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00:10 - Good morning, everybody.

00:11 - My name is Anna myers.

00:13 - I am a regional vice

00:14 - president here at

00:15 - Commonwealth Charter Academy.

00:17 - Okay.

00:18 - Unfortunately, our

00:19 - president and CEO, Mr.

00:20 - Thomas Longer

00:21 - Necker, could not

00:22 - be with us today

00:22 - because we have

00:23 - one of four graduations this

00:25 - week throughout the state.

00:27 - So he is currently

00:28 - traveling to Pittsburgh

00:30 - to attend our

00:30 - graduation tonight.

00:32 - I wanted to welcome

00:34 - all of you to CCE.

00:36 - It is such a pleasure to host

00:38 - this wonderful competition here

00:40 - today.

00:40 - We feel very grateful

00:41 - that you're all here

00:43 - and that we've been chosen

00:45 - to host this event this morning.

00:48 - So just a little bit about CCE.

00:50 - We are a public K-through-12

00:52 - cyber charter school.

00:54 - We enroll currently this past

00:56 - academic year, which we're

00:58 - finishing this week, over 24,000

01:00 - families throughout the state.

01:03 - This is our headquarters.

01:04 - We refer to it as Capital

01:06 - Campus and we are in the process

01:09 - of acquiring more

01:11 - family services center

01:12 - throughout the state

01:13 - to be able to provide

01:15 - supports and services in person

01:18 - as much as possible

01:19 - to our families.

01:20 - We're the largest cyber

01:21 - charter school in the state.

01:22 - So while our students

01:23 - go to school online,

01:25 - synchronously or asynchronously,

01:27 - flexibility is key here.

01:30 - They do come in person to

01:31 - receive supports and services.

01:34 - We have a huge

01:35 - emphasis on family services

01:37 - and we're very unique

01:39 - and known for that

01:40 - and also career readiness,

01:42 - which you will be

01:43 - able to get a taste

01:44 - of our internal career

01:45 - readiness program this afternoon

01:47 - if you choose to do the

01:48 - tour of our aquaponics,

01:50 - which is internal here

01:52 - at our Capital Campus.

01:54 - So it's a wonderful facility.

01:56 - It's run by our students.

01:57 - They are able

01:58 - to get hands on experience

02:00 - in the agricultural field

02:01 - if they so choose to then

02:03 - pursue, see if they want to

02:06 - pursue a career in agriculture

02:07 - once they graduate from CCE.

02:10 - So basically here is a our

02:11 - motto is we want to graduate

02:14 - productive citizens

02:15 - and will do whatever

02:16 - it takes to get our kids there.

02:18 - So welcome again.

02:19 - Thank you for being here.

02:21 - And I'm going to turn this

02:23 - over to my friend, president

02:25 - and CEO of the

02:28 - Chamber, Luke Bernstein.

02:33 - Thank you very much,

02:34 - John, and thank you

02:35 - for hosting us here today. I

02:37 - want to wish everyone

02:39 - a very warm welcome

02:41 - on behalf of the Pennsylvania

02:42 - Chamber of Business and Industry

02:44 - and our Education Foundation.

02:46 - We are so thrilled to be

02:47 - partnering with the U.S.

02:49 - Chamber Foundation

02:51 - to host the 2023

02:53 - our first inaugural,

02:54 - Pennsylvania's Civic Space.

02:56 - The Pennsylvania Chamber

02:58 - of Business and Industry,

02:59 - through our foundation,

03:00 - our Education Foundation,

03:02 - worked in partnership

03:03 - with the U.S.

03:04 - Chamber of Commerce Foundation

03:06 - and local Chambers of Commerce

03:08 - throughout Pennsylvania.

03:09 - To put on today's event.

03:11 - This would not have

03:13 - happened without the hard work

03:15 - of Carolyn Cawley,

03:16 - president of the U.S.

03:18 - Chamber of Commerce Foundation,

03:20 - and vice president of the U.S.

03:21 - Commerce. Commerce U.S.

03:22 - Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

03:24 - Hillary Crowe.

03:25 - Where's Carolyn?

03:26 - Hillary, stand up over there.

03:28 - This does not happen

03:29 - without their support

03:34 - to Carolyn.

03:34 - Hillary truly, we

03:35 - appreciate the partnership

03:37 - and all that you've

03:38 - done and your vision

03:39 - to bring this to fruition.

03:41 - It was their vision that

03:43 - started this last year

03:44 - and we were excited to be a part

03:46 - of it this year to continue.

03:48 - And this will be the

03:49 - ninth state in the country

03:51 - where we're doing this.

03:52 - And I think as we

03:53 - look towards the future,

03:54 - this is something

03:55 - that's so important.

03:56 - I think we're going to get all

03:58 - 50 states to participate soon.

04:00 - The Pennsylvania Civics bee

04:02 - is the culmination of a

04:03 - great deal of hard work,

04:05 - is also the

04:06 - combination, culmination

04:07 - of a great deal of hard work

04:08 - by not only the ones that

04:09 - worked hard to put it on,

04:11 - but by those that were

04:12 - who are doing this for.

04:14 - And those are the

04:14 - participants over here.

04:16 - These middle school

04:17 - students were finalists

04:18 - in regional essay contests

04:20 - that were administered

04:22 - by five regional

04:23 - chambers of commerce

04:24 - throughout the state

04:25 - of Pennsylvania.

04:26 - Many thanks to our local chamber

04:28 - partners who we worked with.

04:30 - That included

04:31 - the Pennsylvania

04:32 - Chamber of Business

04:33 - and Industry of Center County,

04:35 - the Chester County Chamber

04:36 - of Business and Industry,

04:38 - the Erie Regional Chamber

04:39 - and Growth Partnership.

04:40 - I see a Curtis James Sum.

04:42 - There's Curtis.

04:43 - Thank you for all

04:44 - of your support.

04:46 - The Harrisburg Regional

04:47 - Chamber of Commerce and Critic

04:49 - and the Wyoming Valley

04:50 - Chamber of Commerce

04:51 - and Northeastern Pennsylvania.

04:53 - All of those chambers

04:54 - worked with us.

04:55 - They hosted

04:55 - regional civic space,

04:57 - they judged regional

04:58 - events, and they brought

05:00 - this fine group of award winning

05:02 - and the regional participants

05:05 - here to the state

05:06 - level civics education.

05:08 - I think we would all agree

05:09 - it's critically important,

05:10 - especially in today's society.

05:13 - When taught effectively,

05:14 - it can inspire students

05:16 - with the knowledge and skills

05:18 - to become informed citizens.

05:20 - Contrary to popular,

05:21 - popular belief, civics

05:23 - isn't just about teaching

05:25 - American history.

05:26 - Rather, civics give

05:28 - students the tools to apply

05:30 - that knowledge in order to

05:31 - become active participants

05:33 - in their communities

05:34 - and engage civically

05:36 - with those around them.

05:38 - This is important

05:39 - because a nation's overall

05:40 - knowledge of civics

05:42 - continues to decline,

05:44 - particularly among

05:45 - our young people.

05:46 - 79% of eighth graders today

05:49 - score below proficient levels

05:52 - in civics, the civics BSA.

05:54 - And I have to change that.

05:56 - We want to encourage new

05:57 - generations of Americans

05:58 - to learn about civics

06:00 - and to contribute civically

06:01 - in their communities.

06:03 - That's why we are

06:04 - honored to be here

06:05 - with such an amazing

06:06 - group of student leaders

06:07 - that are already demonstrating

06:08 - that and have demonstrated

06:10 - that in order to get here

06:12 - both through their

06:13 - civics knowledge

06:14 - and through the ideas they

06:15 - put forth in incredible essays.

06:17 - And I can tell you when

06:18 - I read those essays,

06:20 - not only

06:20 - was I a little bit

06:21 - embarrassed because I felt

06:22 - they were all much,

06:23 - much smarter than I was,

06:25 - but I was actually encouraged.

06:27 - I was inspired about

06:28 - what the future represents.

06:30 - And this future is right here.

06:32 - And when I think

06:32 - about that future,

06:33 - that future is very bright

06:35 - because of those

06:36 - individuals right here.

06:38 - I want

06:38 - I want to say this as we go

06:40 - and I said this to them earlier.

06:43 - You we are going to go

06:43 - through we're going to walk

06:44 - through the finalists

06:46 - and everything today.

06:47 - But just because you got

06:48 - here, you have already won.

06:51 - You're on the statewide

06:52 - stage today is about having fun,

06:55 - doing your best and growing

06:56 - this and being part of this.

06:58 - I'd like to give them now a

06:59 - very warm round of applause

07:01 - for all they've

07:06 - done to get here.

07:12 - But just, you know,

07:14 - if you want to go far

07:15 - in life, you go together.

07:17 - If you go fast, you go alone.

07:19 - So you would not have

07:19 - been here without the support

07:21 - of those that

07:22 - helped get you here.

07:23 - Families, friends,

07:24 - guardians, school officials

07:27 - that are here today that

07:28 - helped you along your journey.

07:29 - They've put a lot of time

07:30 - and effort into educating

07:32 - these young,

07:33 - impressive kids and

07:34 - helping them get to this point.

07:36 - They would not be here

07:37 - without your support.

07:38 - So I'd like to thank

07:39 - the families, the scores

07:40 - and those that supported

07:41 - them along their journey.

07:42 - Thank you.

07:48 - Now, today's finalists

07:49 - have already won the tablets

07:51 - that you'll see

07:52 - in front of them.

07:53 - And those are the tablets

07:55 - that they'll be using for

07:56 - the competition today.

07:58 - The three that come out

07:59 - on top in the final round

08:02 - will come away with cash prizes

08:04 - today, 500 to the third place

08:06 - winner, $750 for the

08:07 - second place winner

08:09 - and $1,000 for a

08:10 - first place winner.

08:13 - We already know this competition

08:15 - is going to be fierce,

08:17 - but as I said earlier,

08:19 - you've already won.

08:20 - And I mean that sincerely.

08:22 - You may not have

08:23 - your region. You're here.

08:24 - You belong here.

08:25 - Enjoy this experience.

08:27 - For those that are

08:28 - not in eighth grade,

08:29 - I hope to see you back

08:30 - next year if you win or not.

08:32 - But this could not have happened

08:34 - without the generous

08:35 - support of many here

08:36 - and those that helped

08:37 - to host our civics bee.

08:39 - I want to thank Honor

08:40 - and the Commonwealth

08:42 - Charter Academy for

08:43 - hosting today's event here

08:45 - to ABC 27 and Valerie

08:47 - Pritchett for M.S., ABC.

08:50 - And Valerie, when we

08:51 - immediately asked them,

08:52 - she said yes and

08:53 - stepped up to support.

08:54 - And we couldn't put

08:55 - this on without her spirit

08:57 - and her energy.

08:58 - And you'll see that.

08:59 - And we're grateful

08:59 - for you for doing it.

09:00 - I want to thank the judges

09:03 - and those sponsors of

09:04 - the first ever state civics

09:06 - bee, our presenting

09:07 - sponsor, High Mark,

09:09 - our technology sponsor

09:11 - in Trotta Technologies.

09:12 - So Dave Steele bounced

09:13 - around here somewhere

09:16 - and our gold

09:16 - sponsors, PCU and

09:18 - the giant company.

09:20 - And I'd like to introduce

09:22 - our 2023 Pennsylvania

09:24 - civics bee judges.

09:26 - You have an

09:27 - incredibly difficult job,

09:30 - and I think you know that.

09:31 - And it's one that I

09:31 - know you're going to.

09:32 - You're up to the task and

09:33 - you do a great job with.

09:35 - First up, we have

09:36 - Kathleen McKenzie, vice

09:38 - president of community

09:39 - affairs with Highmark.

09:41 - I'd like to welcome

09:42 - Michelle James,

09:43 - Regional Membership

09:44 - Development Manager with CCU.

09:47 - And lastly, Joanna, Chris Shock,

09:50 - Vice President of Marketing

09:52 - and Commercial Plant Planning

09:54 - with the giant company. One.

09:56 - Let's give a round of

09:57 - applause for our judges.

10:03 - Without the three of their time

10:05 - and expertize, we

10:05 - could not put this on.

10:07 - So with that,

10:08 - I'd like to introduce my

10:09 - friend Kathleen McKenzie

10:11 - with High Mark to the

10:12 - podium for a few words

10:13 - on behalf of our

10:14 - presenting sponsor.

10:15 - Hi, Mark. Kathleen.

