State of the Boys 2013 Tuesday

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State of the BoysVolume 65, Issue 2 Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie

Secretary of State Ritchies Office a Busy Place

Shea, Faris: Everyone Makes Mistakes, So Own Up To Them

By Thomas Wanous, St. Cloud

Secretary of State Mark Ritchies

office does many things for Minne-

sotans. Boys Staters heard first-hand

a myriad of tasks assigned to his

office.He started off by giving a short

description of each of the jobs he

does for the state of Minnesota. The

first was the Safe at Home program,

where a small number of his workers

go and get mail and other items for

people who may feel threatened,

such as a police officer, a judge, or a

woman with a stalker ex-boyfriend,

so that their address does not have to

be posted. Although fewer than

1,000 people are enrolled in the pro-

gram, it is especially important to

making sure that all Minnesotans

have a chance to feel safe within

their own homes.

Next he talked about the work that

his office does to promote business

and trade within the state of Minne-

sota. All businesses that would like

to do trade within Minnesota must

register through his office, after

which his office can help those busi-

ness find opportunities for trading

with the state. Along with that pro-

Ritchie, continued on page 5

Many Boys Staters wanted to ask

Mark Ritchie a question.

By Elliot Jacobson, Austin

If there is one person out there

who can tell the world about the

importance of virtues such as hones-

ty, common sense, and keeping true

to ones values, it would be a safe

bet to say this would be Mark Faris.

On Monday morning Faris shared

his personal experience of his great-

est moment of weakness. The deci-

sion he made, back in 2001, eventu-ally resulted in a serious felony that

shattered his career and strained

several important relationships with

his family and friends, relationships

that he is still trying to mend to this day. He used this

story to teach Boys Staters the importance of qualities

such as the ones mentioned previously.

However, there was one more person in the equa-

tion during this presentation -- Hank Shea. Shea is a

former Assistant U.S. Attorney

and currently a law professor of at

the University of St. Thomas. He

guided Faris speech the whole

time. Shea has dedicated much of

his life to talking to people that

may be headed in the wrong direc-

tion in their life. He claims that

talking to people like this will not

only help them to get back on

track, but is also the best way tolearn about How did we get into

the problems we have? Shea

worked with Faris to deliver a mes-

sage that nobody will soon forget.

In 2001, Faris was the vice president for his family

business selling refurbished computer equipment. His

company closely worked with a large company called

White Collar, continued on page 5

Hank Shea, left, and Mark Faris


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State of the Boys 2013 Page 2

Boys Staters were at attention during the flag retirement ceremony on Monday.

Flag Retirement Ceremony Shown to Appreciative Boys Staters

By Nick Carrigan, Winona

We would like to present a flag of our country for

inspection and disposal, said one of the Legionnaires

present at the flag retirement ceremony, during the

Flag Retirement Ritual.

While the flag was actually retired with its ritual

about halfway through the ceremony, it started with

one of the Legionnaires calling out the individual cit-

ies that were present. After each citys name was

called, the members of that city cheered.

After this part of the ceremony, the folding of the

flag was demonstrated. It is said each fold placed on

the flag stands for something. The first is for life. Thesecond, for the belief in eternal life. The third fold is

for the honor of the veterans that selflessly gave their

lives in the protection of freedom and securing of

peace. The fourth fold is for our weaker nature. The

fifth fold is a tribute to our country. The sixth is for

where our hearts lie. The seventh, a tribute to our

armed forces. The eighth, a tribute to the one who en-

tered through the valley of the shadow of death. The

ninth, a symbol for womanhood. The 10th is a symbol

of fatherhood. The 11th fold, in the eyes of the Jewish

citizens, represents God as the lower portion of the

Star of David. Finally, the 12th fold represents the

symbol of eternity for Christians.The flag retirement began with the dedication of

the ceremony to two men: Buster Skulerud and Mike

Flor. These two men were counselors at Boys State for

several years and were very active Legionnaires.TheLegionnaires present were Rick Oschleger, Morrie

Dahlimer, Bernie Chenowith, Bob Locker, BobTop: The flag is folded properly before being dis-

posed of; one of the ceremony members played TAPS.Flag Retirement, continued on page 6


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School of Instruction Sessions Prove Valuable to StatersBy Joe Mac Pearman, Rochester

On the second day of Boys State, boys are photo-

graphed by city (look forward to many humorless ClintEastwood squints pointed into the blinding sun) and

rotated through Schools of Instruction. These classes

explain the functions of various facets of Boys State,

such as political parties and local government.

