, three of the six students going to Harvard Model Congress, on the plane en route to Boston. The other three students are juniors Danny Coyle, Tyler Schneiderman and Reece Watanabe. The group is accompanied by social studies instructor Jon Preister. Photo courtesy of Aren Rendell
Six juniors may be having a once-in-a-lifetime experience this week when they participate in Harvard Model Congress, the largest student Congress simulation in the world.
Wednesday, Feb. 18, juniors Danny Coyle, Tom Kutilek, Aren Rendell, Tyler Schneiderman, Max Slosburg and Reece Watanabe, along with social studies instructor and group chaperone Jon Preister, left Omaha to travel to Boston for Harvard Model Congress. The simulation begins Wednesday afternoon and concludes Sunday.
Junior Cyrus Khandalavala was the first to hear about Harvard Model Congress, and he explains what made him want to take part in the event.
“I saw it online and thought it would be a good thing to participate in,” Khandalavala said. “It was pretty short notice, though, so I had to get people who could pay for it in time. It’s just something that not a lot of students get to do, and it’s the most realistic thing we can do to understand how our government works.”
Although Khandalavala came up with and implemented the idea, he is unable to attend because of show choir obligations.
Participants were assigned a politician that they will actually represent in the Model Congress. While the majority of students will be congressmen, some students will portray Supreme Court Representatives. There are also non-politician roles that participants can play, such as lobbyists or the press. Students will also be in different committees where they will propose and work on legislation. Then the entire Congress will meet and debate and amend legislation in hopes of getting it passed.
Model Congress is a non-profit organization that is run by about 200 Harvard students each year. The preparations begin in the spring when Harvard students begin preparing a 2,000 page briefing book for students to use to prepare for debates in their committees.
Junior Danny Coyle will be representing Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat from Maryland, at Model Congress. He will be on the committee of Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Coyle explained what he has done to prepare for the simulation.
“When I prepared my research, I had to write two speeches about relevant issues for the committee,” Coyle said. “I had to do everything from Mikulski’s perspective, so I had to find out the types of legislation that she has voted for in the past.”
Like Khandalavala, Coyle thinks Model Congress will be illustrative of how Congress and the United States government really work.
“I don’t know too much about government and politics right now,” Coyle said. “So I’m looking forward to having a deeper understanding of how it functions. I’d also like to use this as a stepping stone in my quest to become president of the United States.”
Your donation will support the student journalists of Omaha Westside High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