10:20 - Thank you so much, Luc.

10:23 - Good morning, everyone.

10:24 - And on behalf of Highmark

10:26 - Blue Shield, as Luke said, I'm

10:27 - the vice vice president

10:29 - of community affairs

10:30 - for Highmark Blue Shield.

10:32 - Highmark Blue Shield is a health

10:33 - insurance company across

10:35 - Pennsylvania, and our corporate

10:37 - social responsibility

10:39 - mission is wide.

10:42 - But our our logo is

10:43 - called Bright Blue Future,

10:45 - and I can't think of

10:47 - anything brighter than what

10:48 - I've seen in these essays.

10:51 - I have the honor today

10:52 - of underwriting this event

10:54 - on behalf of Highmark, so we're

10:56 - very proud to support this.

10:58 - We are proud members

10:59 - of the chamber,

11:00 - and I have to

11:01 - really thank the Chamber

11:02 - for bringing this to Harrisburg

11:04 - because it's such

11:05 - an important event

11:07 - and as members are very proud

11:08 - to support events like this

11:10 - and it's very visionary that,

11:11 - you know, President Bernstein

11:13 - has brought this here today.

11:15 - And as a judge, I have to

11:16 - say, you know, your parents,

11:18 - your support network

11:19 - should be very proud of you

11:20 - because it's not just how

11:22 - well-written these essays are.

11:24 - It's the gravity of the

11:25 - subjects they have undertaken

11:27 - to write about that have

11:29 - really astounded me and

11:31 - I can't say enough about

11:34 - children in their age

11:35 - who are young adults

11:37 - writing about health,

11:39 - women's health, about mental

11:41 - health, about our environment

11:43 - in such a profound way.

11:44 - It's really important

11:45 - to understand

11:46 - what our students are saying.

11:47 - And you're saying a lot,

11:48 - and we're listening to

11:49 - you and we hear you.

11:50 - So thank you for doing this.

11:52 - Your voice is heard

11:53 - and we expect you to do

11:54 - big things with your voice.

11:55 - So thank you very much.

11:58 - Anyway, that's all I

11:59 - have to say today.

12:00 - And I look forward

12:00 - to a great day.

12:01 - Thank you very much.

12:09 - Thank you so much, Kathleen.

12:10 - And thank you very

12:11 - much to Highmark.

12:13 - It now gives me great pleasure

12:14 - to welcome Angela Fedora,

12:16 - executive deputy

12:17 - secretary of the Department

12:19 - of Education in Pennsylvania,

12:21 - for some welcoming remarks.

12:23 - A lifelong public servant.

12:25 - Angela Fiedler

12:26 - currently serves as

12:27 - the executive deputy

12:28 - secretary of the Pennsylvania

12:30 - Department of Education over 24

12:32 - over her 25 year career

12:33 - in state government.

12:35 - Angela has served

12:36 - as deputy chief of staff,

12:39 - and for those, that's

12:40 - a really, really big job.

12:41 - But deputy chief of staff,

12:43 - former Governor Tom Wolf,

12:45 - deputy secretary

12:45 - in the Governor's

12:46 - Office of Legislative

12:48 - Affairs, legislative director

12:50 - at the Pennsylvania Department

12:51 - of Education, and itself.

12:53 - Various positions in both

12:54 - the Pennsylvania Senate

12:56 - and the Pennsylvania

12:57 - House of Representatives

12:58 - focused on crafting

12:59 - and steering public policy

13:01 - largely in the

13:02 - educational space.

13:04 - Throughout her career,

13:05 - she's used her passion for

13:07 - education and public policy

13:09 - to create coalitions and

13:10 - work with vested partners

13:12 - to realize a shared vision

13:14 - and accomplish common goals.

13:16 - Angela received

13:17 - a Bachelor of Arts

13:18 - in Political Science from

13:20 - Saint Joseph's University.

13:21 - I would now like to

13:23 - welcome Angela Feder.

13:32 - Thank you, Luke.

13:34 - At the Department of Education,

13:35 - we love to see students

13:37 - engaging in

13:38 - learning opportunities

13:39 - aligned with their

13:40 - interests and passions

13:42 - like you're doing here today

13:44 - at the Pennsylvania Civics Bee.

13:46 - This first

13:46 - ever event in the Commonwealth

13:48 - will enable the next generation

13:50 - of Pennsylvania's

13:51 - leaders to be civic minded

13:53 - and inspire them to work

13:55 - collaboratively, actively

13:57 - to make their

13:58 - communities stronger.

13:59 - We thank the U.S.

14:00 - Chamber Foundation, the Chamber

14:03 - and the five local chambers

14:05 - of Commerce who

14:06 - helped host and judge

14:09 - these regional essay contests

14:10 - and bring us to this point.

14:13 - Abraham Lincoln, once said,

14:15 - The philosophy of the schoolroom

14:18 - in one generation

14:19 - will be the philosophy

14:20 - of government in the next.

14:23 - As someone who has spent

14:24 - my career in state government

14:26 - with many of those years focused

14:28 - on public education policy,

14:30 - I believe it is

14:31 - critically important

14:32 - that students can be

14:34 - engaged with civics education.

14:37 - Events like the civics

14:38 - be prepared to do.

14:39 - Today's learners to

14:41 - be tomorrow's leaders.

14:43 - And I applaud these students

14:45 - for showing up for themselves,

14:47 - for each other and for the

14:49 - informed and engaged electorate.

14:52 - Thank you, students, for

14:53 - being the kinds of Americans

14:55 - that will positively

14:56 - impact future generations.

14:59 - And now I'd like to

15:00 - turn it over to our M.C.

15:02 - for this first ever

15:03 - Pennsylvania civics bee.

15:05 - ABC 27 news anchor Valerie

15:08 - Pritchett.

15:19 - Turned one off

15:20 - and turned one on.

15:24 - Deal with these

15:25 - microphones everyday.

15:26 - Can you hear me?

15:27 - Good. Excellent.

15:29 - Well, I am so excited to

15:30 - be here with all of you today

15:33 - and to have a

15:33 - chance to see and test

15:35 - your knowledge

15:36 - when it comes to civics

15:39 - for Luke.

15:39 - Want to thank you

15:40 - too for those opening

15:41 - remarks as wonderful as well.

15:44 - This is a first

15:46 - Pennsylvania Chamber

15:47 - civics bee and this is exciting.

15:49 - Are you excited,

15:50 - ladies and gentlemen?

15:51 - You are.

15:52 - You're ready to go,

15:53 - though, aren't you?

15:55 - But whether you're

15:56 - well versed in civics

15:57 - education, this is more

15:59 - of a civics and 101 class.

16:01 - I think we can all agree

16:02 - that is a good thing

16:03 - for all of us to take action

16:05 - about steps to becoming

16:07 - more informed in our democracy

16:09 - and engaged in our communities.

16:11 - Before we get underway,

16:13 - I would love our civics

16:14 - be finalist to say a

16:16 - little brief introduction

16:18 - stating their name and

16:20 - the schools they represent.

16:28 - I'm Katie Tyler,

16:29 - and I'm from Mt.

16:30 - Airy Middle School.

16:32 - I am Winston Kai.

16:33 - I'm from Charles

16:34 - Often Middle School.

16:36 - I'm Nathaniel first, and I'm fro

16:39 - I'm Mary Glavin,

16:40 - and I'm from Charles

16:41 - Patton Middle School.

16:45 - Hello.

16:46 - My name is Kristen.

16:46 - Heiner and I represent

16:48 - your day school.

16:50 - My name is Lauren

16:50 - Lavoie and I'm representing

16:52 - Saint Joan of Arc School.

16:55 - My name is an unemployed Kate

16:57 - and I'm from Abington

16:58 - Heights Middle School.

17:00 - My name is Nancy

17:01 - Fleming, and I'm from J.R.

17:02 - Memorial Middle School.

17:04 - Hi. My name is Amish Ahmed,

17:06 - and I'm representing

17:07 - Abington Heights Middle School.

17:10 - My name is solely

17:11 - and I'm representing Mt.

17:12 - Airy Middle School.

17:16 - Hello, I'm hello.

17:18 - I'm Logan Thompson and.

17:19 - I represent Fairview

17:21 - Middle School.

17:23 - Hello. I'm SOC.

17:24 - Post-Graduate and I

17:25 - represent Mountain View

17:26 - Middle School in the Cumberland

17:27 - Valley School District.

17:29 - Hello. My name is Ruth.

17:30 - Intervene and I represent

17:32 - Eagle V Middle School.

17:34 - Can we get a round of applause?

17:44 - Thank you, students.

17:48 - Next up, I will cover the

17:50 - civics bee ground rules as

17:51 - a reminder for our students.

17:53 - Please know that any personal

17:55 - devices, cell phones, etc.

17:57 - are not allowed on stage.

17:59 - I'll take a moment to make sure

18:00 - you've handed all of those over

18:02 - to your parents or

18:03 - teachers or friends.

18:07 - Good. All right.

18:08 - Today's competition

18:09 - will include three rounds

18:11 - in the first two rounds.

18:13 - Finalists will answer civics

18:14 - based multiple choice questions.

18:17 - AUDIENCE You, too,

18:19 - will have the

18:19 - opportunity to play along,

18:21 - and I will give you instructions

18:22 - in just a few minutes.

18:24 - Each question and

18:25 - answer will be read aloud,

18:27 - and each finalist

18:28 - will answer the same

18:30 - questions on their tablet device

18:32 - within the allotted

18:33 - time of 30 seconds.

18:35 - The timer will not start

18:37 - until after I have finished

18:39 - reading the question

18:40 - and the answer options.

18:43 - After that time has expired,

18:44 - I'll move on to the next

18:46 - question.

18:47 - Each correct answer

18:48 - will receive one point

18:51 - incorrect answers and

18:52 - answers not submitted

18:54 - before the time runs out

18:56 - will receive zero points,

18:58 - since you will not lose

18:59 - points for an incorrect answer.

19:02 - We encourage you

19:03 - to take your best guess

19:05 - and answer each question.

19:08 - Please raise your

19:09 - hands immediately

19:10 - if you have a problem.

19:11 - For example, the tablets

19:12 - working, not working

19:14 - so that we can help you

19:15 - and we'll stop the timer

19:16 - and get that taken care of.

19:17 - After rounds one and two,

19:19 - we will announce which

19:20 - students are in the lead.

19:23 - The five finalist seats

19:24 - with the highest scores

19:25 - at the end of round two

19:27 - will advance to round three

19:30 - if there is a tie

19:31 - for fifth place,

19:33 - I will announce a tie breaker

19:35 - round of three questions.

19:38 - Only the students who are

19:39 - tied for fifth place will answer

19:41 - the tiebreaker questions

19:43 - and at the end of that round,

19:45 - I will

19:45 - announce the five finalists

19:47 - who will advance to the third

19:49 - and final round of the

19:51 - Pennsylvania Civics Bee.

19:53 - We know everyone here

19:54 - will participate with integrity.

19:56 - So everyone, please keep

19:57 - your eyes on your own tablets.

19:59 - I'll go over the

20:01 - rules more closely

20:02 - when we get to round three

20:04 - and that portion of the bee.

20:06 - If the audience will

20:07 - like to participate,

20:09 - please scan the QR code

20:10 - on the back of your programs.

20:11 - You guys find that?

20:14 - And when prompted, enter

20:17 - this code 16446.

20:21 - What is this? Student Good by.

20:23 - Wait a minute hold

20:24 - on the sound below.

20:25 - Audience code you're

20:26 - absolutely correct.

20:27 - 463276.

20:31 - I should pop that down

20:32 - on my little handy

20:35 - dandy planner.

20:37 - Okay, are we ready?

20:40 - And I think I'm going

20:41 - to change microphone.

20:43 - Yeah.

20:46 - So everybody sit.

20:57 - What is the most recently

20:59 - formed executive department?

21:01 - Is it the Department

21:03 - of Homeland Security?

21:04 - A Department of

21:05 - Agriculture or B, Department

21:08 - of Education, C or the

21:10 - Department of Justice?

21:11 - The D?

21:50 - Yeah.

21:54 - And there you have the answer.

21:55 - The Department of

21:56 - Homeland Security

21:57 - excuse me, we have

21:58 - another question right here.

22:01 - Is that I didn't

22:03 - answer on the screen

22:05 - that so, so much.

22:07 - So there's a

22:08 - problem with the pad.

22:09 - If somebody could.

