During the weekend of November 21st to November 22nd, more than 1000 students and teachers from around the Northeast converged on Danvers, Massachusetts for Fall State 2009.  The convention was the highest attended event in the history of the Northeast Junior State and set a new record for overall student participation.

 The weekend was kicked off with a keynote address from Congressman John Tierney, a Democrat from the 6th Congressional District of Massachusetts.  As Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Tierney spent much of his time addressing issues of military spending, the American presence in Afghanistan, as well as the contentious issue of health care reform.  Despite other appointments scheduled later that afternoon, the Congressman spent an additional 45 minutes addressing student questions individually. 

Students spent their Saturday and Sunday afternoons participating in riveting debates based on the convention’s theme, Beyond the Horizon: Assessing American Influence.   Topics discussed included the war in Afghanistan, the future of U.S. relations with China, the impact of tenure in public schools, and the Second Amendment.  New debate formats like ‘Risk Debate’ and ‘Musical Chairs’ were added to the newly created Activities Block which gave students the opportunity to engage in more-relaxed styles of debate as well as allowing the Teacher Advisors to get involved in the TA Debate.  A trip to Quincy Market for a dinner brought Saturday’s academic activities to a welcome close.  

Throughout Saturday, glow sticks and splatters painted t-shirts were sold to raise money for the NES’ activism cause: Nothing but Nets.  These additions certainly electrified Saturday night’s glow-in-the-dark dance.  Raffle tickets and lanyards were also sold, and a staggering $1500.00 was raised for the cause, enough to buy over 140 mosquito nets to protect women and children in Africa from malaria.  Sunday was characterized by more thought provoking debates and concluded with the distribution of hard-earned gavels to the NES’s best speakers.
 
Congratulations and thank you to all who helped make Fall State such a historic success! We are anxiously looking forward to seeing more faces at Winter Congress 2010!