Aaron Burkart for Speaker of the Assembly: Campaign Platform

	*I. Opening Statement* I joined JSA my freshman year, and what enticed me about it originally was not specifically debating. Nor was it specifically attending conventions (although these certainly became great perks). What drew me in was the activism aspect. Being able to speak my voice and stand up for a cause that I knew meant something. JSA made me aware that I had the ability to make a difference, and that every word I said, every action I took, every step forward I made, it all means something. It meant I had a voice for all to listen to. Being just fourteen at the time, and with my literal voice cracking awkwardly, it was amazing to know my symbolic (and literal, in given time) voice made a difference, and that there were people that wanted to listen to it. JSA has let me know that it’s all about getting out and getting active, which is what I have striven to do all along. *II. The Three Focuses* The three focuses of my campaign are simple and necessary: Activism, Assembly & reaching our nation. These are all crucial aspects of not just JSA, but of the office of Speaker. If you have trouble remembering them, look at the first letter of each; Activism, Assembly & Reaching Our Nation. Those letters spell out my first name, which lets you know that when you see my name, you know my focus. A. Activism: One of the most important aspects of JSA, if not the most important, is activism. Were it not for activism, the debating and the conventions would be for naught. As an extremely large organization, it is important to know what we as JSAers feel. It is because of this that the Advocacy Program was revived two years ago, when I was a member of the Speaker’s Department as a Legislative Coordinator. I have full intent to keep the program, and in fact strengthen it. When the program was reinstituted in 2009, it did not develop beyond the stage of choosing issues to advocate. The solution to this is simple yet crucial: Move forward. It is after the choosing of subjects to advocate that advocacy no longer existed. Not once did I ever hear of a local lawmaker being contacted about the issues, or of a student taking the initiative to draw up a petition on the issue. We, at our annual Congress convention, are activists. Those who author bills are the lawmakers. We are all fighting for some sort of cause at Congress, attempting to get some form of legislation passed or failed. We are activists, and many of us are unaware of it. It is our duty within JSA to stand up and be heard. Make some noise. Raise your voice. And speak now! B. Assembly: I am referring to Assembly here in the literal sense, in which several JSAers congregate to pass or fail planks and amend, pass, fail or strike bylaws, as well as the symbolic sense, which refers to all of us coming together and standing united for numerous causes, which leads back to activism. Although my being in the Speaker’s Department prohibited me from being a member of the Assembly, I sat in on each session that met, and very much enjoyed what I saw. What I saw was students presenting issues that they were obviously passionate about, whether they would be passed by real lawmakers or not. I saw students who absolutely loved the thrill of making a difference. For me, being able to preside over that, being able to enable that, being able to make that happen…it would be an extreme honor and blessing for me to be able to do so. Of course, the problem here: There are over 100 chapters in Southern California JSA, each of which is to designate one Assembly member. Seldom is the time where more than 25 people meet for the Assembly at each convention. In recent years, the Assembly has even bribed people with food in an attempt to get the Assembly delegates out. If chapters even do delegate someone, oftentimes they forget they need to be there. It is a shame that someone would refuse to participate in an event that means so much to JSA--not to mention missing out on free food, which cash-strapped JSAers that skip breakfast would often treasure dearly. One belief I hold is that chapters are simply unaware of Assembly meetings, or that the Assembly exists. This is the responsibility of the Speaker. As Speaker, I would make it my priority to keep all chapters aware of Assembly meetings, by alerting them one week before each Assembly meeting, to inform them of the