Incoming Interns, and the Legislative Page bed check?

Posted by PP at the SDWC

November 27, 2006

Tonight I was at the thank you event for the Vietnam War Memorial Dedication Volunteers. And I was fortunate enough to spend a few minutes talking with the young woman who interned for the Vietnam Dedication this summer who made it back for the event.

She was pleased as punch to tell me that she got an internship with the State Senate this coming January. As one of the other committee members and I noted, she’s going to have a front row seat at a very historic legislative session. Not the least of which will be the determination of the rule violation that Senator Dan Sutton has been accused of.

Oddly enough, after I got home, I note that the Argus Leader is writing on the very topic of a few of those who are going to be working at the legislature tonight:

Legislative leaders want random checks to be sure high-school students serving as pages during session are staying where they say they are.

The Legislative Research Council’s Executive Board also decided to create an advisory committee of Pierre residents and others familiar with the page program to review policies and recommend any changes.

Read it all here.

Did something change since I was an intern? If I remember correctly, about 18 years ago, the Pages generally had host families.

Why do I remember this? I also recall there was a comely 18 year old page who had her eye on 21 year old me when I was an intern. And since “the mom” of her host family was my own mother’s work partner, there was no way I was going to even consider it. (I might have been a senior in college, but there was no way I wanted to hear anything about it from my mom).

Anyway, I think if the program wants to go back to finding families willing to be responsible for these young people, that would suffice. There’s no need for dormitories, bed checks or anything of that nature. Just a few willing hosts willing to take responsibility.

And not ones who might abuse that trust.

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