Your correspondent went first to Political Party Or-

ganization, which lays out how the Federalists and Na-

tionalists of Boys State develop their platforms, starting

on the ground level (city caucuses) and arguing over

ideas all the way up to the state party convention, where

those ideas are forged into a unified party platform.

Next was Parliamentary Procedure --- the class for

teaching the ins and outs of the redoubtable Roberts

Rules of Order, which means that everybody shouldnow understand the political scenes in the Star Wars

prequel trilogy (and C-SPAN) that much better. Things

like motions, amendments, and tabling were all covered.

After that was a session on the Minnesota Legisla-

ture, which included ex-State Representative and Minor-

ity Leader Marty Seifert (R) as a guest speaker. His

remarks struck a happy balance between useful explana-

tions of Minnesota government and political anecdotes,

including the mixed legacy of the Jesse Ventura years.

At the end of the hour, Mr. Seifert asked for proposals

on bills. Improvements on infrastructure were suggest-

ed.

How are you going to pay for that? asked Mr. Sei-

fert.

Tax increases.

Well, at least youre honest, quipped the Republi-

can with a smile.

Last but certainly not least was Local Government,

presented by the able and energetic Drew Hood, an ob-

vious expert in the field. Mixing his rapid-fire delivery

with delicious groan-worthy jokes, Drew explained

town, township, and (most importantly) county govern-

Instruction, continued on page 6

Boys Staters learned a lot at the Schools of Instruction

sessions.

Mulso, Others Show How School Boards Work Through Role-play

By Kethan Dahlberg, Winona

Bill Mulso, Vice President for Advancement at

SMSU, addressed the 2013 Boys Staters at the end of

the first full day. His topic: The School Board. Mulso

is a graduate of SMSU and got his masters from Minne-

sota State Mankato. He has served in a number of lead-

ership positions in high school, college, and now.

Mulso opened by discussing the process of electing

board members and the general structure of the board.

Mulso talked about the school boards four main goals

(vision for the future of education, structure, accounta-bility and advocacy), and stressed advocacy as by far the

most important. He himself governs based on the idea

that the Lord gave us two ears and one mouth for a

reason.

Roughly halfway through his presentation, Mulso

shifted gears and, along with fellow school-board mem-

bers and Boys State alumni, performed a few skits, role-

playing how to and how not to run an efficient school

board meeting. Characters like Jim Jockey and Ivan

Impatient kept the Boys Staters entertained while also

educating them in the ways of dealing with unruly board

members and citizens during board meetings.

His presentation was educational and entertaining and

will undoubtedly will help during Thursdays much-

dreaded written test. The 2013 Boys Staters now have a

much clearer picture of how school boards function.

Several

individu-

als role-

played a

school

board

meeting.


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Current Events: Are we Headed to a Modern-day Version of 1984?

By Matt Hejna, Hibbing

Often times we hear of the government overstepping

its bounds by crushing freedom of speech, and privacyrights, in order to maintain peace in a post 9/11 world.

Recently, repor

ts of Verizon giving information of its cell phone calls

to the National Security Agency have surfaced and are

creating controversy throughout the nation. The govern-

ment has refused to confess to these claims made by

various online sources, but the story still creates uncer-

tainty among the people.

Often we see books or movies, depicting a world

where the government is corrupt and in complete control

of the state it runs. While the Obama administration is

likely not that extreme, they still have created fear

among the masses of a near future (or present) wherethat world is a reality. Obviously the justification for

such a measure would be for national security, much

like the Patriot Act after 9/11. Perhaps immediately fol-

lowing 9/11 a step like this would be seen as positive

because of the fear that was struck throughout the na-tion, but even with the Boston Marathon Bombing on

April 15th, this step seems drastic and unnecessary. It

also leads to questions of whether some of the most pop-

ular websites in the world are doing the same thing.