22:12 - I think it just takes

22:13 - a bit too load,

22:14 - but they're all coming up.

22:17 - Will you be able to tell

22:17 - when they load back there

22:18 - and just give me a heads up?

22:21 - Okay.

22:22 - Thank you.

22:35 - We're good. Okay. Are you ready?

22:37 - Let's get to our

22:39 - second question.

22:40 - Which action is an

22:42 - example of political lobbying?

22:45 - A health group ask

22:46 - legislators to pass tougher

22:48 - anti-pollution laws.

22:50 - B The governor gives special

22:52 - advice to legislative members.

22:54 - C. A mayoral candidate

22:56 - holds a campaign

22:57 - rally for registered

22:59 - voters or d.

23:01 - The local newspaper

23:02 - exposes corrupt practices

23:04 - and election campaigns.

23:25 - And the answer in

23:31 - a health group

23:32 - asks legislators to pass

23:34 - tougher anti-pollution rules.

23:37 - Okay, our next question

23:40 - Which of the following

23:41 - people have their face on U.S.

23:43 - currency, but were not U.S.

23:46 - presidents Ulysses as

23:48 - Grant and Robert E Lee,

23:50 - Ben Franklin and

23:52 - Ulysses as Grant

23:53 - Alexander Hamilton and

23:55 - Thomas Jefferson or Alexander

23:57 - Hamilton and Ben Franklin

24:04 - and William.

24:24 - And it's Alexander Hamilton.

24:26 - And Ben Franklin.

24:29 - Our next question

24:32 - How did the U.S.

24:33 - Constitution address

24:34 - the problem under the

24:35 - Articles of Confederation

24:37 - that Congress had no power to.

24:40 - Make in 16?

24:54 - Are we all good?

24:54 - My stellar students,

24:56 - are we ready?

24:57 - Okay. How did the U.S.

25:00 - Constitution address

25:01 - a problem under the Articles

25:03 - of Confederation that Congress

25:05 - had no power to ensure its laws

25:07 - were followed by the states?

25:08 - A It created an executive

25:10 - branch to enforce laws.

25:13 - B It gave each state sovereign

25:15 - authority over its laws.

25:17 - C It required the President

25:19 - to resolve disputes

25:20 - between states, or.

25:21 - D It required unanimous

25:23 - consent of states

25:24 - to create new laws.

25:45 - And our answer is a created

25:47 - an executive branch

25:49 - to enforce laws.

25:52 - Our next question

25:53 - Which of the following

25:55 - is not a common trait

25:57 - of a minor political party?

25:59 - Two hands up.

26:00 - It's just too big to be

26:02 - out there really slow.

26:04 - Okay.

26:19 - Okay, we're good. All right.

26:21 - Which of the following

26:22 - is not a common trait

26:24 - of a minor political party

26:25 - in the United States?

26:27 - The party may have

26:28 - difficulty winning election

26:30 - in the American party system.

26:32 - The party may at times

26:34 - dominate national elections.

26:36 - The party may form

26:38 - based on an ideology

26:39 - or single issue,

26:41 - or d the party may form

26:42 - from a faction that breaks off

26:45 - from an existing party.

27:04 - And the answer is

27:05 - a party may at times

27:07 - dominate national elections.

27:10 - Wait for our next question,

27:11 - and I'm going to give you

27:12 - just a few seconds to make

27:14 - sure you all have this question.

27:17 - Have.

27:18 - Okay, are we good?

27:38 - Okay.

27:39 - Which of the following

27:41 - Founding Fathers

27:42 - was not an author of

27:43 - the Federalist Papers?

27:45 - John J.

27:46 - George Washington.

27:48 - Alexander Hamilton.

27:50 - James Madison.

28:23 - And our answer is

28:24 - George Washington.

28:27 - Our next question

28:33 - I see.

28:34 - Had to go up.

28:35 - Okay. Meaning you're good.

28:38 - Oh, no.

28:39 - All right. Thumbs

28:40 - up if you're good.

28:41 - Hand up if you have a problem.

28:43 - All right.

28:43 - We have we have

28:44 - the problem over here.

28:46 - Okay.

29:00 - All right.

29:01 - What was the

29:02 - American foreign policy

29:03 - known as the domino theory?

29:05 - Neighboring

29:06 - nations would benefit

29:07 - economically from

29:08 - trading with the U.S..

29:10 - The U.S.

29:11 - should show the power

29:13 - of its military through

29:14 - public displays of strength.

29:16 - The U.S.

29:17 - should stay out of countries

29:19 - that had failing economies.

29:21 - Or communism would spread to

29:23 - neighboring nations if the U.S.

29:25 - did not interfere overseas.

29:47 - And the answer is,

29:48 - the communism would

29:49 - spread to neighboring nations.

29:51 - If the U.S. did not

29:52 - proceed. Okay.

29:53 - Our next question,

29:56 - are we all good?

30:00 - I have some hands up.

30:22 - A blank is a type of journalism

30:24 - based on facts describing

30:26 - newsworthy events

30:27 - at local, national

30:28 - and international levels.

30:31 - Is it A commentary?

30:32 - B editorial.

30:34 - C obituary or D hard news story?

31:08 - And the answer is D.

31:09 - Hard news story.

31:11 - Our next question.

31:16 - I have a hand up.

31:18 - Do you?

31:22 - Good. Okay. Okay.

31:23 - Next to you has a question.

31:28 - All right.

31:29 - All good.

31:31 - The most important

31:32 - accomplishment of Congress

31:34 - under the Articles of

31:35 - Confederation was its solving

31:38 - the border problem

31:39 - with Florida and Spain.

31:41 - Passage of ordinance

31:43 - to organize the Northwest

31:45 - Territory rules for

31:47 - Interstate Trade and tariffs

31:49 - or management

31:50 - of the national debt

31:57 - and. And its the passage

32:21 - of ordinances to organize

32:22 - the Northwest Territory.

32:25 - Our next question.

32:29 - Will be good.

32:30 - Okay.

32:31 - I see. Hand up.

32:33 - You're good. Okay.

32:36 - Blank legislation focuses

32:37 - on one district of the country

32:39 - instead of the whole country.

32:41 - Ex post facto pork

32:43 - barrel one state

32:45 - exclusionary.

33:10 - And the answer is pork.

33:11 - Pork barrel.

33:14 - Now on to round two.

33:22 - We have Hannah.

33:27 - We have a couple of hands up

33:39 - in the ancient Greek

33:40 - city state, Athens,

33:41 - the citizens were involved in

33:43 - the day to day work of governing

33:45 - citizens participated in

33:47 - lawmaking and acted as judges.

33:49 - What type of

33:50 - government was this?

33:52 - Oligarchy.

33:54 - Direct democracy.

33:56 - Representative democracy

33:58 - or anarchy? And.

34:17 - And it was a direct democracy.

34:21 - Our next question

34:26 - What type of

34:27 - congressional committee?

34:29 - Where do you

34:58 - what type of

34:59 - congressional committee

35:01 - is permanent standing?

35:03 - Constitutional

35:04 - select or conference

35:24 - standing is the answer.

35:27 - Our next question

35:33 - you get, okay,

35:35 - a county government

35:37 - has the right to make a law

35:39 - for the county without getting

35:41 - state or national approval.

35:44 - Hold on.

35:45 - We do. Okay.

35:48 - Are you good?

35:49 - They're good now. Okay.

35:51 - Let me repeat that.

35:53 - A county government

35:54 - has the right

35:54 - to make a law for the

35:55 - county without getting state

35:57 - national approval.

35:59 - This is called

36:00 - initiative referendum.

36:03 - Line item veto or home rule?

36:25 - Home rule.

36:29 - Our next question

36:45 - When a lower court decision is

36:47 - appealed to the Supreme Court,

36:49 - which of the following

36:50 - is most likely to occur?

36:52 - The Supreme Court will overturn

36:54 - the lower court decision.

36:56 - The Supreme Court will

36:58 - reprimand the lower court judge.

37:01 - The case will be

37:02 - retired at the lower court.

37:04 - The Supreme Court

37:05 - will not hear the appeal

37:12 - at all.

37:27 - The Supreme Court

37:28 - will not hear the appeal.

37:31 - Our next question.

37:44 - We're all good.

37:45 - Okay.

37:46 - If citizens

37:47 - do not like a decision by

37:49 - the Supreme Court, they can

37:51 - try to get the Constitution

37:53 - amendment amended, ask the court

37:56 - to change the ruling,

37:58 - have Congress overrule it,

38:01 - ask the president to veto it.

38:08 - And try to get

38:32 - the Constitution amended.

38:35 - Our next quote.

38:36 - Hold on, David.

38:38 - You know, we love

38:39 - to see you in place.

38:41 - Can you help?

38:47 - I just want to see the for.

38:57 - Real set for the next question.

38:59 - What was the name

39:00 - of the document

39:02 - signed at the Seneca

39:03 - Falls Convention

39:05 - that described the rights

39:06 - desired by the attendees?

39:09 - Was it the declaration

39:10 - of Rights of Women,

39:12 - Equal Rights Amendment,

39:14 - petition for Universal Suffrage

39:16 - or Declaration of Sentiments?

39:38 - The Declaration of Sentiments.

39:50 - Trying to watch all

39:51 - your hands for good luck.

39:54 - Why did the framers not include

39:56 - a Bill of Rights in the

39:58 - original Constitution?

40:00 - They believed personal liberties

40:02 - were protected by

40:03 - the state constitutions.

40:05 - The Bill of Rights is the

40:07 - first section of Article one.

40:10 - The framers believed

40:11 - a Bill of Rights

40:12 - should only be

40:13 - implemented at the local level.

40:16 - The framers did not

40:28 - believe in basic liberties.

40:48 - They believe personal liberties

40:50 - were protected by the state.

40:54 - Our next question.

41:06 - Okay, let

41:10 - the end be legitimate

41:13 - and all means which are

41:14 - consistent with the letter

41:16 - and spirit of the Constitution,

41:19 - are constitutional in blank.

41:22 - Chief Justice Marshall

41:23 - invoked this phrase

41:25 - to establish the right

41:26 - of Congress to pass laws

41:27 - that are necessary and proper

41:30 - to conduct the business of

41:31 - the United States government.

41:34 - Was it Marburg,

41:35 - the Madison in 1803?

41:37 - McCullough The Maryland in 1819.

41:41 - Gibbons V.

41:42 - Ogden in 1824.

41:44 - Or the United States in 1919.

42:07 - McCullough v, Maryland

42:08 - 1819 is the answer.

42:12 - Our next

42:12 - question.

42:21 - Oh, good. Okay.

42:22 - When Andrew

42:23 - Jackson was president,

42:25 - how did more people participate

42:27 - in the political process?

42:29 - Southerners gained a

42:30 - louder voice in objecting high

42:33 - tariffs.

42:34 - Bureaucrats were fired

42:35 - and replaced with Jackson's

42:37 - supporters.

42:38 - Southern states began refusing

42:40 - to obey some federal laws.

42:43 - Democrats use

42:44 - nominating conventions

42:45 - to choose candidates.

43:21 - The answer Democrats

43:22 - use nominating

43:23 - conventions to

43:24 - choose candidates.

43:27 - Next question.

43:39 - Good.

43:39 - Okay.

43:40 - The U.S. is

43:41 - opposition to the U.S.

43:43 - membership in the

43:44 - League of Nations

43:45 - centered on the

43:46 - belief that it would lead

43:48 - to international instability, be

43:50 - a drain on American finances,

43:53 - interfere with free

43:55 - trade agreements, drag

43:57 - the country into

44:12 - European conflicts.

44:36 - The answer drag the country

44:38 - into European conflicts.

44:42 - So we are going to take a few

44:45 - moments to tally up our rounds.

44:54 - And good

44:54 - job, all of you students going

44:56 - with the technical difficulties.

44:57 - We appreciate you.

45:04 - Hey, parents.

45:05 - Still trying to get the hang of

45:07 - your child learning from home.

45:08 - Let us help. Civics.

45:09 - One, two, one.

45:10 - The video game is

45:11 - a fun way to keep.

45:12 - Your child engaged

45:13 - and interested in.

45:14 - Learning about government.

45:16 - The more they learn about.

45:17 - Voting and our three

45:18 - branches of government,

45:19 - the further they

45:20 - advance through quizzes.

45:21 - Fun reviews. And more.

45:23 - Start the learning today.

