Boys Staters meander from Jurassic Park to statehouse
Staff writer
They say it’s the longest week of your life — “which is pretty accurate,” Marion High School senior Zayden Janzen said with a laugh last week.
Janzen and fellow seniors Samuel Rziha and Jordy Raymer experienced that “longest week” at Boys State, a summer program teaching high school students the fundamentals of state government, from May 31 through June 6 at Kansas State University’s Goodnow Hall.
Florence American Legion sponsored the trio’s trip.
Rather than sit through lectures, about 200 high school students from across the state formed mock counties and cities, simulating elections and governmental work from the state level down to local communities.
Each student randomly was assigned to a city and county or state media.
At Goodnow Hall, one room represented a city, one floor represented a county, and all the floors together made up the state.
It wasn’t just about adopting policies, ordinances, or laws, either.
“They simulate civic engagement,” Jordy said. “You have to be a good citizen, or bad things happen to you, or you’ll lose money.”
Zayden put it in simpler terms, perhaps easier for younger generations to pick up.
“What you do for a week is just L.A.R.P. as a [government official],” he said.
L.A.R.P. stands for live action role-playing — think Halloween, or charades with words.
As educational as Boys State was, it was just as enjoyable.
Samuel was sued and countered it multiple times, and Jordy’s county created “Jurassic Park” before establishing a school district.
Samuel, in his make-believe legal battles won $100,000 in mock settlements.
His county’s response?
“They took all the money that I made for them,” he said, “and instead of putting in hospitals and housing and stuff, they made a casino. … My county commission, they were just doing whatever.”
Through mock elections, Samuel and Jordy ended up serving in the House of Representatives. Zayden acted as a media member, creating news broadcasts and articles for a newspaper.
Samuel eventually ran for governor before losing.
He remembers staying up until the early hours of the morning to perfect his speeches. Even in the loss, he took it well.
“I’m not going in detail, but I was pretty sad,” he said. “I kind of got a little screwed over in that sense. But that’s the game of life.
“After that, my friend, Bo Barkley, actually ended up winning governor, so I supported him all the way through.”
As they approach voting age, all three agree on the same principle: charisma sells.
“When you’re running for public office, you have to sell yourself to people, not necessarily sell yourself on what you want,” Jordy said. “People vote base on how you look.”
Zayden added: “We learned that 10% of people will actually research you, and 90% will like your personality.”
The week also gave them a glimpse into the demands of public service. Their schedules were packed, leaving them maybe 30 minutes of free time a day to squeeze in a nap.
The rest of the time was spent networking, budgeting, coming up with plans and executing them.
“They keep you up until 11 every night, and you wake up at 6,” Zayden said. “Part of it, we had nightly discussions, which were really meaningful during the time. It was just a lot packed into a week.”
Their favorite part of the week was getting to know some of the veterans who stopped by from the American Legion.
“They bring in a lot of veterans,” Zayden said. “One of the best parts was just talking to [them].”
For Samuel, Jordy, and Zayden, Boys State acted as more than just a crash course into government. It taught them about consequences, resilience, and handling pressure.
“It’s a little overwhelming at first, I would say,” Jordy said. “They kind of throw us into the fire, but then eventually, that teaches you how to fall flat on your face and get back up.”