Both Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page each respond-

ed to the story on Verizon and were eager to clear the

name of Facebook and Google. Each respective CEO

denied the sharing of information to the federal govern-

ment. It does lead you to wonder what kind of power

each company has with the enormous amount of infor-

mation each one has. While they may deny it publicly,

no one can be certain the two companies dont do simi-

lar business as Verizon. A final thought leaves us won-dering is this the world of 1984? Was George Orwell

right?

Clockwise, from top: The basketball competition

has been fierce; State of the Boys writers work

hard to bring you this newspaper; Mankato Sta-

ters look a bit sleepy just before Tuesdays exer-

cise period; Brad Brandt directs the Boys State

choir.

Boys State Images


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Ritchie, continued from

page 1gram, the Secretary of

State office also helps to

find people who would liketo be put on the open-

appointment committees

that are established by the

Legislature.

Most importantly, how-

ever, the Secretary of

States office does a lot of

work to make sure that the

elections in Minnesota run

smoothly. Their main job is

to audit state elections after

the votes have come in

from all over the state tofind any voter fraud. With

the help of two Minnesota

Supreme Court judges and

two district judges, they

count all the votes, and if

any of the elections are

within one percent, they

send out a message to the

voting center to initiate a

hand recount of the votes.

Minnesota is also the state

with the highest average

voter turnout, mainly due

to the fact that Minneso-tans take pride in partici-

pating in their civic duties.

At the State Fair, the

Secretary of States office

has a booth in the educa-

tion barn to promote civic

camps such as Boys State.

He also helps to bring his-

torical documents to Min-

nesota such as the Declara-

tion of Independence, the

Constitution and the Bill of

Rights.At the end of his great

speech, Secretary of State

Richie gave us all a very

good question to continue

asking ourselves each day:

Are we doing a good job of

being good stewards of the

gifts that have been handed

down to us?

Shea, continued from page 1

Cisco. However, when Cisco asked for them to start

selling new equipment, a very unprofitable alterna-

tive for his company, he refused. When a loophole in

their system provided an opportunity to get back atCisco arose, he was able to take advantage of it and

make some major profits.

On March 14 2007, the FBI entered Faris office

and arrested him and three other employees for mail

fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Faris pled

guilty and was then asked to testify against the presi-

dent of his company his cousin. Faris spent 8 1/2

years behind bars before moving to a halfway house.

Faris experience hit Boys Staters hard when he

reminded all of them to own up to the mistakes that

everyone makes and become better people by learn-

ing from them. He offered some advice. First, you

must admit your mistake. Second, fully commit torebuilding. Finally, you must do it. However, like all

things, it takes integrity to get started. He challenged

everybody in the room to take the toughest first step.

Step up to the plate and admit you were wrong.

For more questions about Mr. Shea or Mr. Faris,

feel free to contact Mr. Shea: telephone: (651) 962-

4867; email: [email protected].

Johnson answers more questionsDean Johnson, University of Minnesota regent and past Minnesota Senate majori-

ty leader, spoke on Monday evening. He took questions at the end of his presenta-

tion, and several Boys Staters continued their conversation with him in the SMSU

Conference Center Green Room.

Monday

Athletic

Results

SoftballDuluth def. RochesterSt. Peter def. AnokaMoorhead def. Hibbing

Austin def. MankatoWinona def. St. CloudSt. Paul def. Minneapolis

VolleyballDuluth def. RochesterSt. Peter def. AnokaHibbing def. MoorheadAustin def. Mankato

Winona def. St. CloudMinneapolis def. St. Paul

BasketballDuluth def. Rochester

Anoka def. St. PeterMoorhead def. HibbingMankato def. AustinWinona def. St. Cloud

St. Paul def. Minneapolis
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Boys State SnapshotsEditors Note: We asked our reporters to go out and ask

several questions of random Boys State participants.

Follow Us onSocial Media

Twitter: @BoysStateMN

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/

mnboysstate.