45:24 - At PC and TV dot com

45:26 - PCM Pennsylvania Politics

45:29 - and Policy.

45:34 - Answer the questions.

45:37 - Ania is one and so leads to.

45:41 - So you're the two that

45:42 - are going to have to answer

45:43 - the tiebreaker questions

45:45 - and then everybody

45:46 - else is locked out

45:51 - so you can get ready.

46:04 - Okay,

46:05 - you two, is James Madison's

46:07 - view a large republic was a

46:10 - democracy, was based on majority

46:13 - rule would prevent a tyranny

46:16 - of the majority which stretch

46:18 - from the Atlantic Ocean

46:20 - to the Appalachian

46:21 - Mountains and possibly

46:23 - further west.

46:56 - And the correct answer would

46:59 - prevent tyranny of the majority.

47:03 - Our next question

47:07 - After the

47:08 - foundations of a market economy

47:11 - were set by the Constitution.

47:13 - Americans expected

47:15 - the country be wealthy.

47:17 - Government to play an

47:19 - important role in the economy.

47:21 - Government to correct and

47:23 - prevent economic problems

47:25 - or government to

47:26 - play only a small role

47:28 - in the economy.

47:57 - Government to

47:58 - play only a small role

47:59 - in the economy.

48:03 - And question three.

48:05 - A pocket veto cannot be a

48:13 - good.

48:14 - Okay.

48:16 - A pocket veto cannot

48:17 - be overridden because

48:19 - the Supreme Court has declared

48:21 - the practice unconstitutional.

48:24 - The Constitution

48:25 - explicitly forbids Congress

48:27 - to override veto of

48:28 - appropriations bills.

48:31 - A bill cannot be carried over

48:33 - from one Congress to the next.

48:35 - The president issues it in

48:47 - the form of an executive.

49:03 - And the answer a

49:04 - bill can not be carried

49:06 - over from one

49:09 - Congress to the next.

49:17 - So I believe we're

49:18 - doing some tallying.

49:28 - Okay.

49:28 - And there are the names

49:30 - of our finalists Winston,

49:32 - Nathaniel, Poochie,

49:34 - Mary and Soli.

49:37 - Congratulations to all of those

49:39 - finalists that we have today,

49:42 - as well as all the contestants

49:44 - on your efforts to this point.

49:45 - You should all be

49:46 - commended for your dedication

49:48 - and commitment

49:49 - to competing

49:50 - through this process,

49:52 - and we all look

49:52 - forward to watching you

49:53 - as you continue to grow as

49:54 - leaders in your community.

49:56 - We are going to take

49:57 - a 15 minute break before

49:58 - we start the next round.

50:00 - And again, I applaud all of you.

50:02 - You're young.

50:03 - Brilliance is just

50:04 - a blessing to see.

50:06 - And we know that you're

50:07 - going to be our future leaders

50:08 - when most of us will be

50:09 - in our eighties and nineties.

50:11 - So we're counting on you.

50:14 - Enjoy the break.

50:24 - After a great

50:25 - victory over union

50:26 - forces in June 1863.

50:28 - Robert E Lee marches

50:29 - his army to Pennsylvania.

50:31 - The Advancing Confederates

50:33 - with General Meade's

50:34 - Union Army at Gettysburg,

50:36 - beginning the most famous

50:37 - battle of the Civil War.

50:39 - Explore our nation's past

50:41 - and the Gettysburg Battlefield

50:42 - with the Gettysburg Collection.

50:44 - Become a member to

50:45 - stream the library online.

50:47 - Learn more at

50:47 - Gettysburg Collection.

50:49 - Tor.com.

50:54 - Finalists.

50:55 - Before we head into round

50:57 - three, I'm going to quickly

50:58 - go over the rules for this

51:00 - final segment of, our contest.

51:02 - I will call each of you one at

51:04 - a time to pass the microphone

51:06 - and deliver

51:06 - your summary of the idea

51:08 - you presented in your regional

51:10 - civics essay.

51:12 - You may bring your new

51:13 - cards if you would like.

51:15 - I'll also mention this.

51:17 - It's very helpful if you

51:19 - hold the microphone close

51:20 - so you may take it out

51:22 - of the little stand here.

51:24 - If you're not

51:24 - comfortable, just stand

51:25 - a little bit closer to it.

51:30 - All right. And

51:35 - if I will call you in the

51:36 - order placed in the round.

51:38 - So if you are

51:39 - fifth, you'll go first.

51:41 - So round two

51:42 - with fifth place going first,

51:44 - then fourth place and so on.

51:46 - Each finalist

51:47 - will provide a three minute

51:48 - summary of your essay topic.

51:51 - You will get a little sign

51:52 - that if you're going over

51:54 - the gentleman right

51:55 - over here waving his hand

51:57 - will let you know that

51:58 - you need to cut it short.

51:59 - Not a hard 3 minutes,

52:00 - but we'd like you to stay

52:01 - with in a decent timeframe.

52:04 - Each finalist will then receive

52:06 - questions from our three judges

52:08 - and have 3 minutes to

52:10 - answer each question.

52:11 - Please note there

52:12 - will be a timekeeper,

52:13 - as I mentioned, who

52:14 - will be providing you

52:15 - with a hand signal to know

52:16 - that when there are 30 seconds

52:18 - remaining and your three

52:20 - minute answer window

52:22 - so you'll keep track that way.

52:24 - The judges will evaluate

52:25 - your answer based on how

52:27 - well you demonstrate

52:28 - an understanding of civic

52:30 - principles and related

52:32 - services systems.

52:33 - Demonstrate clarity

52:34 - and effectiveness

52:35 - in delivering your

52:36 - summary or pitch.

52:38 - Demonstrate clarity

52:39 - and effectiveness in responding

52:41 - to the judges questions

52:43 - and use specific

52:44 - examples, evidence

52:46 - and primary sources

52:47 - for your support answers.

52:50 - At the end of round three,

52:51 - the judges will add their scores

52:53 - to the finalists totals

52:54 - from round one and two

52:57 - for a cumulative

52:58 - score for each finalist.

53:00 - The finalists with the

53:01 - three highest scores

53:03 - will be named first, second

53:04 - and third place winners.

53:06 - All finalists today will

53:08 - receive certificates first,

53:10 - second and third place

53:11 - winners will also receive

53:13 - trophies and checks.

53:15 - Good luck.

53:16 - All right.

53:16 - I'm going to ask

53:17 - for the first person to come

53:19 - up and that will be solely

53:22 - and again, you

53:22 - have the 3 minutes.

53:25 - Your time starts when you speak.

53:29 - Just hold it up

53:34 - and. Okay.

53:38 - Hi. My name is Slowly

53:39 - and I'm from State College,

53:41 - Pennsylvania.

53:42 - As you can

53:42 - probably tell from

53:43 - the name, State College is

53:45 - home to Penn State University,

53:47 - which accommodates approximately

53:49 - 47,000 undergraduate students.

53:52 - And that's just undergraduate.

53:54 - In my essay, I emphasized

53:55 - the need to bar construction

53:57 - of the upcoming Bally's

53:58 - Casino and any mall.

54:00 - A casino would be

54:01 - excessively destructive

54:03 - in a college town filled

54:05 - with young generations

54:07 - because it can expose

54:08 - kids to gambling addictions

54:09 - and create a hazardous

54:11 - environment overall.

54:13 - A Canadian study

54:15 - referenced by the Ivy

54:16 - Akiba Institute of

54:18 - American Values found that

54:20 - 75% of casino customers

54:22 - pay play that play

54:24 - only occasionally provide

54:26 - just 4% of casino's revenue.

54:28 - Obviously, the gambling

54:29 - industry preys on the desperate,

54:31 - and we should not allow

54:32 - such invasive conditions

54:34 - to exist in State College.

54:36 - When looking at articles

54:38 - concerning this topic,

54:39 - while substantially valid and

54:41 - sorry and having points

54:43 - such as the ones I just stated,

54:45 - they are all from

54:46 - adult perspectives.

54:47 - As a 14 year old understanding,

54:50 - an under addressed

54:52 - concern that I do have

54:53 - is that I've always viewed

54:55 - State College as a safe haven

54:57 - with little chance of

54:58 - crime and a community

54:59 - that I am extremely

55:00 - comfortable in.

55:01 - Well, middle school

55:02 - changed that for me.

55:03 - I was shoved into a reality

55:05 - where kids my age and younger

55:07 - had already accumulated

55:09 - an assortment of addictions.

55:12 - Our generation and

55:13 - the ones behind ours

55:15 - being affected by gambling,

55:16 - parents, teachers, guardians,

55:18 - even other adult figures

55:20 - would be an entirely

55:21 - destructive factor

55:22 - that could also

55:23 - crumble our community.

55:24 - Some people may argue

55:25 - that casinos have potential

55:27 - to grow a town's economy,

55:28 - and while this may be true,

55:30 - instead of a casino

55:32 - business such as a museum,

55:33 - which is the example

55:35 - I used in my essay,

55:37 - would maintain the

55:38 - same benefits of boosting

55:40 - tax revenue and tourism

55:42 - and increasing job openings

55:44 - without the

55:44 - disturbances of gambling.

55:46 - For example, a report funded

55:48 - by the Mellon Foundation

55:50 - stated that museums make more

55:52 - than $12 billion in tax revenue

55:55 - yearly for federal, state

55:56 - and local governments

55:58 - without the preying

55:59 - on the desperate.

56:00 - The exposure to more addictions

56:03 - and the endangerment

56:04 - of future generations.

56:06 - Another business besides

56:07 - a casino would surely be

56:09 - just as much beneficial to

56:10 - the state college economy

56:12 - and stabilize its community.

56:14 - Something gambling

56:14 - would actually have

56:15 - the reverse effect

56:16 - on state colleges.

56:18 - Not appropriate for a

56:19 - night, inappropriate location

56:21 - for a casino

56:22 - because it occupies a

56:23 - multitude of young generations.

56:25 - Thank you.

56:33 - We have judges questions.

56:35 - All right.

56:37 - Thank you.

56:39 - My question for you is.

56:41 - Which members

56:42 - of local government

56:44 - would be involved

56:45 - in making your idea

56:46 - of bringing a museum

56:48 - versus the casino a reality?

56:51 - Well, I would say that

56:53 - for now, my main goal is just to

56:56 - block the casino from getting

56:58 - constructed in the first place.

57:00 - But one of the biggest

57:03 - parts of our local

57:04 - government would definitely

57:05 - just be the college

57:06 - Township Council, because if

57:09 - they were to send a letter

57:11 - stating that

57:14 - sorry, if they were

57:15 - to send a letter

57:15 - objecting to the licensure

57:17 - approval given to Bally's

57:19 - by the Pennsylvania

57:19 - Gaming Control Board,

57:21 - then we would have a

57:22 - much better chance of being

57:23 - able to revoke their license.

57:25 - Yeah.

57:27 - Thank you.

57:31 - I have a follow up question.

57:35 - Since you're 14 and

57:37 - not even old enough to

57:38 - gamble, what could students

57:40 - and others your age

57:41 - either Penn State students,

57:45 - high school students,

57:46 - middle schoolers do to help

57:49 - bring your idea to life

57:52 - to help prevent the

57:53 - casino from coming in?

57:56 - I would definitely

57:57 - say that there are.

57:59 - The main point of this movement

58:03 - would just be to spread

58:04 - awareness that there are other

58:07 - ways to create the job

58:10 - openings in the tax

58:11 - revenue and the tourism.

58:12 - As I stated,

58:13 - besides a casino and

58:17 - anyone can do that

58:18 - because anyone's voice

58:19 - has a power to spread awareness.

58:21 - And people have already

58:22 - started doing that because

58:25 - people have sent out petitions

58:27 - just simply by email

58:28 - explaining the whole situation.

58:31 - And it actually gathered

58:34 - 1574 signatures,

58:36 - and each of those signatures

58:37 - probably took a few seconds,

58:40 - maybe a little more, if

58:41 - you're not very good at typing.

58:43 - But I would say

58:44 - like and there was

58:47 - another post by casino dot

58:49 - org explaining the situation

58:50 - about how the casino

58:52 - was getting built and 151

58:54 - comments were left by locals

58:55 - opposite opposing construction.

58:58 - So all of these things

58:59 - don't take many, much time,

59:01 - but they build

59:02 - up voice by voice.

59:04 - And I would say that

59:06 - just simply leaving the

59:07 - comment or assigning a petition

59:09 - or even sending out the

59:10 - petition, spreading awareness,

59:11 - talking about it to your friends

59:15 - beliefs and everything that.

