YMCA Youth Legislature | Important Links | Tennessee Government Information | Issues Research Government Search Engines and Directories | Code of Ethical Conduct

YMCA Youth Legislature

The YMCA Youth Legislature gives students practical knowledge of the United States governing process through the experience of a mock Tennessee government. Participants debate real-life issues and vote on student-written bills, as they take on the roles of members of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. Many of the events take place in the Capitol building in Nashville. This year's Youth Legislature will be held April 7-10. Upper School Principal Barry Ray for more details.

Delegates may assume one of the following roles:

1) Red Senate or Red House

2) Blue Senate or Blue House

Senators and House Representatives do the following:

• Write a bill (law), sponsor it in debate, and attempt to get it passes (Two sponsors to a bill).
• Participate in debate and voting on other delegates' bills. (NOTE: Voting here must be based on your political standpoint and the bill's quality, NOT on the school the sponsor attends).

Bills passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and signed by the Youth Governor become "law." Participation in the Red Senate is limited to seven or eight juniors or seniors due to space in the Senate Chambers. Participation in the Red House, Blue Senate, and Blue House is unlimited. 

3) Lawyers: Students participating as lawyers form a two-man team. They carefully research a "real world" case, write a brief (summary of oral argument) and submit it to the YMCA several weeks before the conference. Then at the conference, they will argue either side (plaintiff/defendant) before the Youth Supreme Court in a round-robin format. The top two teams advance to the finals. There are advanced and novice divisions. NOTE: The lawyer component demands the most work and preparation. If you do not have time to prepare your case, you should select another role. 

4) Lobbyist: Students are divided into lobbying "firms" (like teams) with students from other schools. The select certain bill and then develop strategies and go "lobby," trying to pass or defeat the selected bills. Awards are given to the best "firm." NOTE: Participation is limited to two students per school. It will be limited to only seniors and juniors with at least one year experience in Youth Legislature. Those who request but are not selected to be a lobbyist will be assigned to the Red House. 

5) Press: Students participating in this component will tour facilities and/or meet with members of the actual Nashville press corps. They will then research and write articles for the Youth Legislature newspaper. Experience with the MUS school paper is a plus and space is limited to two positions for seniors and juniors. 

Important Links

• Youth Legislature 
• Downloads and Forms
• Tennessee Code Online

Tennessee Government Information

Tennessee Laws and Legislation

• Tennessee Code Online   Search through LexisNexis.
• Tennessee General Assembly   This official site offers links to Tennessee’s Senate and House.  “Other Links” include a link to the latest Tennessee Blue Book, the 2006 edition.  One of the last links in the Tennessee Blue Book is for the Tennessee Constitution.
• Tennessee : A Political History  c2000.  976.8 L285T -- Stacks
• Tennessee Blue Book  REF 353.9 T295 2001-2006  (2005-2006 available online)
• Tennessee Government: How It Works.  League of Women's Voters.  - - On Reserve
• The Tennessee State Constitution : A Reference Guide.  REF 342.76802 L345T

Tennessee Government Sites

• Tennessee State Dept. of Finance and Administration  From this site access the Budget, the Strategic Plans for the Executive Branch Agencies, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (Accounts Division) for an overview of the state’s financial situation; and the Virtual Budget Room for overviews, priorities and fact sheets.
• The University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research  The annual Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee on the State’s Economic Outlook for overall economic status of the state, a forecast of results of research, and statistical data on Tennessee's population, industry, health, welfare, economy, etc
• Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation  Reports on the land, flora and fauna of Tennessee including endangered species, mine impact, groundwater, lakes, etc.
• Tennessee Health and Population Vital Statistics  Statistics page for health and population.
• Tennessee Statistical Abstract 2003  Most recent state statistics (2003 is latest print edition).
• 2007 Economic Report to the Governor  Report provides an in-depth analysis of national and state economic development based upon ten-year and ten-quarter economic forecasts.
• Tennessee Comptroller - Office of Research  Compilation of statistical reports on many subjects from the State of Tennessee.
• Tennessee Government - Official Sites  Site offers information on state, local (both county and city), and federal governments.

Other States' Laws and Statistics

• State Laws  (must disable pop-up blocker) A LexusNexus search.  Select a state in the drop down box listed under Legal Resources, Choose a Jurisdiction.
• www.state.(tn).us  To visit other official state government sites, simply use the URL and fill in the (tn) area with the states’ two-letter abbreviation. Exclude the parenthesis.
• American Fact Finder  U.S. Bureau of Census 1990 and 2000 Census of Population & Housing, the 1997 Economic Census, and the American Community Survey.
• Book of the States  REF 353.9 B724 2005
• County and City Data Book 2000  Access data such as population, crime, education, and housing for the largest 77 cities.
• CQ's State Fact Finder  REF 317.3 C882 2003
• Economics Statistics Briefing Room  White House. Current statistics from the government to provide easy access to current Federal economic indicators.
• FEDSTATS  Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. Provides easy access to more than 70 Federal Government agency produced statistics.
• Social Statistics Briefing Room  White House. Current statistics from the government to provide easy access to current Federal social statistics.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008  U.S.Bureau of the Census Over 1400 tables and graphs of national and state data. Economic indicator files updated monthly. For Census information, search State and County Profiles section.
• U.S. Statistics by Subject  University of Memphis Library's links page for statistical resources.
  

