‘High Impact’ Experience Teaches College Students About State Government

RICHMOND, Va. — College students from nine Virginia universities spent a recent weekend at the State Capitol to learn about the legislative process through a government simulation.

Students elected leadership positions within their respective parties, with roles that included majority and minority leader, as well as majority and minority whip. They had a bill book and used the same parliamentary rules followed by state lawmakers.

This was the inaugural Virginia Government Simulation, inspired by similar college programs in Tennessee and Illinois. The three-day event, starting Oct. 3, was an initiative of the Institute for Democracy, Pluralism, and Community Empowerment at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Amanda Wintersieck is an associate professor of political science at VCU and the IDPCE director. She helped organize the simulation. Faculty from Bridgewater College and Radford University contributed to the creation of the event, and served as advisers on the executive board.

Students debated 15 bills in the House chamber from the 2024 legislative session. Bills covered topics such as artificial intelligence, cannabis advertising and single-use plastics.

Bridgewater junior Jory Cardoza was surprised to be elected majority leader, but said it was easy to step into the role once the simulation started. Cardoza also acted as House speaker for the simulation.

“I think people have really cool ideas about what they want to see in government,” Cardoza said. “So just like facilitating … was really cool, trying to allow everybody time to speak their mind.”

Data shows Americans generally do not have a solid understanding of how their state legislatures work, Wintersieck said. About half of the respondents to a survey conducted by John Hopkins University did not know if their state had a one or two-chamber legislature, and that one-third were unable to name their state’s governor.

“This is pretty discouraging, because I know while national politics are sexy and they get all the money and all the advertisements and all the news attention, the reality is the laws that impact us every single day are the laws of our states,” Wintersieck said.

“High impact” experiences allow students to retain information better than if they had learned about the project in a government class, according to Wintersieck.

“In three, five, 10 years they’re going to have retained more of that information because they engaged in it in a more realistic setting,” Wintersieck said.

Jackson Mallory attends VCU, and helped organize the event as part of a work study position. He hopes to work in politics one day.

The government simulation provides students with networking and career development opportunities, in addition to learning about the legislative process firsthand, according to Mallory.

“It’s not just about debating,” Mallory said. “It’s about decorum. It’s about respect for the participants in the chamber. It’s about respect for yourself.”

Students were randomly assigned political parties prior to the event. They researched the viewpoints and arguments of political parties they may not be aligned with, which helps build critical thinking.

“It really forces them to engage with thinking about how somebody from a different political persuasion thinks about things,” Wintersieck said.

Jarrett Lilly is a sophomore at Bridgewater College who described himself as a moderate conservative. He was assigned to act as a Democrat.

In order to get into the mindset of someone from the opposite party, it is crucial to understand why someone believes a certain way, according to Lilly.

“Maybe I don’t agree with it but at the same time, I can understand where this person is coming from and they really do want to make a difference,” Lilly said.

After debate and amendments, the delegates passed 14 bills. Elected officials could take notice of the efficiency from their younger counterparts — state lawmakers this past session passed 45% of the bills introduced.

A 2022 study done by Pew Research Center found that around 69% of Republican respondents regarded Democrats as closed-minded, while 83% of Democrats said the same about Republicans. Those percentages had double-digit increases from 2016. Each party increasingly views the people in the other party, not just the party itself, in a negative light, according to the study.

The success rate of these temporary legislators may have to do with their age and partisan flexibility, according to Lilly.

“I feel like previous generations are very much so set in their beliefs,” Lilly said. “I feel like a lot of us are more open to being able to have a conversation.”

Summer Neil is a VCU sophomore pursuing a major in social work studies, and a minor in political science. She was initially disappointed to be selected as a Republican for the simulation.

The experience was more fun than anticipated, and she was surprised to find she supported some of the bills introduced by Republicans.

“I think it’ll help me remove all of my bias and be a little more willing to really read into how things are, rather than how I perceive them to be,” Neil said.

The participants compromised across their political ideology and party, which Wintersieck applauded.

“It’s really clear that young Democrats and young Republicans can agree on things that previously could not be agreed upon between these two parties, and I think that’s encouraging in some ways,” Wintersieck said.

Organizers hope to expand the legislative simulation to include the Senate, and also make other elements more robust. The organizers envision the opportunity to participate as part of the press corps or as lobbyists. There could also be judiciary and executive branch roles that add to the simulation.

Such future models could see 400-700 students in attendance, and involve other disciplines of study, according to Wintersieck.

Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, closed out the session with a speech on the value of public service and encouraged students to remain engaged and committed to making a difference.

By Brodie Greene
Capital News Service

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.