59:19 - Yeah. Sorry.

59:21 - Let me start over

59:22 - using what you have and

59:25 - your interest could be a way

59:28 - to advocate and spread

59:29 - awareness for this issue.

59:32 - Thank you.

59:36 - Thank you.

59:36 - So thank you for the

59:37 - thoughtful essay. Can you.

59:39 - I love your focus on addiction.

59:42 - Can you tell me a little bit

59:43 - more about gambling addiction?

59:44 - Because it seems to be

59:45 - this might be a new addiction

59:47 - that you're concerned

59:48 - about for your generation.

59:50 - So on my research within

59:52 - gambling, I have noticed

59:54 - many patterns of

59:56 - destruction towards

59:57 - the communities around casinos,

59:59 - 148 which are a main factor

01:00 - 03.132 towards gambling, such as how,

01:00 - 04.663 according to the US

01:00 - 06.436 General Accounting Office,

01:00 - 07.914 casinos and gambling

01:00 - 09.572 have positive correlations

01:00 - 10.461 to issues such as

01:00 - 11.674 increased crime rate,

01:00 - 13.088 family problems, abuse

01:00 - 14.143 and homelessness,

01:00 - 16.145 which are serious problems that

01:00 - 17.228 I would not want to be

01:00 - 18.615 increased in my community.

01:00 - 20.960 And gambling can also cause

01:00 - 23.353 problems like low self-esteem,

01:00 - 24.542 stress, anxiety and

01:00 - 26.556 depression, which and they can

01:00 - 27.590 it can also

01:00 - 28.934 affect the part of the brain

01:00 - 30.093 that releases dopamine

01:00 - 31.284 according to the Mental

01:00 - 32.328 Health Foundation.

01:00 - 33.234 These are all very

01:00 - 34.097 serious issues.

01:00 - 35.104 And they should not

01:00 - 36.599 be taken in light matters.

01:00 - 37.877 And I would not want

01:00 - 39.869 something like that to happen

01:00 - 43.039 to my community. Thank you.

01:00 - 45.459 I think we're all done with

01:00 - 46.676 our questions from the judges.

01:00 - 49.045 Thank you.

01:00 - 53.716 And here,

01:00 - 02.225 Mary.

01:01 - 05.495 Hi, I'm Mary Glavin.

01:01 - 07.096 I'm from Patten Middle School.

01:01 - 07.764 I've always had

01:01 - 08.798 this idea that vaping

01:01 - 09.783 was not as big of a deal

01:01 - 10.900 as it was made out to be.

01:01 - 11.834 But just this year,

01:01 - 12.869 I learned the full extent

01:01 - 13.802 that vaping has on

01:01 - 15.004 the people around me.

01:01 - 17.307 Just a couple of weeks ago,

01:01 - 18.541 there was an issue that arose

01:01 - 20.012 of a kid in my grade getting

01:01 - 21.511 caught vaping in the bathroom.

01:01 - 22.278 Due to this,

01:01 - 23.230 they missed some of the

01:01 - 24.480 best school days of the year

01:01 - 25.759 and some of the most important

01:01 - 27.216 experiences of my school career.

01:01 - 29.547 My essay touched on two possible

01:01 - 31.020 solutions for vaping support

01:01 - 31.654 groups in schools

01:01 - 33.273 for minorities, such as support

01:01 - 34.691 groups for LGBTQ children

01:01 - 36.085 and designated break

01:01 - 37.326 times in school for students.

01:01 - 38.461 Complete their work.

01:01 - 39.367 I've developed these

01:01 - 40.463 ideas because of truth

01:01 - 41.589 initiatives research that

01:01 - 42.632 state that many teens

01:01 - 43.672 reach for the vape

01:01 - 45.068 as a way to de-stress.

01:01 - 46.369 The stress might be called

01:01 - 48.068 might be caused by not fitting

01:01 - 49.605 into society's definition

01:01 - 51.179 of normal or the

01:01 - 54.143 pressure to excel in school.

01:01 - 57.213 This stopping vaping in children

01:01 - 58.853 would be extremely

01:01 - 00.149 beneficial to our community.

01:02 - 02.066 We have no idea

01:02 - 03.319 the actual extent

01:02 - 04.508 of vaping side effects

01:02 - 05.922 on the children's lungs.

01:02 - 06.970 If it's anything

01:02 - 07.790 like e-cigarettes,

01:02 - 09.015 we have many medical issues

01:02 - 10.293 to look forward in future.

01:02 - 11.651 These medical

01:02 - 13.062 issues may also cause

01:02 - 17.366 may will be costly to solve

01:02 - 20.236 in the youth.

01:02 - 21.726 Solving these issues, such

01:02 - 23.039 as treating these people,

01:02 - 23.999 would also take people

01:02 - 24.941 out of the workforce,

01:02 - 34.050 meaning that our economy dips.

01:02 - 40.356 Thank you, Mary.

01:02 - 42.992 You had mentioned stress

01:02 - 44.078 as one of the

01:02 - 46.095 causes for for vaping.

01:02 - 49.098 Which local organizations

01:02 - 50.418 in your community

01:02 - 52.368 can you partner with to

01:02 - 55.208 help get behind this idea

01:02 - 57.240 and maybe help or help you

01:02 - 59.248 to help the students reduce

01:02 - 01.711 their stress outside of school?

01:03 - 03.453 I feel like for students,

01:03 - 04.747 they need to find an outlet

01:03 - 06.180 to instead of resorting

01:03 - 07.683 to destructive habits,

01:03 - 09.287 they can find an area

01:03 - 10.486 where they excel at,

01:03 - 12.421 where they can calm down.

01:03 - 13.990 Like for me, I

01:03 - 15.395 enjoy drawing or doing

01:03 - 17.193 sports such as volleyball.

01:03 - 18.989 And if students find a

01:03 - 20.730 way to like do these outlets,

01:03 - 22.435 they can significantly reduce

01:03 - 23.800 their stress and therefore

01:03 - 26.769 possibly avoid craving a vape.

01:03 - 29.485 And if you if I partner with

01:03 - 31.474 some outside organizations

01:03 - 34.410 such as gyms or art programs

01:03 - 36.345 and various other

01:03 - 38.881 educational organizations,

01:03 - 41.083 we could significantly reduce

01:03 - 42.207 the amount of kids resorting

01:03 - 43.219 to vapes due to stress.

01:03 - 44.821 Okay.

01:03 - 47.223 Thank you.

01:03 - 49.158 Thank you, Mary.

01:03 - 49.993 Can you tell me

01:03 - 51.060 about the school?

01:03 - 51.850 And, you know, is

01:03 - 52.929 the school supportive

01:03 - 54.726 of providing extra time for

01:03 - 56.732 kids to de-stress in school?

01:03 - 59.078 I am personally very

01:03 - 00.803 fortunate to attend a school

01:04 - 02.119 that already has some of

01:04 - 03.773 these solutions implemented,

01:04 - 06.175 such as four break times.

01:04 - 07.139 We have hot time, which

01:04 - 08.110 is a 40 minute period

01:04 - 09.230 at the end of the day

01:04 - 10.947 that is given to all students.

01:04 - 13.759 For them to be able to complete

01:04 - 15.585 their extra work or complete

01:04 - 16.390 any work that they

01:04 - 17.653 missed or go see teachers.

01:04 - 19.814 And we also have the GSA,

01:04 - 21.924 which is a group or community

01:04 - 23.437 for LGBTQ students

01:04 - 25.294 to attend on Fridays

01:04 - 26.696 so they can have a community

01:04 - 27.907 and people to talk

01:04 - 29.532 to about their issues.

01:04 - 30.822 So the school does

01:04 - 32.335 provide activities.

01:04 - 33.372 Do you think that that's an

01:04 - 34.570 exception to the rule, though?

01:04 - 35.371 Do you think many

01:04 - 36.503 schools need to provide

01:04 - 37.840 more resources like that?

01:04 - 39.872 I do feel that if we

01:04 - 41.177 were to implement

01:04 - 42.010 these activities

01:04 - 43.112 into other schools,

01:04 - 44.703 it would be very beneficial

01:04 - 45.948 for these students.

01:04 - 48.263 And so I do believe that that

01:04 - 50.286 would be a good plan to help

01:04 - 52.355 significantly

01:04 - 53.276 reduce the amount of

01:04 - 54.390 kids that are bathing.

01:04 - 57.026 Thanks.

01:04 - 59.009 You mentioned that instituting

01:04 - 00.363 some of these programs

01:05 - 01.418 and the time to allow

01:05 - 02.531 for them in schools.

01:05 - 03.900 What do you think is going to be

01:05 - 05.469 the biggest challenge to doing

01:05 - 07.203 that in other school districts?

01:05 - 09.071 I think that

01:05 - 10.334 it'll take some time to adjust

01:05 - 11.774 and time to get the school board

01:05 - 12.475 to approve it

01:05 - 14.130 because it will adjust the

01:05 - 16.112 schedules that children have.

01:05 - 18.197 And adjusting schedules

01:05 - 19.582 that kids are used

01:05 - 20.689 to are not very easy,

01:05 - 22.385 whether it be from the parent.

01:05 - 22.952 Support or.

01:05 - 23.859 The actual children

01:05 - 25.254 support in the first place.

01:05 - 31.160 So giving students that will

01:05 - 33.501 giving students

01:05 - 34.530 the actual option

01:05 - 35.926 and actually educating them

01:05 - 37.433 on the issue would possibly

01:05 - 44.540 help with this issue.

01:05 - 48.144 Thank you. Thank you.

01:05 - 52.882 And that

01:05 - 07.029 said, mission.

01:06 - 10.299 Good morning.

01:06 - 12.882 So the United States of

01:06 - 14.971 America has a comprehensive

01:06 - 16.073 judicial system

01:06 - 17.773 with its rules, laws,

01:06 - 19.024 regulations and

01:06 - 20.543 compliances in place.

01:06 - 22.554 And I'm sure you would agree

01:06 - 24.747 with me on this, wouldn't you?

01:06 - 26.724 This is why America is

01:06 - 28.517 known as a land of laws.

01:06 - 31.487 But let's test it out.

01:06 - 33.356 Let's say you have been wronged.

01:06 - 34.607 What's the very first

01:06 - 36.225 thing you're going to do?

01:06 - 38.894 Probably go on Google.

01:06 - 40.249 Or if you're a little bit more

01:06 - 41.430 tech savvy, Chatty Betty

01:06 - 43.192 and if you're Rich Chachi,

01:06 - 45.234 Betty Pro and these services

01:06 - 46.563 would let you know in

01:06 - 47.937 a heartbeat that, hey,

01:06 - 49.781 the law covers you,

01:06 - 51.340 go fight for your right

01:06 - 52.541 so you're all pumped.

01:06 - 54.510 You can go fight for your right.

01:06 - 56.712 But wait,

01:06 - 58.303 I forgot to mention a

01:06 - 00.282 small little detail that

01:07 - 02.540 the amount of money you're

01:07 - 04.153 fighting for is not a lot.

01:07 - 06.285 Imagine a scenario where

01:07 - 07.990 your landlord wouldn't

01:07 - 09.482 give you back your hundred

01:07 - 11.327 dollar security deposit check.

01:07 - 13.107 This is where

01:07 - 14.497 you're thinking twice,

01:07 - 16.832 because with the attorney fees,

01:07 - 18.186 the court filing fees and

01:07 - 19.602 thousands of other fees,

01:07 - 21.303 you would soon outweigh

01:07 - 22.119 the amount of money

01:07 - 23.072 that you're spending

01:07 - 24.007 and then the amount of

01:07 - 25.207 money that you're getting.

01:07 - 27.610 Now, you might argue with me,

01:07 - 28.482 some of you that know

01:07 - 29.612 this process really well,

01:07 - 31.117 that I mean, she there's

01:07 - 32.782 one flaw in your analysis

01:07 - 34.600 that there's many services

01:07 - 36.218 out there, like bonafide.

01:07 - 37.653 There's legal clinics

01:07 - 39.177 and there's even digital

01:07 - 41.090 services like do not paycom,

01:07 - 42.966 but do you know the

01:07 - 45.127 problem with this is that once

01:07 - 47.208 the last time you seen a

01:07 - 49.732 judicial case for only $100

01:07 - 52.332 and if you have seen such cases

01:07 - 54.336 out of how many of those times

01:07 - 56.341 are these cases covered

01:07 - 58.074 up by such services?

