At the North Carolina Legislative Building for the 50th anniversary meeting of the NC Youth Legislative Assembly from Lenoir County Early College High School are, front, Kayden See; second row, Meadow Jones (left) and Bradleigh Corey; third row, Kaiyanla Clark, Dr. Travis Towne and Elijah Heath.

Five students from Lenoir County Early College High School participated with approximately 170 other North Carolina students in the 50th Anniversary of the NC Youth Legislative Assembly (YLA) that convened Friday in Raleigh.

This three-day conference allowed high school students an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the working of local, state and national government. Attending were students Kayden See, Meadow Jones, Bradleigh Corey, Kaiyanla Clark and Elijah Heath.

Prior to the weekend, students were split into either the House (120 members) or Senate (50 members) track and divided into 10 different committees based on selected interests. Elijah served on the Senate Information Technology Committee; Kaiyanla, on the House Military Affairs Committee; Bradleigh, on the House Justice and Public Safety Committee; and Kayden and Meadow on the House Agriculture Committee. At the conference’s end, Kayden was honored as an Outstanding Delegate for her committee work.

Once arriving at the legislative buildings on Friday, YLA members attended a General Assembly and were sworn in by Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson and challenged to uphold both the U.S. and N.C. Constitutions as duly sworn legislators. They were welcomed by Sen. Carl Ford and given follow-up information by YLA Coordinator Erica Gallion about their duties and responsibilities. 

After the preliminary opening ceremonies, students were divided into committees to consider a bill created by student-led co-chairs and make any additional proposals prior to debate the following day. Committees were advised by subject matter experts who volunteered their time to help co-chairs and delegates discuss important aspects of the bill’s dynamics.

On Saturday, delegates spent the day in session considering various committee bills and debating the bill’s impact on North Carolina citizens, businesses and current laws. Students were required to follow all procedural processes during both the House and Senate sessions, which was an eye-opening experience to many of the students. 

“One thing that really impacted me was the debating process. I did not expect us as the delegates and co-chairs to be so professional and realistic. It helps teach future legislative leaders what they would expect in the future,” Meadow Jones said.

Bradleigh Corey experienced the procedural process firsthand. “The first time I went (to speak), I got called for a point of order although the second time I went up it went smoothly. Now from learning how things went in this event, I’m actually going to apply next year for a leadership role.”

Another important aspect of the debate process students discovered was how much responsibility and power the committee chairs have in the legislative process. During a wrap-up session, Kaiyanla Clark expressed her surprise about “the power of power because if the co-chair called out ‘previous question’ and everybody agrees, then the debate ends even if you have more good points.” 

Elijah Heath agreed that “the committee co-chairs could quickly shut down the bill discussion [and] that surprised me as there were still people waiting to speak on the bill, and because people were tired, they would vote in favor of going to vote on the bill simply because they wanted to be done with it.”  

Another student take-away was how much the opinion of the committee chairs could sway the vote. Kayden See explained, “one thing that impacted me… was realizing how opinions of legislators can affect bills and also how misinformation stated louder or more forcefully can impact a decision.” 

The students agreed that one of the best parts of the weekend was getting to meet new people and learn more about others interested in the civic process throughout North Carolina. The students and leaders of Early College High School would also like to thank Sen. Jim Perry for his generous support and help to provide this opportunity for our Lenoir County students.

Dr. Towne, a history teacher at Early College, accompanied the students to the YLA conference.