Texas High School Student Congress Takes Top Placements in Invitational

Texas High School student congress members take top placements in recent invitational.

During the September 19 Student Congress Invitational held in Paris, TX, the Texas High School Student Congress Team took five of the eight placements. An estimated 18 schools participated in the event.

Student placement was as follows: Sidney McGough – 1st Place; Jillian Cheney – 3rd Place; Robin Cooper – 4th Place; Caleb Snow – 5th Place; Natalie Portwood – 7th Place.

The Student Congress program is an individual contest, in a large group setting, that models the legislative process of democracy, specifically, the United States Congress.

Within the mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements) submitted to the tournament, and they research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies prior to the contest to prepare their speeches.

At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal disclosure on the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation, and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined. Parliamentary procedure forms structure for the discourse, and students extemporaneously respond to others’ arguments over the course of a session.

Judges evaluate contestants for their research and analysis of issues, argumentation, skill in asking and answering questions, use of parliamentary procedure and clarity and fluency of speaking.