01:07 - 59.542 Not often,

01:07 - 00.477 because like how I

01:08 - 01.577 stated in my essay,

01:08 - 02.524 there's only one or

01:08 - 03.679 two of these services

01:08 - 04.970 per thousand residents,

01:08 - 06.348 which in the United States

01:08 - 09.452 isn't a lot.

01:08 - 10.619 So now

01:08 - 13.089 you can say,

01:08 - 15.391 Well, this is America.

01:08 - 18.394 I'm going to fight for my right.

01:08 - 20.529 Yeah, sure, you can go do that.

01:08 - 22.231 Perhaps you can win.

01:08 - 24.066 I believe in you.

01:08 - 26.435 But wait,

01:08 - 27.969 I forgot to mention

01:08 - 30.239 another small, tiny detail

01:08 - 33.017 that you are someone from

01:08 - 35.845 a marginalized community.

01:08 - 38.189 Well, you're just coming in to

01:08 - 40.516 the United States of America.

01:08 - 41.482 You don't know how

01:08 - 42.618 this process works.

01:08 - 44.753 You can barely speak English.

01:08 - 46.989 What are you supposed to do?

01:08 - 48.454 At this point, it's

01:08 - 50.159 best for you to just

01:08 - 51.626 drop the hundred dollars

01:08 - 53.529 and carry on with your lives.

01:08 - 55.604 And if you remember,

01:08 - 56.632 in the beginning,

01:08 - 58.035 I said that America is

01:08 - 59.702 known as a land of laws.

01:09 - 02.119 Well, my ideas based

01:09 - 04.607 premise is to transform

01:09 - 06.889 the land of laws into the

01:09 - 08.811 land of accessible laws

01:09 - 10.925 so that not only the

01:09 - 13.249 rich, but the poor also,

01:09 - 15.020 so that not only the

01:09 - 17.386 elite, but the marginalized,

01:09 - 19.211 also can access justice

01:09 - 21.090 without any hesitation

01:09 - 22.925 or barriers in between.

01:09 - 24.976 Even if it's for a small sum

01:09 - 26.962 of money or a tiny issue.

01:09 - 29.865 My idea is living the dream

01:09 - 31.492 that the United States of

01:09 - 33.135 America is at the top spot

01:09 - 34.770 for providing access

01:09 - 36.699 to justice, irrespective of

01:09 - 38.707 your socioeconomic status,

01:09 - 40.358 your gender, your

01:09 - 42.244 race, your religion,

01:09 - 44.118 your natural origin,

01:09 - 45.814 or gender identity.

01:09 - 48.751 Thank you.

01:09 - 54.423 Thank you, Amy.

01:09 - 55.836 Can you tell me your

01:09 - 57.393 your solution was to have

01:09 - 58.663 a national program, law

01:09 - 00.329 students to represent people

01:10 - 01.970 who need help financially

01:10 - 03.132 or who are in jail.

01:10 - 04.059 Can you tell me

01:10 - 04.900 what what you think

01:10 - 06.715 would be the biggest obstacle to

01:10 - 08.537 developing programs like that?

01:10 - 09.939 A national program.

01:10 - 11.040 A national program.

01:10 - 12.612 So on a wider scale

01:10 - 14.109 is that not many

01:10 - 16.779 would probably look like

01:10 - 18.747 if you're talking national,

01:10 - 19.721 you would probably talk

01:10 - 20.916 like Harvard Law students.

01:10 - 21.872 You would probably not

01:10 - 22.851 want to do these cases

01:10 - 23.833 because it's for a

01:10 - 24.987 small sum of money.

01:10 - 25.788 They're not getting

01:10 - 26.555 much recognition

01:10 - 27.669 because it's from community,

01:10 - 28.791 it's from the communities.

01:10 - 30.534 But if you took law students

01:10 - 32.161 from community colleges,

01:10 - 32.981 they would be more

01:10 - 33.862 than happy to do that.

01:10 - 35.123 Do it because like I stated

01:10 - 36.298 once again in my essay,

01:10 - 38.090 they can get real life

01:10 - 39.902 in the field experiences

01:10 - 41.294 and they can make

01:10 - 42.705 someone's life better.

01:10 - 44.401 So if we are able to promote

01:10 - 45.774 this and showcase that,

01:10 - 47.643 hey, you're going to do a lot.

01:10 - 48.686 If you just take up these

01:10 - 49.778 small cases and nothing,

01:10 - 50.849 nothing's happening

01:10 - 52.047 to you, nothing wrong is.

01:10 - 52.779 So I feel like as

01:10 - 53.649 long as we keep on

01:10 - 54.919 promoting the good

01:10 - 56.552 part of it, then soon

01:10 - 58.053 it would become national.

01:10 - 59.568 So building a movement within

01:10 - 01.090 these law schools, perhaps?

01:11 - 04.927 Basically, yes.

01:11 - 07.463 Hello. Hello. Billy.

01:11 - 09.765 My question

01:11 - 12.472 is surrounding the actual

01:11 - 14.970 cost of the proposal.

01:11 - 16.881 Will it cost your community

01:11 - 18.374 money or resources?

01:11 - 19.720 And how would you fund

01:11 - 21.810 your program at the local level?

01:11 - 22.778 Great question.

01:11 - 23.680 So at the local

01:11 - 25.014 first, you would ask

01:11 - 26.049 law students to take up

01:11 - 27.182 some all of these okay,

01:11 - 29.318 these small cases up for free.

01:11 - 30.224 And if that doesn't

01:11 - 31.186 turn out too well,

01:11 - 32.424 you can always

01:11 - 34.290 resort to the CSRs,

01:11 - 35.414 which would be more

01:11 - 36.725 than happy to fund for this.

01:11 - 37.962 And if that's a problem,

01:11 - 39.061 if that's also a problem,

01:11 - 40.734 then I would resort to people

01:11 - 42.131 like you for crowdfunding,

01:11 - 43.091 because I'm sure

01:11 - 44.600 $100 out of your pocket

01:11 - 45.595 to help people in

01:11 - 47.303 marginalized people in need

01:11 - 48.817 wouldn't be too much. It would

01:11 - 50.239 just be a small little donation.

01:11 - 52.007 Okay.

01:11 - 54.310 Thank you.

01:11 - 54.743 Do you

01:11 - 56.682 know if there are other programs

01:11 - 58.447 that exist out there today?

01:11 - 59.648 I know you're talking about

01:11 - 01.094 on a national scale, but

01:12 - 02.851 that you could model off of

01:12 - 04.057 that are have been

01:12 - 04.920 created already

01:12 - 07.048 at more of a smaller scale or

01:12 - 09.258 at a local community college

01:12 - 10.495 or other resources that you

01:12 - 12.061 could model your program off of.

01:12 - 13.700 Well, like how I mentioned,

01:12 - 15.097 there is the bona fides of

01:12 - 17.028 do not paycom, but they also

01:12 - 18.934 focus on community levels.

01:12 - 20.444 But there's normally more

01:12 - 22.204 priority cases before them.

01:12 - 22.805 Like in,

01:12 - 23.728 oh, I don't want to fight

01:12 - 24.807 for the hundred dollar one,

01:12 - 25.721 but I'll fight for the

01:12 - 26.642 thousand dollar one.

01:12 - 27.454 And it's just that

01:12 - 28.410 more money involved

01:12 - 29.609 means that you are rushed

01:12 - 30.913 straight up to the front.

01:12 - 31.937 So if we could

01:12 - 33.182 take these programs

01:12 - 35.046 and dial them back a bit and

01:12 - 37.252 fit them in for each community.

01:12 - 38.244 And of course, adding

01:12 - 39.221 more these services,

01:12 - 40.418 like how I said, there's

01:12 - 41.724 only one or two services

01:12 - 43.492 for every 1000 residents.

01:12 - 44.789 And the United States

01:12 - 46.528 population is 330 million.

01:12 - 47.475 So if you put

01:12 - 48.630 that into statistics,

01:12 - 50.132 that isn't a lot of services,

01:12 - 52.935 especially since a large

01:12 - 54.164 amount of our population

01:12 - 55.504 is marginalized as well.

01:12 - 58.040 Thank you very much. Of course.

01:12 - 03.779 Thank you.

01:13 - 12.121 Nathaniel.

01:13 - 13.946 Yards are a very important

01:13 - 15.190 part of our neighborhoods

01:13 - 16.458 here in the U.S.

01:13 - 17.526 It's hard to go anywhere

01:13 - 18.315 without seeing a

01:13 - 19.261 green grass lawn,

01:13 - 20.396 as well as the splotches

01:13 - 21.250 of brown and weeds

01:13 - 22.398 that seem unavoidable.

01:13 - 23.922 However, not everyone

01:13 - 25.100 loves fields of green.

01:13 - 26.568 With a lawn comes

01:13 - 27.823 hours of maintenance or large

01:13 - 29.304 amounts of money down the drain.

01:13 - 31.794 Lawns also a large

01:13 - 33.108 environmental impact.

01:13 - 34.576 According to the EPA,

01:13 - 36.558 9 billion gallons of water are

01:13 - 38.547 used on lawn care every day.

01:13 - 40.516 And one third of all public

01:13 - 41.563 water is spent on

01:13 - 42.618 watering lawns.

01:13 - 44.640 27 million tons of air

01:13 - 46.455 pollutants are released

01:13 - 48.590 each year just because of mowing

01:13 - 49.800 and the herbicides and

01:13 - 51.460 pesticides used on lawn care

01:13 - 52.509 can have negative health

01:13 - 53.962 and environmental side effects.

01:13 - 56.632 All these disadvantages of lawns

01:13 - 57.513 can cause people to

01:13 - 58.867 search for a better option.

01:13 - 00.969 Oftentimes, this option

01:14 - 01.779 is replacing their

01:14 - 03.005 lawns with native plants,

01:14 - 04.087 while native plants

01:14 - 05.040 aren't for everyone.

01:14 - 05.839 They serve as a

01:14 - 07.075 home for pollinators,

01:14 - 08.807 save money for homeowners,

01:14 - 10.546 and require less upkeep.

01:14 - 11.458 They are drought

01:14 - 12.581 tolerant and can easily

01:14 - 13.495 be more beautiful than

01:14 - 14.583 lawns if done correctly.

01:14 - 16.406 One reason we don't see

01:14 - 17.853 meadows and garden beds

01:14 - 19.802 with native plants is because

01:14 - 21.557 many homeowners or other

01:14 - 22.821 governing bodies limit

01:14 - 24.726 citizens to a plain grass lawn.

01:14 - 26.251 Another reason is that

01:14 - 27.329 people are uninformed

01:14 - 28.448 by the benefits

01:14 - 29.832 of native plants.

01:14 - 30.839 This could be changed by

01:14 - 32.234 a citizen with some initiative.

01:14 - 33.397 Someone like me,

01:14 - 34.703 with no special skills,

01:14 - 36.005 could spread information

01:14 - 36.839 in the community

01:14 - 37.703 about the benefits

01:14 - 38.574 of native plants

01:14 - 39.908 and then bring the issue up

01:14 - 41.030 governing bodies where

01:14 - 42.211 change could be made.

01:14 - 43.160 Once native plants

01:14 - 44.012 are permitted,

01:14 - 45.382 the conversion from lawns could

01:14 - 46.715 bring the community together

01:14 - 48.750 planting events, volunteering

01:14 - 49.547 and donations to

01:14 - 50.552 help other people.

01:14 - 50.953 These are all

01:14 - 52.086 values of our community,

01:14 - 53.322 and they could be passed

01:14 - 54.469 on to a younger generation

01:14 - 55.491 through these events.

01:14 - 57.674 Opposition to this project

01:14 - 59.027 could come in a few forms.

01:14 - 00.963 The is those who don't know

01:15 - 01.819 about the benefits

01:15 - 02.731 of native plants.

01:15 - 04.032 If these people were informed,

01:15 - 04.976 they might be more open

01:15 - 06.134 to allowing native plants.

01:15 - 07.678 Others might like lawns and

01:15 - 08.837 don't want to see them go.

01:15 - 09.932 They might rely

01:15 - 10.772 on lawns for money,

01:15 - 11.529 whether they mow the

01:15 - 12.674 lawns or show the chemicals,

01:15 - 13.257 or they might

01:15 - 14.209 just like the look.

01:15 - 15.366 However, this industry

01:15 - 16.478 will not disappear.

