Coral Gables High students play politics at Harvard conferences

By Carli Teproff / The Miami Herald

Rebecca Fernandez doesn't believe in global warming.

The conservative 15-year-old says that temperature changes are natural.

But Rebecca recently had to put her views aside during a role-playing exercise at Harvard's Model Congress in San Francisco last month.

She, a Republican, had to assume the role of a Democrat from Wisconsin.

"I just pretty much had to say the opposite of what I really believe,'' said Rebecca, who was one of 25 Coral Gables Senior High School students to take part in the invitational-only event that allows high schoolers to get a taste of politics.

"It gets you to think about other sides of an issue,'' she said.

Coral Gables Senior -- which has been participating for more than 15 years -- is one of only two high schools in Florida to take part in the Congress, which holds two yearly conferences for students to immerse themselves in government. The other school is in Naples.

"This is just something that we all look forward to every year,'' teacher Stephanie Cosgrove said.

Another group of 28 Coral Gables High School students will leave Wednesday for a Harvard Model Congress conference in Boston.

"So many students are really interested in taking part,'' said Katie Landsea, a Coral Gables Senior High teacher leading the group to Boston. "They get really excited about it.''

The students have been spending their lunches speaking about national security and natural disasters rather than the latest fashion trends or which movie to see on the weekend.

For students like Larissa Weinstein, 16, going to the Model Congress in Boston is way to practice what she has learned in her Advanced Placement classes in school.

"This is very hands-on,'' she said. ``We are the government.''

The Harvard Model Congress began 25 years ago as a way to bring teenagers from different states together to discuss nationwide issues.

The conferences are run in parliamentary procedure, and students assume the roles of president, vice president, congressional representatives and other political leaders.

Glenn Alterman, co-president of the Harvard Model Congress, said the main goal of both conferences is to engage students in the governmental process.

"We try to show exactly how bills get passed and vetoed,'' he said. ``It is a step-by-step process.''

Students at the San Francisco event were lumped into committees and groups and were tasked with coming up with bills and legislation for different scenarios.

Jorge Galavis, 15, was a cabinet member and had to listen to bill presentations.

"There were so many different ideas,'' he said.

In one case, the students were given a mock disaster -- where a virus was spreading -- and had to come up with bills to get the situation under control.

Paula Perez, 15, who played a Democrat from Georgia, helped come up with legislation to better staff health clinics.

"When there is a disaster, government has to act fast,'' she said.

For the students going to Boston, topics like the Haiti earthquake are likely to be on the agenda, Lansea said. Freshman Mariana Munera, 15, will be playing the role of a Red Cross lobbyist.

A couple of students also will get to be justices on the Supreme Court.

No matter what role the students assume, most participants say that what started off as a great way to go on a trip with friends has turned into a passion for government.

"It was actually a really great experience,'' said Ali Stack, 15.

"I learned a lot about how government works.''

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