Local Issues and News

• Newsbank Tennessee newspapers, including the Commercial Appeal and the Nashville Tennessean.
• Memphis Business Journal  Keyword search the archive or check out latest headlines.
• Commercial Appeal  Includes same print sections and video.
• The Tennessean  Nashville's local newspaper.
• The Chattanooga Times Free Press  Chattanooga's local newspaper.
• Knoxville News-Sentinel  Knoxville's local newspaper.
• Tennessee Independent Media Center  Global network of collectively run media outlets for the creation of "radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth." TIMC has been shut down due to server issues, but this link is for their blog, which covers the same topics and has the same goals.
• Other Newspapers in Tennessee  Links to each TN city's online newspaper.

Issues Research

• Don't forget to check the online catalog for books on your area of interest.
• Tennessee House Republican Caucus Issues
• Tennessee House Democratic Caucus  Minimal website offering an email contact.
• Tennessee Politicians On the Issues Choose either an issue or a politician.
• Current Issues: Critical Issues Confronting the Nation and the World.  973.92 C976 2005/2006 -- On Reserve
• Information Plus Reference Series provides updates regularly on current issues. This is an excellent source to see both sides of an issue and to quickly get statistics and information to back up your bill. REF 361.1.
• Pro/Con Issue Series REF 361.1 P962
• CQ Researcher This database is a collection of reports analyzing current issues and is well-known for its balanced, comprehensive reporting.
• Facts on File Issues & Controversies database offers ideas for topics.
• Points of View  This EBSCO database gives MUS students current information on topics of current concern.
• Bureau of Justice Statistics Drugs and Crime Facts: Contents also visit the What's New section of their site for new statistical reports.

Government Search Engines and Directories

• FirstGov the official site for U.S. Government information, services, transactions, and forms.
• Google US Government Search  Use Google to search US government websites.
• SearchMil.com Searchable Military Information.
• SearchGov.com  Searchable Government information.
• GovSpot.com: US government, state government, Congress, government jobs & more.
• Government Research Information UC Santa Barbara Library page of research help.
• Government Web Resources  Maintained by the Serial and Government Publications Division, Library of Congress.
• State and Local Government on the Net  A directory of official state, county, and city government websites.
• THOMAS -- In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, legislative information from the Library of Congress.  U.S. Congress on the Internet
• WashLaw Web -- Washburn University School of Law's free service.  Includes listing of states and federal branches (i.e. Circuit Court of Appeals, Executive Law).
• Core Documents of U.S. Democracy  To provide American citizens direct online access to the basic Federal Government documents that define our democratic society.
• Government Databases  Selected number of U.S. and Texas government databases that are available on the Web.
• Legal Information Institute  Research and electronic publishing activity of the Cornell Law School. Search the U.S. Code or Laws by source or jurisdiction.
• LSU Libraries Federal Agency Directory  directory lists current/active/existing U. S. Federal Government agencies as represented in the United States Government Manual. Indentations will inform the reader of the institution's place in the hierarchy.
• U.S. Department of State  Includes Daily Press Briefing and other catagories in video and text.
• Students.Gov  Student gateway to the US Government.
• Uncle Sam -- Internet Resource Guides Univ. of Memphis Library Guide.  The Government Publications Department of The University Libraries is the Federal Regional Depository Library for Tennessee. The Department receives 100% of the publications, maps and electronic data distributed by the Government Printing Office.
• CyberCrime   Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Division of US Government.  Contains latest headlines in ongoing cases and information on cyberethics and the Europe Convention on Cybercrime.
• Identity Theft and Identity Fraud  Part of the US Dept of Justice.  Contains information on what the DoJ is doing to prevent identity theft.

Code of Ethical Conduct

We, the members of the Memphis University School Government Club, in accordance with our school and club charter:

Recognize that our behavior at public competitions reflects on the entire MUS community. For this reason we will always strive to conduct ourselves in the spirit of integrity, professionalism, and fairness.

Agree to hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards which are appropriate to our social position as gentleman and future business and community leaders.

Recognize that public debates should be based on substance and facts rather than the use of insults, personal attacks, excessive rhetoric, and the intentional distortion of the truth. It is clear to us that these derogatory and manipulative techniques only cloud debate and lead to the corruption of the political process.

Recognize that the criteria for the passage of bills and resolutions should be form, content, and consistency with the individuals ideals (at Youth Legislature) or the nation he is role-playing (at Model UN), rather than merely the school the author attends.

Recognize that victories attained in the passage of bills and resolutions through unfair voting practices, such as school bloc voting, are essentially meaningless and not fitting to the spirit of scholastic competition. 

And agree not to utilize practices which undermine either the integrity or efficiency of government but rather incorporate methods which are virtuous and honorable.