01:15 - 18.092 Not everyone will want to

01:15 - 19.615 convert to replace their lawns.

01:15 - 20.682 And this is fine.

01:15 - 21.606 I simply hope that

01:15 - 22.951 those who do want to use

01:15 - 23.649 native plants

01:15 - 24.786 will be allowed to.

01:15 - 25.910 Even if only a fraction

01:15 - 27.189 of lawns were converted,

01:15 - 28.790 it could have a large impact.

01:15 - 30.572 In Pennsylvania alone, there are

01:15 - 32.361 over 2 million acres of lawns,

01:15 - 33.729 according to the Pennsylvania

01:15 - 35.044 Department of Conservation

01:15 - 36.265 and Natural Resources.

01:15 - 38.304 There is no downside

01:15 - 39.601 allowing some people

01:15 - 41.103 to convert to native plants.

01:15 - 41.599 It helps the

01:15 - 42.604 environment looks good

01:15 - 43.546 and doesn't lower

01:15 - 45.107 property values done well.

01:15 - 46.638 This change could be made easily

01:15 - 48.176 if the population was informed

01:15 - 49.013 as the government gets

01:15 - 50.045 its power from the people.

01:15 - 52.374 As a nationwide

01:15 - 53.815 change isn't required.

01:15 - 56.018 If some local governing bodies

01:15 - 57.087 allow native plants, the

01:15 - 58.387 benefit will be widespread.

01:15 - 00.489 Change is not impossible.

01:16 - 01.790 In my neighborhood,

01:16 - 03.292 I have already convinced

01:16 - 05.111 the President of my homeowners

01:16 - 06.695 association to set aside

01:16 - 07.396 a portion of land

01:16 - 08.230 for native plants,

01:16 - 08.979 something he was

01:16 - 10.065 opposed to for years,

01:16 - 11.123 simply by informing

01:16 - 12.301 him of the benefits

01:16 - 13.248 and answering these

01:16 - 14.403 questions truthfully.

01:16 - 15.400 It is truly wonderful to

01:16 - 16.572 live in a nation like this

01:16 - 17.509 where even just one

01:16 - 18.574 of us can use our rights

01:16 - 23.906 as citizens to make

01:16 - 28.684 a large change.

01:16 - 30.152 Thank you.

01:16 - 31.799 One of the questions

01:16 - 32.854 I had for you was,

01:16 - 34.672 are there other local

01:16 - 36.625 organizations out there today

01:16 - 38.213 that you could or a

01:16 - 40.729 homeowners group could partner

01:16 - 41.530 with to help

01:16 - 43.141 drive awareness, to change

01:16 - 45.133 people's mindsets and approach

01:16 - 47.140 to how they would

01:16 - 49.504 look at landscaping lawn

01:16 - 50.542 care within their

01:16 - 52.140 homeowners associations.

01:16 - 54.247 Local rotary groups are

01:16 - 55.711 definitely a good option,

01:16 - 56.996 and they also have

01:16 - 59.147 connections to other groups.

01:16 - 01.180 I know my high school,

01:17 - 02.250 my upcoming high

01:17 - 03.267 school has a club

01:17 - 04.653 where you can connect

01:17 - 06.590 and that could definitely

01:17 - 07.889 spread information.

01:17 - 09.679 But you don't necessarily

01:17 - 11.026 need to use a group,

01:17 - 12.060 just one citizen.

01:17 - 13.595 Could these fliers

01:17 - 15.085 make a slideshow or send

01:17 - 16.832 out emails to their school

01:17 - 17.532 to have a meeting?

01:17 - 20.836 Thank you.

01:17 - 23.839 Hello, Nathaniel.

01:17 - 25.874 My question is similar.

01:17 - 29.207 And right now, my lawn is

01:17 - 31.480 really brown, so I would like to

01:17 - 33.949 pull it up.

01:17 - 35.250 But there is a cost.

01:17 - 36.729 I mean, anyone who's ever

01:17 - 38.453 gone to a garden shop knows

01:17 - 39.351 how expensive

01:17 - 41.089 buying plants could be.

01:17 - 43.347 Do you have a

01:17 - 45.560 recommendation for homeowners

01:17 - 47.687 who want to do this, doing

01:17 - 50.232 it in a cost effective manner

01:17 - 51.838 to replace their lawn

01:17 - 53.835 with with native plants?

01:17 - 57.305 So that's why donations

01:17 - 58.703 are very important as

01:17 - 00.375 a part of these events.

01:18 - 02.285 Fundraisers could help those

01:18 - 04.112 who do not have as much money

01:18 - 05.727 to do the conversion,

01:18 - 07.249 but also over time,

01:18 - 08.357 if you simply save up the

01:18 - 09.785 money that you would have spent

01:18 - 12.036 on mowing or grass care,

01:18 - 14.523 you can use that money to buy

01:18 - 15.791 native plants

01:18 - 17.178 and the native plants themselves

01:18 - 18.226 will spread over time.

01:18 - 19.861 Okay.

01:18 - 22.330 Thank you.

01:18 - 23.065 Thank you.

01:18 - 24.297 You said someone

01:18 - 26.001 as uninformed as me.

01:18 - 26.862 It sounds to me like

01:18 - 27.903 you're pretty informed

01:18 - 29.184 and you've done a great job

01:18 - 30.806 doing all your research on this.

01:18 - 32.176 Enough to convince people

01:18 - 33.542 in your local neighborhood.

01:18 - 35.057 Can you tell me about

01:18 - 36.745 how hard it is to convince,

01:18 - 38.470 like a homeowners association

01:18 - 40.382 or even like local government?

01:18 - 41.483 Yeah.

01:18 - 43.481 So in my neighborhood it

01:18 - 45.821 is a very small homeowners

01:18 - 46.775 association, so it

01:18 - 48.056 was not that difficult

01:18 - 49.458 to convince the president.

01:18 - 51.217 But in other neighborhoods with,

01:18 - 52.928 more houses, like 100 houses,

01:18 - 55.030 it takes a lot of time

01:18 - 56.598 to gather consensus

01:18 - 59.701 between different people.

01:18 - 00.345 If you have 100

01:19 - 01.169 different houses,

01:19 - 02.616 it will take more time,

01:19 - 04.639 especially if they're of older

01:19 - 06.022 age and might be more

01:19 - 07.743 resistant to new things.

01:19 - 09.958 So as a follow up to that,

01:19 - 11.313 how would you, you know,

01:19 - 12.414 gather consensus from a

01:19 - 13.715 large group of neighbors.

01:19 - 17.786 On if you attend meetings

01:19 - 19.366 that are already arranged by

01:19 - 21.123 your homeowner's association?

01:19 - 21.935 You could get

01:19 - 23.258 the news out there.

01:19 - 25.026 You could put fliers up

01:19 - 25.963 in your neighborhood, or

01:19 - 27.262 you could just go door to door.

01:19 - 31.816 If the neighborhood

01:19 - 36.138 is small enough.

01:19 - 39.107 Winston

01:19 - 46.348 Hi, I'm Winston.

01:19 - 47.584 So we've all seen

01:19 - 49.484 like news stories about,

01:19 - 50.761 like, shootings

01:19 - 52.387 and like schools.

01:19 - 53.599 And actually this

01:19 - 54.990 happened and like this

01:19 - 56.258 almost happened in my district,

01:19 - 57.255 like last year,

01:19 - 58.527 last school year.

01:19 - 59.631 And so basically there

01:19 - 01.096 was like a shooting threat.

01:20 - 02.230 And then we had to be locked

01:20 - 03.432 down in our classrooms

01:20 - 04.533 for several hours.

01:20 - 07.736 It was kind of scary.

01:20 - 08.963 But thanks to the

01:20 - 10.705 like conservative ness

01:20 - 12.007 of our district,

01:20 - 14.062 it ended up not being

01:20 - 15.677 a serious problem.

01:20 - 18.513 But the root cause here

01:20 - 21.049 is mental health, right?

01:20 - 22.523 So we need to try

01:20 - 24.352 and work to improve

01:20 - 26.822 young people's mental health.

01:20 - 29.791 And actually 15%

01:20 - 31.694 people, 12 to 17,

01:20 - 33.395 ages 12 to 17, said

01:20 - 34.983 they had at least one depressive

01:20 - 36.331 episode in the past year.

01:20 - 37.833 So you can see that

01:20 - 39.134 this is a big problem

01:20 - 40.226 and it's only going

01:20 - 41.403 to grow in the future.

01:20 - 42.483 So we need to find

01:20 - 43.872 ways to prevent this.

01:20 - 46.118 Currently, our school

01:20 - 47.943 has ACL lessons

01:20 - 48.476 or social

01:20 - 50.321 emotional learning lessons,

01:20 - 52.447 but these are during homework

01:20 - 53.415 periods are

01:20 - 54.471 actually the hot time that

01:20 - 55.617 Mary talked about earlier.

01:20 - 58.920 And so those parents are

01:20 - 00.486 usually used for like fun

01:21 - 02.123 and like doing homework.

01:21 - 03.823 So if you try to make

01:21 - 05.327 students learn during

01:21 - 06.578 that time, it doesn't

01:21 - 07.896 work as effectively.

01:21 - 09.698 Actually.

01:21 - 11.173 The National Library

01:21 - 12.901 of Medicine did a study

01:21 - 14.280 where they finally found out

01:21 - 15.637 that teaching social emotional

01:21 - 17.011 learning during actual class

01:21 - 18.540 periods instead of a homework

01:21 - 20.111 period increased the

01:21 - 22.477 effectiveness from 0.3920.5.

01:21 - 24.948 Another resource

01:21 - 26.147 our school has to

01:21 - 30.318 improve students mental

01:21 - 31.861 health is safe to say,

01:21 - 34.256 which is I think it's statewide.

01:21 - 36.690 It's a statewide like software

01:21 - 39.294 or program where like students

01:21 - 41.553 can like send tips and

01:21 - 44.232 like talk to counselors.

01:21 - 46.574 But there is widespread

01:21 - 48.470 stigma least in my school

01:21 - 51.840 of for using safe to say.

01:21 - 53.651 So in order to solve these

01:21 - 55.610 problems, we need to start

01:21 - 56.529 we need to start

01:21 - 57.312 teaching students

01:21 - 00.315 about mental health early,

01:22 - 01.477 which is why I propose

01:22 - 03.018 that we start teaching them

01:22 - 05.153 in elementary school.

01:22 - 06.071 Currently, this is not

01:22 - 07.122 the case in my district

01:22 - 08.575 because it is not the in

01:22 - 10.158 the education standards.

01:22 - 12.750 But if we could get the

01:22 - 15.130 education standards to change

01:22 - 17.251 and like a bunch of districts

01:22 - 18.900 start teaching mental health

01:22 - 20.769 at an elementary level,

01:22 - 21.528 then that could

01:22 - 22.804 reduce the stigma later

01:22 - 24.332 when it comes to middle

01:22 - 26.341 school and high school and also

01:22 - 28.843 and this would

01:22 - 30.926 lead to widespread

01:22 - 33.481 benefits, obviously.

01:22 - 41.523 Thank you.

01:22 - 44.693 Hello, Winston. Hi. Great job.

01:22 - 46.036 I agree with you on the

01:22 - 47.562 stigma of mental health.

01:22 - 49.460 It's something that definitely

01:22 - 50.799 needs to be addressed.

01:22 - 54.302 You mentioned about starting

01:22 - 55.902 with younger students

01:22 - 57.739 in the elementary age.

01:22 - 59.972 What what could you

01:22 - 01.876 do and other students

01:23 - 03.843 in your district to

01:23 - 05.714 make this happen

01:23 - 07.777 and then hope that it spreads to

01:23 - 09.784 maybe throughout your county?

01:23 - 11.373 And it just takes it

01:23 - 13.288 takes hold from there.

01:23 - 14.522 Mm hmm. Yeah.

01:23 - 15.935 So I would probably

01:23 - 18.326 start out, like, for just like

01:23 - 20.152 go to a district board meeting

01:23 - 22.230 and then, like, present the idea

01:23 - 24.313 and and answer

01:23 - 25.900 questions and whatever.

01:23 - 29.170 And then that could lead to

01:23 - 30.607 maybe the curriculum being

01:23 - 32.273 changed and stuff like that.