future meeting coming up. If the chapter has already designated its Assembly member, I will include their name in the email and would have chapter presidents inform their Assembly delegate of the meeting. If the chapter has not already designated its Assembly member, I will include in the email that they need to do so--as I will probably have already done at least five times before then. In addition, I will email each chapter that sent a delegate to the Assembly, and inform them of what happened at the meeting, and how their delegate voted. This way, chapter presidents can keep up with the other members of their chapter. C. Reaching Our Nation: Both activism and Assembly factor into reaching our nation, which is our greater and common goal through all of our efforts. This focus of mine is so simple, yet can do so much work around us. What’s better is that this goal is not limited to those who are involved with the Assembly, or the Advocacy Program, or to anyone in the Speaker’s Department. This is something that anyone can do, and that, if you aim to make a difference, everyone should do. Although it may be easier to reach our nation during times of election, it is when the going gets tough that the reward becomes greater. Rarely do people outside of JSA ever imagine that high school students could ever even care about today’s issues, let alone make a difference. This perceived apathy acts as the perfect springboard for us. Whether it be something as simple as holding a voter drive, or something such as attending a town council meeting, or even extending to emailing a local lawmaker (e.g. state assemblyman, county supervisor, etc.), we all have things we are passionate about, and these are things we want everyone to know about. Reaching our nation is where activism turns into a tangible force, rather than a verbal commitment. My goal, as Speaker, is to have voluntary “personal activism challenges,” where anyone in JSA, whether as an individual or a collective chapter, signs up to take an issue from the Assembly or Advocacy Program, or even one of their own, and begins pushing it to local lawmakers and at least spreading its awareness. If the student or chapter at least takes the initiative to get out and share the word, regardless of if they get a response, they are rewarded. Individuals, for sending the Executive Department and Speaker of the Assembly a proof of their personal activism challenge, receive a 50% discount on the cost of their next convention. If the chapter takes the initiative, they receive one free convention attendance for any one person within their chapter. My reason for this? Activism is a great deed to be rewarded. To reach our nation is to help further the goals we as the Junior State have. And to see someone at least attempt to reach our nation is an action worthy of notice and reward. Then, we know that their commitment to JSA is more than just going to the dance, or getting 20 of their friends to flock to the Space AIDS debate. To me, reaching our nation is proof of one’s heart for activism, and a heart for activism is proof of true love for JSA. *III. Conclusion* We, as JSA members, enjoy being able to spread the word about who we are and what we do. We love trying to prove that, as high school students, we are fully able to care and know about the issues effecting our world today. Talking is the easy part. When it comes to putting our words into practice, however, some of us tend to stall. While I can’t rebuke anyone who has ever stopped short of practicing their beliefs, I can say that it certainly is worth it when we do. The feeling alone is rewarding enough--not to mention that, in my tenure as Speaker, a discounted convention attendance is on the line as a reward for showing activism. I know that, coming from a chapter where much of our chapter’s membership is of low-income and cannot afford to attend conventions, there are certainly students within each individual chapter that would jump at the opportunity to attend a convention for free--if all it meant was simply doing what JSA members do best. After all, activism IS what we do best. We do it every day! So remember: It is our time to speak now! Remember to vote Aaron Burkart for Speaker of the Assembly, and when you see the name, you know the focus. The vote is yours--because it is the power of the people, not the people in power, that makes the biggest difference.

