Yale Model Congress 2011
P.O. Box 206154 • New Haven, CT 06520
E-mail: state@yalemodelcongress.org • Web: www.yalemodelcongress.org
Dear Faculty Advisor,
My name is Joshua Revesz, and I am the President of Yale Model Congress, the oldest student-run model government conference in the Ivy League. For eighteen years, Yale Model Congress has devoted itself to staging conferences that provide high school students with the opportunity to assume the responsibilities of our elected representatives and to tackle the issues that face our nation. Over the course of a weekend, over 500 students will participate in pre-assigned Congressional committees, focusing on topics that range from national security to the environment, on the Yale campus. The conference operates out of the Omni Hotel in New Haven, Connecticut, where the delegations from all of the attending high schools stay that weekend. This year, the conference will be held December 1st-4th, 2011.
Your student delegates will have the opportunity to debate, amend, and pass the legislation that they have written and prepared for in advance. We strive to provide delegates with an engaging, fulfilling, and intimate environment in which to fight for their legislation, debate their opinions, and deepen their understanding of how our government works. By the end of the conference, we hope that all delegates leave with a greater appreciation for the nature of American democracy and with the inspiration to be active citizens in the future. To help create a true simulation of our federal government, we integrate all of the branches into the YMC experience. Our three special programs complement and enhance the legislative side of the conference in order to give the students a greater understanding of how the legislative process actually works.
- The Presidential Cabinet will spend the first part of the conference planning an executive agenda by crafting a State of the Union address, debating which of the cabinet members’ suggested programs and language should be included. Then, the Cabinet will review bills passed by the Congress and deal with a sudden crisis that threatens the nation.
- The Supreme Court simulation will allow delegates to argue and adjudicate questions of law and constitutionality. Delegates will begin by hearing and deciding cases based on materials distributed in advance; as the conference progresses, they will also hear cases concerning decisions made by the Presidential Cabinet and laws passed in the Full Sessions.
- The Press Corps, representing the “fourth branch of government,” will allow aspiring journalists to report on and analyze the actions of the Congress and other special programs in their daily newspaper. Members of the Press Corps will be encouraged to visit committees, Full Sessions, the Presidential Cabinet, and the Supreme Court to gather information and ask questions. This year, members of the Press Corps will have more freedom to cover YMC’s individual committees, allowing them to develop their own unique “scoops.”
These are all exciting opportunities for the delegates, and we encourage your schools to take full advantage of them. Since we expect members of these programs to be dedicated and prepared, we will be asking for short applications from those interested in participating. I hope that you will encourage the most promising and committed of your students to apply. The application process will take place in early October. If you have any specific questions about the applications, please feel free to contact our Secretary of Defense, Nathaniel Balk, at defense@yalemodelcongress.org.
Although we will be making improvements over the summer, we are proud to have a fully functional website this year at www.yalemodelcongress.org. We will again conduct registration and bill submission online via the website, and all of the complications with last year’s system have been resolved. Online registration, however, will not begin until later in May on a date to be determined. In the meantime, however, please e-mail our Secretary of State, Thomas Dec, at state@yalemodelcongress.org as soon as possible us to reserve a spot. Tom will notify you when online registration is available. As always, we strongly believe that small committee sizes are integral to delegate interaction and meaningful legislative debate and make YMC a truly unique experience. To that end, we will continue to ensure small and intimate committees by capping the number of delegates initially at 28 per school. Depending on the level of interest of the school, we will open up the option for additional delegates in the early fall.
In an effort to keep the conference accessible to all, YMC will be dramatically expanding our financial aid program. We will waive the delegate fee for any student with sufficient interest or need, which will be determined by applications to be made available in the fall semester. If additional funds are available, the program may be expanded to help alleviate the costs of the hotel rooms. Additionally, YMC will continue its tradition of covering the complete cost of New Haven public schools’ attendance.
The delegation fee will be $100, which must be postmarked by July 31st to guarantee your delegation a spot at the conference. The delegate fee will be $75 per student and is due by October 15th along with committee assignment forms. Tom will be in touch with you throughout the process, and we will send a brochure with a list of relevant deadlines in the early fall.
Once again, on behalf of the entire Executive Board, I am excited to welcome you to Yale Model Congress 2011. You and your students will enjoy a great weekend of debate, politics, and fun at the oldest student-run model congress in the Ivy League. Last year’s conference was a great success, and we intend make the experience even more enjoyable and informative for everyone. As always, if you have any suggestions for what you would like to see this year or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at president@yalemodelcongress.org. I would also like to emphasize again that we would sincerely appreciate it if you could contact Sec. of State Thomas Dec at state@yalemodelcongress.org as soon as possible to confirm your interest and to establish a deadline for registration. We look forward to receiving your registration in the next few weeks and seeing your delegation at Yale this fall.
Sincerely,
Joshua Revesz
