Who runs the United States? The citizens. Who represents the citizens? Politicians. What do politicians do? They pass laws. Many ordinary citizens find the political process confusing and complex. Fortunately, there is a nationwide program which includes a branch at the Whatcom Family YMCA in downtown Bellingham. This program is dedicated to teaching teens about civic engagement, politics, and government.
The program is called Youth and Government (YAG). It meets every Monday evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. upstairs in the Whatcom YMCA mezzanine. People bring food on special occasions, but they always bring their passion. Erin McQuin, the group advisor of the Whatcom delegation said, “It’s a place where people learn. It’s a place where they can express their ideas.”
In YAG, teens learn the process of creating bills and the complex parliamentary procedures of what goes on in the state House of Representatives and the Senate. They learn to debate, argue, and convince their peers that their point of view on the topic at hand is correct. At the end of the year, YAG participants from all over the state go to Olympia, where they debate their bills inside of the capitol building.
Erin McQuin has participated in the YAG program since she was in high school. “I didn’t expect to be an advisor,” she said. “It just happened.” McQuin is a student at Fairhaven College and volunteers her time. “I do not get paid to do this job,” she said. “It’s just something that I enjoy doing.” She and two other college students help the delegates in the program formulate their ideas, and turn them into bills.
Walker Burnett, a freshman at Bellingham High School, just joined the program. “YAG is a really fun program and I plan to do it until I die,” he said in jest. Already, Walker is learning to debate, along with the ins-and-outs of the program.
Trip Jackson, an assistant advisor for the Whatcom Delegation, started at YAG in 2012. “YAG really taught me something about passion,” Jackson said. “In every bill and every debate there was something that I wanted to say, something I wanted to get out there. YAG isn’t just to learn. It’s about getting ideas out there and making friends. As long as you’re passionate about something, go debate it. Make a bill. You never know what can come of it.” Trip became one of the senior officers at YAG in his last year of high school. He continues to help the program by teaching the next generation about debate.
YAG participants are looking forward. “I like debating and I want to use these skills in the future,” said Brendan Gardner, a freshman at Bellingham High School. Gardner started YAG in 2015. He wants to become a politician. “I want to do something big,” he said, “but not too big. That would be embarrassing.”
Despite this sentiment, Brendon has big goals. Last year he wrote a bill about removing the death penalty from the State of Washington. “I worked all year to make that bill,” Gardner said. “I spent hours and hours grueling over that piece of paper.” The bill passed unanimously. When asked how he managed to get the bill passed all he said was, “Dedication.”
Every year, hundreds of teens descend on Olympia to debate their bills. For four days, kids stand on the House and Senate floors, debating their heart out, trying to get other delegates to vote for their bill. They debate all day, then stay up late into the night fixing their bills. In Olympia, they make new friends, and hone their skills. After four days of hard work, they get to party in the capitol building. In YAG, if you work hard, you play hard.
By all accounts, the participants in YAG agree that it is a fun place to argue, debate and try to change the world. YAG is a program that teaches parliamentary procedure, debate, dedication and passion. It helps teens understand how the government makes laws and what it takes to make them work. It teaches the importance of hard work. Participants experience the real life struggle of conveying their personal perspectives and the difficulty of bringing others to their side.
“YAG isn’t just about passing bills, it’s about learning,” McQuin said. “YAG is an experience that is supposed to show people how things work. It’s meant to show them that they can do it too.”
Trip Jackson said that YAG affected every part of his life. “Not only was I a better speaker, I also felt much more familiar on how the government works.”
According to Walker Burnett, “YAG is a place where you and your dysfunctional friends can have fun and learn at the same time.”
For more information on YAG, contact the YMCA Teen Adventure Director, Rob Knowles, at 360-255-0632 or at rknowles@whatcomymca.org.