I. Opening Statement
I joined JSA my freshman year, and what enticed me about it originally was not specifically debating. Nor was it specifically attending conventions (although these certainly became great perks). What drew me in was the activism aspect. Being able to speak my voice and stand up for a cause that I knew meant something. JSA made me aware that I had the ability to make a difference, and that every word I said, every action I took, every step forward I made, it all means something. It meant I had a voice for all to listen to. Being just fourteen at the time, and with my literal voice cracking awkwardly, it was amazing to know my symbolic (and literal, in given time) voice made a difference, and that there were people that wanted to listen to it. JSA has let me know that it’s all about getting out and getting active, which is what I have striven to do all along.

II. The Three Focuses
The three focuses of my campaign are simple and necessary: Activism, Assembly & reaching our nation. These are all crucial aspects of not just JSA, but of the office of Speaker. If you have trouble remembering them, look at the first letter of each; Activism, Assembly & Reaching Our Nation. Those letters spell out my first name, which lets you know that when you see my name, you know my focus.
A. Activism: One of the most important aspects of JSA, if not the most important, is activism. Were it not for activism, the debating and the conventions would be for naught. As an extremely large organization, it is important to know what we as JSAers feel.
It is because of this that the Advocacy Program was revived two years ago, when I was a member of the Speaker’s Department as a Legislative Coordinator. I have full intent to keep the program, and in fact strengthen it. When the program was reinstituted in 2009, it did not develop beyond the stage of choosing issues to advocate.
The solution to this is simple yet crucial: Move forward. It is after the choosing of subjects to advocate that advocacy no longer existed. Not once did I ever hear of a local lawmaker being contacted about the issues, or of a student taking the initiative to draw up a petition on the issue.
We, at our annual Congress convention, are activists. Those who author bills are the lawmakers. We are all fighting for some sort of cause at Congress, attempting to get some form of legislation passed or failed. We are activists, and many of us are unaware of it.
It is our duty within JSA to stand up and be heard. Make some noise. Raise your voice. And speak now!
B. Assembly: I am referring to Assembly here in the literal sense, in which several JSAers congregate to pass or fail planks and amend, pass, fail or strike bylaws, as well as the symbolic sense, which refers to all of us coming together and standing united for numerous causes, which leads back to activism.
Although my being in the Speaker’s Department prohibited me from being a member of the Assembly, I sat in on each session that met, and very much enjoyed what I saw. What I saw was students presenting issues that they were obviously passionate about, whether they would be passed by real lawmakers or not. I saw students who absolutely loved the thrill of making a difference. For me, being able to preside over that, being able to enable that, being able to make that happen…it would be an extreme honor and blessing for me to be able to do so.
Of course, the problem here: There are over 100 chapters in Southern California JSA, each of which is to designate one Assembly member. Seldom is the time where more than 25 people meet for the Assembly at each convention. In recent years, the Assembly has even bribed people with food in an attempt to get the Assembly delegates out. If chapters even do delegate someone, oftentimes they forget they need to be there. It is a shame that someone would refuse to participate in an event that means so much to JSA--not to mention missing out on free food, which cash-strapped JSAers that skip breakfast would often treasure dearly.
One belief I hold is that chapters are simply unaware of Assembly meetings, or that the Assembly exists. This is the responsibility of the Speaker. As Speaker, I would make it my priority to keep all chapters aware of Assembly meetings, by alerting them one week before each Assembly meeting, to inform them of the future meeting coming up. If the chapter has already designated its Assembly member, I will include their name in the email and would have chapter presidents inform their Assembly delegate of the meeting. If the chapter has not already designated its Assembly member, I will include in the email that they need to do so--as I will probably have already done at least five times before then. In addition, I will email each chapter that sent a delegate to the Assembly, and inform them of what happened at the meeting, and how their delegate voted. This way, chapter presidents can keep up with the other members of their chapter.
C. Reaching Our Nation: Both activism and Assembly factor into reaching our nation, which is our greater and common goal through all of our efforts. This focus of mine is so simple, yet can do so much work around us. What’s better is that this goal is not limited to those who are involved with the Assembly, or the Advocacy Program, or to anyone in the Speaker’s Department. This is something that anyone can do, and that, if you aim to make a difference, everyone should do. Although it may be easier to reach our nation during times of election, it is when the going gets tough that the reward becomes greater. Rarely do people outside of JSA ever imagine that high school students could ever even care about today’s issues, let alone make a difference.
This perceived apathy acts as the perfect springboard for us. Whether it be something as simple as holding a voter drive, or something such as attending a town council meeting, or even extending to emailing a local lawmaker (e.g. state assemblyman, county supervisor, etc.), we all have things we are passionate about, and these are things we want everyone to know about.
Reaching our nation is where activism turns into a tangible force, rather than a verbal commitment. My goal, as Speaker, is to have voluntary “personal activism challenges,” where anyone in JSA, whether as an individual or a collective chapter, signs up to take an issue from the Assembly or Advocacy Program, or even one of their own, and begins pushing it to local lawmakers and at least spreading its awareness. If the student or chapter at least takes the initiative to get out and share the word, regardless of if they get a response, they are rewarded. Individuals, for sending the Executive Department and Speaker of the Assembly a proof of their personal activism challenge, receive a 50% discount on the cost of their next convention. If the chapter takes the initiative, they receive one free convention attendance for any one person within their chapter.
My reason for this? Activism is a great deed to be rewarded. To reach our nation is to help further the goals we as the Junior State have. And to see someone at least attempt to reach our nation is an action worthy of notice and reward. Then, we know that their commitment to JSA is more than just going to the dance, or getting 20 of their friends to flock to the Space AIDS debate. To me, reaching our nation is proof of one’s heart for activism, and a heart for activism is proof of true love for JSA.

III. Conclusion
We, as JSA members, enjoy being able to spread the word about who we are and what we do. We love trying to prove that, as high school students, we are fully able to care and know about the issues effecting our world today. Talking is the easy part. When it comes to putting our words into practice, however, some of us tend to stall. While I can’t rebuke anyone who has ever stopped short of practicing their beliefs, I can say that it certainly is worth it when we do. The feeling alone is rewarding enough--not to mention that, in my tenure as Speaker, a discounted convention attendance is on the line as a reward for showing activism. I know that, coming from a chapter where much of our chapter’s membership is of low-income and cannot afford to attend conventions, there are certainly students within each individual chapter that would jump at the opportunity to attend a convention for free--if all it meant was simply doing what JSA members do best. After all, activism IS what we do best. We do it every day!
So remember: It is our time to speak now! Remember to vote Aaron Burkart for Speaker of the Assembly, and when you see the name, you know the focus. The vote is yours--because it is the power of the people, not the people in power, that makes the biggest difference.

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Campaign Platform