By Thomas Djerf, MoorheadName: Phillip Hanson, MoorheadHometown: RosemountBoys State city: AnokaWhy I am attending Boys State: It was a good leadership

opportunity and I thought it would be fun.Favorite Movie: The Hurt LockerWhats on my iPod: hip hop (Tyga, Lil Wayne), rock, The

BeatlesFavorite School Subject: Math

People would be surprised to know that I: Am from Ari-zona

Name: Thomas DjerfHometown: St. Louis Park

Boys State city: MoorheadWhy I am attending Boys State: I want to learn more

about the process of government, and meet new people Favorite Movie: Django: UnchainedWhats on my iPod: Macklemore, Sam Cooke, Bobby

DarinFavorite School Subject: HistoryPeople would be surprised to know that I: Can juggle

By Joe Mac Pearman, RochesterName: Dominic John ShovelainHometown:St. MichaelBoys State City: RochesterWhy I Am Attending Boys State: I wanted to be a better

citizen, both of my local community and of the U.S.

Favorite Movie: We Were Soldiers (a movie chroniclingthe Battle of la Drang, a 1965 engagement involving the 7 thAir Cavalry that was one of the first major battles in the Amer-ican phase of the Vietnam War. Stars Mel Gibson, directed byRandall Wallace).

Whats on My iPod: Alternative and Christian musicFavorite School Subject: U.S. History

People would be surprised to know that I: Became an

uncle one day after I turned seven.

Name: David Trout

Hometown: St. Paul

Boys State City: RochesterWhy I Am Attending Boys State: I want to get more infor-

mation on how government works and what it is like being ingovernment.

Favorite Movie: Scary Movie 3 (parody of the horror, sci-ence fiction, and mystery genres that skewers films like 8 Mile

and The Matrix).Whats on My iPod:Mid-Crisis by WyclefFavorite School Subject: Chemistry

People would be surprised to know that I: Am a member

of College Possible, which helps juniors and seniors to write

college applications, apply for scholarships, and prepare for

the ACT.

Flag Retirement, continued from patge 2

McNiel, and Ray Christianson.

The American Legion was started for men and

women that served their country honorably during a

time of crisis, said Rick Oschleger, one of the sixLegionnaires present for the ceremony.

Flags can become retired only after they have been

used for the correct service of tribute and love, and are

no longer in a condition to be displayed. Oschleger

said that the real value of the flags they retire are be-

yond price because they are a symbol that people have

fought and lived for.

The ritual then commenced as the flag was first

inspected by partaking members. One presented the

flag to two different people who inspected it as part of

the ceremony. The flag is then presented to a final per-

son by the other two.

This flag is faded and worn and has been over thegraves of our dead soldiers and sailors and has been

displayed in public places, said one of the two inspec-

tors in the ceremony.

A prayer was given for the flag that about to be

retired, and when the prayer finished the flag was lit on

fire and TAPS was played in honor of this retirement.

The legionnaires then thanked the members of Boys

State for attending the ceremony.

The flag, when it is in such a condition that it can

no longer be used or displayed, should be retired in an

honorable way, preferably by burning, Article 36

U.S.C. Chapter 10 as amended by P.L. 334 by the 94th

Congress. Approved on July 7 th, 1976 under paragraph176 titled Respect for Flag.

Instruction, continued from page 3

ment -- the sexy stuff.

The Schools of Instruction concluded with all mem-

bers well-equipped to take on the challenges of legisla-

tion, George Lucass desperate attempt to make taxa-

tion debates as interesting as lightsaber battles, and

government TV programming.


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Boys

StateImages:

Day 2

Clockwise from top: Moorhead hams it

up; a brisk 6 a.m. run; drum line prac-

tice; flag retirement ceremony on a gor-geous day; a little lunchtime piano enter-

tainment; Staters do a short video of the

Harlem Shake to send to Girls Staters at

Bethel.

Photos by

Emily Neperman

and Jim Tate


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Boys State Images Above: Whats going on here? Calisthenics on the CampusGreen; below right: Boys Start has seen an increase in partici-

pation of over 40 boys, and they fill the Conference Center;

below left: Boys Staters are always on the move during the day.


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Clockwise from above:

Volleyball action; Moor-

head softball players; I

Wear My Pink Pajamas

singers; filing in for the

flag retirement ceremony;

early-morning calesthetics.

Boys State Images

Photos by JimTate and

Emily Neperman

State of the Boys 2013 Tuesday

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