When Oscar Harris was assigned to the House Committee on the Judiciary, he tried to think of an issue that was pertinent. Civil liberties came to mind, so Harris, a ninth-grader at Towson High School, went to the American Civil Liberties Union website to find out what the big issues of the day were.
That led Harris to create a bill prohibiting the use of unnecessary police force. Officially titled the Local Police Demilitarization Act, the bill stipulates that local police can use military-type equipment for emergencies only. "It has passed the committee," said Harris, "and now goes to the full House" for a vote.
On Monday, April 27, Harris was one of 150 Baltimore County Public School students — all ninth-grade Gifted & Talented American History students — who participated in the Loch Raven Model Congress. Now in its 14th year, the model congress was held at Cockeysville Middle School. Students from 14 county public schools participated, including Loch Raven and Towson.
For the day, the students took the roles of U.S. senators and congressmen, albeit non-partisans. . They introduced bills they'd written beforehand, debated their merits and voted in committees. Bills that passed out of committee were voted on in full congregational sessions. The model congress co-presidents had the opportunity to veto the bills.
"It gives students an understanding of the legislative process," said model congress organizer Jodi Gratman, social studies department chair and model congress adviser at Loch Raven High School.
Although the model congress is only a single-day event,months went into planning and preparation. Each of the participating high schools sent up to 10 students to the model congress, usually chosen by teacher recommendations. The students were assigned to senate and house committees to they write a bill in advance.
"They go to the committee's website and research what the committee does," Gratman said. "They see what has been introduced and debated in that committee. They create a bill that is appropriate for that committee and written in the official bill-language format. They They then debate their bill within the committee."
Towson High School sent 10 students to the event. They were chosen from the multiple ninth-grade GT American government classes. "We looked for students who would be interested in and benefit from the model congress, and who might be interested in future similar activities," said Gil Stange, a Towson High teacher who accompanied the group.
"There was a lot of research before we got here," Stange said of the bill preparation, adding that every student-written bill is introduced into committee, gets a hearing and is voted on.
For the morning session of the model congress, students sat at round tables for each of the Senate and House committees. In the afternoon, they would move to a row of chairs set up before a podium for the full session debates.
At the House Judiciary Committee table, the discussion focused on a bill dealing with concealed weapons on campus; at the House Committee on Education a bill focused , on a fair income proposal; and at the House Homeland Security Committee, an act to deter cyberattacks. The Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works debated the merits of a bill to recycle technology waste.
Paige Anders and Patrick Jasinski were co-presidents of this year's Loch Raven Model Congress. Both are Loch Raven High School seniors and long-time participants in past model congresses.
"I like hearing the different bills and the opinions about them. It gives you a broad view" of the topic, said Anders, a Parkville resident who chaired the Senate Health and Education Committee as part of her duties that day.
"We model the actual U.S. Congress" procedure, said Jasinski, also a Parkville resident who has been participating in model congresses since his sophomore year. "We debate bills in an organized way. We make sure each student feels welcome and important. Everyone gets to discuss their own and others' bills."
As for Harris, this was his first model congress and he was enjoying it. "It's been interesting," he said.