THS 'We the People' Team Grateful for Experience

From April 27 to 29, Trumbull High School  students got to talk back to authority in Washington, D.C.

For the first two days, 56 teams from around the country competed, with an additional eight as wild cards, in a simulated congressional hearing judged by professors, state Supreme Court justices and legal scholars at George Mason University, according to a press release.

Each round grew increasingly more intense and difficult as the students read from a four-minute prepared speech in response to three different questions.  The judges then have six minutes to ask any additional questions.

"The students rely on their understanding of the U.S. Constitution, knowledge of history and current events.  The Trumbull team rose to the challenge," said THS Teacher and Team Advisor Katie Boland. "One highly-impressed judge even commented on the THS team’s ability to weave in gun control, gay rights marriage and the fall of the Roman Empire into one cohesive answer."

“It was an amazing experience,” added Boland, who also teaches AP Government and Political Studies, also known as Bicen (because the We the People program was started on the bicentennial of the signing of the constitution).  “The students testified for 15 minutes in the House Financial Services Committee Hearing Room.

Some of their judges were state Supreme Court justices and law school professors. The kids were confident and poised. The judges were impressed with their preparation, knowledge and passion. I'm so proud of all of them.”

“Making the top ten was the most rewarding academic experience in my life to date,” said Erin Moore, a THS senior.  “The hearing was truly conversational and made me dig deep to discover new perspectives. I even found myself in a conversation about how homework theoretically violates the 13th amendment. I will be eternally grateful for the truly inspirational atmosphere I have witnessed while participating in the We The People program.”

With this recent victory, THS has had four “Top Ten” team finishes at Nationals.  In its 26-year history, 18 teams have been crowned State Champions.

Senior Quynh-Nhu Dao said, “Going to nationals was definitely one of the highlights of my senior year. Being able to compete on the national level with the best of the best made all the intense drilling sessions, hours of research, and long nights worth it. Besides the actual competition though, one of the best things that came out of BICEN was that we all became a family; we relied on each other and each and every one of us brought something unique to the team. In the beginning Ms. Boland said we lacked swag, but by the end of we found that swag- We are BICEN 2013.”