01:23 - 34.509 But maybe even before that,

01:23 - 35.651 just like going around the

01:23 - 36.978 community, getting feedback,

01:23 - 38.413 getting people

01:23 - 40.294 to like know about the topic

01:23 - 42.183 and like changing the idea

01:23 - 43.283 a little bit so

01:23 - 44.686 that like it fits

01:23 - 47.306 in, like it works in

01:23 - 48.757 everyone's minds.

01:23 - 50.291 Yeah. Mm hmm.

01:23 - 51.259 Okay.

01:23 - 54.462 Thank you.

01:23 - 55.130 Thank you.

01:23 - 56.991 And thank you for sharing about

01:23 - 58.800 the lockdown at your school.

01:23 - 00.553 I'm very sorry you

01:24 - 02.070 had to go through that.

01:24 - 03.004 It's not.

01:24 - 04.248 It's not something I

01:24 - 06.374 experienced when I was your age,

01:24 - 08.610 so I give you a lot of credit.

01:24 - 09.811 Your generation has

01:24 - 11.146 gone through a lot.

01:24 - 12.147 Thank you for bringing this.

01:24 - 13.681 Also to our attention.

01:24 - 15.018 And when you say that

01:24 - 16.618 the education standards

01:24 - 18.072 need to change,

01:24 - 20.021 how do we do that?

01:24 - 22.414 So probably going going to like

01:24 - 24.893 the Board of Education, right?

01:24 - 27.762 And I think like

01:24 - 30.031 she's here.

01:24 - 31.134 Secretary, Assistant

01:24 - 32.300 Secretary, I think.

01:24 - 33.568 Yeah.

01:24 - 35.782 So change would probably

01:24 - 37.272 start there right in the V.A.

01:24 - 40.809 Department of Education.

01:24 - 41.709 Thank you.

01:24 - 44.286 Hmm. Winston, I don't

01:24 - 46.714 know a lot about the.

01:24 - 48.201 Did you say it's

01:24 - 49.284 called the safe to say?

01:24 - 50.251 Safe to say. Yeah.

01:24 - 50.870 Can you tell me a

01:24 - 51.753 little bit about that?

01:24 - 52.478 And then also, why

01:24 - 53.455 do you believe there's

01:24 - 55.824 a stigma around utilizing it?

01:24 - 57.058 Yeah, of course.

01:24 - 58.159 So I'm safe to say it's

01:24 - 59.461 basically like a program.

01:24 - 01.229 It's like online

01:25 - 02.924 where you can like

01:25 - 05.100 submit anonymous tips

01:25 - 06.401 maybe about other students

01:25 - 07.519 who are thinking about

01:25 - 09.003 self-harm or like shootings

01:25 - 10.371 or you can just like

01:25 - 12.041 tell them about like something

01:25 - 13.775 you've been going through and

01:25 - 15.293 they'll get you like

01:25 - 16.444 they'll find you help.

01:25 - 20.582 But the stigma around it is like

01:25 - 23.985 it's like that.

01:25 - 25.699 So students kind of take

01:25 - 27.922 it more as like a joke, like,

01:25 - 30.570 I'm going to, safe to say

01:25 - 33.862 you as like, like a sarcastic

01:25 - 35.747 joke in a way which might lead

01:25 - 37.765 to some students not using it.

01:25 - 39.534 Yeah. Thank you.

01:25 - 41.155 Do you think that there

01:25 - 43.138 are resources that parents

01:25 - 44.970 or caregivers need to

01:25 - 47.509 help continue what you are.

01:25 - 48.243 You're at the program.

01:25 - 48.745 You're talking

01:25 - 49.544 about in the changes

01:25 - 50.499 that you would like

01:25 - 51.513 to see implemented

01:25 - 52.681 in home environment,

01:25 - 53.915 not just at school.

01:25 - 56.092 I'm sorry, could you

01:25 - 56.951 clarify your question?

01:25 - 57.552 Are there

01:25 - 58.295 resources that you

01:25 - 59.254 think would be needed

01:25 - 01.085 for parents or caregivers

01:26 - 02.924 that don't exist today?

01:26 - 06.895 I, I,

01:26 - 09.393 I think the mental

01:26 - 11.132 health education

01:26 - 14.698 shift I'm in it should

01:26 - 16.204 probably happen.

01:26 - 18.398 I think it would be a

01:26 - 20.074 better fit if it were to happen

01:26 - 21.124 at like school

01:26 - 22.710 instead of at home.

01:26 - 24.012 Okay. Yeah.

01:26 - 34.055 Thank you.

01:26 - 35.356 Brilliant, all of you.

01:26 - 36.296 And very inspiring.

01:26 - 37.392 You did a great job.

01:26 - 40.228 Maybe give them

01:26 - 45.533 another round of applause.

01:26 - 46.035 And I think we

01:26 - 46.834 should take a moment

01:26 - 48.935 to appreciate how challenging

01:26 - 50.972 it is to present a concept

01:26 - 52.827 and answer questions on the spot

01:26 - 54.542 in front of a live audience.

01:26 - 57.354 I do like TV every night, so

01:26 - 59.514 you guys did a fantastic job.

01:26 - 01.122 Not many people could do

01:27 - 02.850 that and do it so eloquently

01:27 - 04.515 and you should be recognized

01:27 - 06.487 for doing such a fantastic job.

01:27 - 12.493 Bravo.

01:27 - 13.861 Did you know you can watch

01:27 - 15.463 all of your favorite PC

01:27 - 17.143 and originals and more at

01:27 - 19.033 home or on the go download

01:27 - 19.975 PC an app on

01:27 - 21.469 your favorite device

01:27 - 23.093 and tune in to see what makes

01:27 - 24.539 Pennsylvania's heart beat.

01:27 - 26.802 Watch videos on demand

01:27 - 28.810 see multiple live streams

01:27 - 30.282 and check out the free

01:27 - 31.980 selected programs and events

01:27 - 34.482 in Pennsylvania.

01:27 - 35.988 Politics and Policy,

01:27 - 37.652 History and Culture.

01:27 - 43.391 Sports and more.

01:27 - 44.726 I really want to say

01:27 - 45.967 that it is truly been an

01:27 - 47.528 incredible honor to partner.

01:27 - 48.137 With the U.S.

01:27 - 49.130 Chamber Foundation.

01:27 - 50.763 And all of our regional partners

01:27 - 52.200 from throughout the state,

01:27 - 54.732 and to launch our first annual

01:27 - 56.604 gathering of civic history

01:27 - 59.009 civics education as we

01:27 - 01.442 see it, as discussed today.

01:28 - 02.717 Is a very critical part

01:28 - 04.112 of our national dialog.

01:28 - 06.581 The Chamber prides itself

01:28 - 07.998 in working with lawmakers

01:28 - 09.651 on both sides of the aisle.

01:28 - 11.438 In order to move as we

01:28 - 13.187 move forward with civility,

01:28 - 15.123 that would not be possible

01:28 - 16.557 without having the knowledge

01:28 - 19.204 and respect for the way

01:28 - 21.262 our government functions.

01:28 - 22.410 So I want to thank

01:28 - 23.631 all the students.

01:28 - 25.729 And families and the judges

01:28 - 28.303 participants in working so hard

01:28 - 30.471 to carry that knowledge forward

01:28 - 31.427 and pass it on to

01:28 - 32.674 the next generation.

01:28 - 33.949 And we look forward to

01:28 - 35.276 seeing your leadership

01:28 - 38.080 at the local, state and federal

01:28 - 40.148 level in the years to come.

01:28 - 42.717 I agree with someone that Mr.

01:28 - 44.927 Logic chooses in the way that

01:28 - 47.221 truth is stranger than true.

01:28 - 48.062 Since the seventh

01:28 - 49.457 graders have one more year

01:28 - 50.530 to help the show, he says,

01:28 - 51.693 Come on over the next year

01:28 - 59.767 will be more

01:28 - 03.771 general.

01:29 - 05.373 So I gave him my card

01:29 - 06.620 and I said, You see, I'll

01:29 - 07.975 know where you're coming.

01:29 - 09.243 You get back.

01:29 - 10.388 Here next year, you're going

01:29 - 11.746 to show up and make a big deal.

01:29 - 13.664 We make back for those

01:29 - 16.551 that were born on October five.

01:29 - 18.720 I'm want to come back next year.

01:29 - 19.778 I think next year,

01:29 - 21.022 an even bigger one.

01:29 - 22.893 It all started this year and I

01:29 - 24.959 truly believe in the hard work.

01:29 - 26.994 The first year, participant

01:29 - 28.143 said, is going to be the

01:29 - 29.397 Launching Pad Foundation

01:29 - 31.382 for the future of this

01:29 - 33.301 important competition.

01:29 - 34.435 I'd be remiss if I didn't

01:29 - 35.303 say our sponsors,

01:29 - 37.073 and because we could not do this

01:29 - 38.740 without the generous support

01:29 - 41.075 of our presenting sponsor, Mark

01:29 - 43.794 Technology sponsor

01:29 - 45.480 of the drive technology's

01:29 - 48.090 goal sponsors to see

01:29 - 50.051 you and the Journey.

01:29 - 52.587 Assembly, I want you

01:29 - 55.877 to know that there

01:29 - 57.291 was a huge drop

01:30 - 04.465 and I think the

01:30 - 06.033 hardest job here today.

01:30 - 08.202 Was what the students.

01:30 - 09.279 Sat aghast was

01:30 - 10.905 clearly the judges.

01:30 - 14.709 So Kathleen Mackenzie from our.

01:30 - 17.645 Show James Frias, VCU.

01:30 - 19.397 And you a great shock

01:30 - 20.715 and joy and company.

01:30 - 22.383 Thank you. Thank you.

01:30 - 22.850 Thank you.

01:30 - 23.284 You had a.

01:30 - 30.425 Very difficult job.

01:30 - 32.268 And our surgeon who

01:30 - 34.896 is leading Founder's Day.

01:30 - 36.079 Please see for yourself

01:30 - 37.632 answering who's going to be.

01:30 - 38.961 Anchoring the three

01:30 - 40.368 newscasts tonight.

01:30 - 41.705 We appreciate your

01:30 - 43.271 involvement and your passion.

01:30 - 48.006 And you've been a part

01:30 - 52.780 of some more programs.

01:30 - 54.282 All participants should have.

01:30 - 55.353 Received a

01:30 - 58.152 certificate for reasons.

01:30 - 00.157 Of Soviet citizenship,

01:31 - 01.622 nature and now

01:31 - 04.425 this is the moment.

01:31 - 06.561 We've all been. Waiting for.

01:31 - 07.413 We're going to

01:31 - 08.763 announce our winners

01:31 - 11.332 and or prizes.

01:31 - 12.600 So without further ado.

01:31 - 15.870 In third place,

01:31 - 19.273 the prize of $500

01:31 - 19.640 wins.

01:31 - 20.942 That guy.

01:31 - 34.322 For this

01:31 - 36.858 because

01:31 - 45.633 in second place.

01:31 - 48.102 With a prize of $750

01:31 - 52.306 is the money she earns

01:32 - 26.340 and in first place

01:32 - 29.043 the winner of the 2023.

01:32 - 30.813 And so when you

01:32 - 32.380 sit. In the street

01:32 - 35.383 with the price of $1,000

01:32 - 38.193 and bragging rights and

01:32 - 40.521 being the first champion.

01:32 - 44.859 Of a country, this would be less

01:32 - 09.550 than annual.

01:33 - 10.588 All of the top five

01:33 - 12.019 students come out first.

01:33 - 14.322 The photo said in a few minutes.

01:33 - 15.289 It's going to be a

01:33 - 16.660 and of commonwealth

01:33 - 18.559 of can be physically active

01:33 - 19.292 in which you join

01:33 - 20.294 the tour should be in

01:33 - 21.078 the back can see

01:33 - 22.263 some folks back there.

01:33 - 23.631 And raise their hands.

01:33 - 26.033 To take you and I saw

01:33 - 27.409 your campaign Jennifer

01:33 - 28.636 obviously that was

01:33 - 30.571 and one last congratulations

01:33 - 32.306 to all of the students.

01:33 - 33.841 I said this before.

01:33 - 36.106 You were for getting here for

01:33 - 38.613 the sixth and seventh graders.

01:33 - 40.825 Tristin, I better see back next

01:33 - 42.683 year for the eighth graders.

01:33 - 43.545 I hope you take on

01:33 - 44.752 the lessons you earned.

01:33 - 46.053 So they drove the process

01:33 - 47.180 and really thought it

01:33 - 48.422 to be the worst word.

01:33 - 27.428 Thank you very much. So.