A mock senate session on St. Croix Tuesday delved into job opportunities and incentives for students to stay in school as high school students took the places of senators and testifiers to discuss a real but defunct student employment act.
Students from all over St. Croix took the place of senators on the Committee on Labor, and seniors from St. Croix Educational Complex took on the roles of Labor Department officials answering questions about the act, how it would operate and how it would be funded, even recommending changes to improve the actual law.
At issue was the "Youth Transitional Employment Program," an act passed in 1995. The program ostensibly would pay employers half the starting salary, up to $10,000, for eligible 11th and 12th graders who stay in school, with the goal of encouraging graduation, promoting work skills and increasing youth employment. Whether for lack of funding or other reasons, the program is not active.
Once the mock debate and questioning was concluded, each of the students was given the floor for a minute-and-a-half to say whatever they liked. Many of the students spoke of watching their classmates vanish, as half of each freshman class dropped out before senior year, and they urged the senators to establish something similar to the real law they were discussing.
Malcolm Stevens, a senior at Complex who played the role of director of Labor Relations, suggested a program for younger students, not juniors and seniors.
"We should concentrate on 9th and 10th graders because you can’t teach an old dog new tricks," Stevens said. "If we don’t direct funding to those years, by 11th and 12th grade they are already out of school and this act will miss the at-risk students it targets."
Elizabeth Tobiere, another Complex senior, asked the legislature to see about implementing the law too.
"This may be just a mock bill, but this is very serious," Tobiere said. "I know many students who have no post-secondary plans, and a bill like this will influence how our students enter not only the local but the national workforce, so I hope this can actually become a reality."
Shelsa Marcel of Complex said that of 500 students in her freshman class, 254 were gone now that she is a senior.
"Where they are we do not know," Marcel said. "But we know they are not in school and as a result we see crime increase and so many other social problems. I urge you, please senators, to pass something like this."
These similar pleas did not seem to be coordinated or pre-arranged. None of the students were reading from notes or conferring before they spoke, but simply taking the chance to express what they felt and saw.
"I think if amended and worked with, this act will greatly decrease the amount of unemployment and criminal activity in the Virgin Islands," said Mendrell Synphorien of Complex. "I had friends in the 9th grade who I never saw again in 10th or 11th and I don’t know what happened. And if they were given a chance to do something, they might still be there. Not all of us are necessarily cut out for school and some are better at working with their hands and if they were given some training and some help, they could have good jobs instead of being on the street."
Whitly Charles, a Complex senior who played Labor Commissioner, also said a program like the act in question would be helpful.
"I have seen a lot of unnecessary things happen to people," Charles said. "I could tell stories of my friends and other people committing these crimes we talk about after they drop out of school."
One by one, a half-dozen more students made similar comments, interspersed with comments about how educational and eye-opening an experience it was, giving them insight into how the real Legislature works and how difficult it really is to take an idea, find funding, get support from fellow senators and get a program in place.
The students playing the role of senators in Tuesdays mock session were:
- Carmelo Rodriguez of A-Z Academy: Sen. Usie Richards;
- Shani Cox of Good Hope: Sen. Craig Barshinger;
- Jenna Lie Jackson of Country Day: Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone;
- Michelle Henry of Wisdom Center (Home School): Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson;
- Angelez Cruz of St. Joseph’s: Sen. Nereida "Nellie" O’Reilly;
- Michael Wright of St. Croix Central High: Sen. Michael Thurland;
- Niamoi Brown of Penn Foster: Sen. Neville James.
Testifiers were all played by seniors students at St. Croix Educational Complex:
- Whitly Charles as Commissioner of Labor;
- Elizabeth Tobiere as asst. commissioner of employment and training at Labor;
- Shelsa Marcel as asst. commissioner of Labor Relations, Hearings and Appeals;
- Malcolm Stevens as director of Labor Relations;
- Mendrell Synphorien as legal counsel.
