Set in the Marriot in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Ohio River Valley's Fall State 2007 started off with a bang! The theme for this year's Fall State was "America Split Down the Aisle." More than 30 different schools from all over Ohio (and even Tennessee!) gathered for this annual event. Our numbers were up from last year, the newspaper, The Muckraker, looked astounding, the agendas and activities were flawless, the debates and briefs were incredible, and the excitement of all the delegates was unsurpassable!  The ORV is ready for the year and it all started at Fall State 2007!

The weekend kicked off with all of these different schools coming in early Saturday morning with excited looks on their faces. After checking in and changing into their "debate apparel,” delegates gathered for Opening Session where comments where made from Governor Rita Rochford, Lieutenant Governor Sruti Ramadugu, Director of Debate Alex Fine, Convention Coordinator Marjorie Cantine, and ECCAD Directors Joe Sadek and Nevin Rao.  Immediately following Opening Session, the ORV delegates were off to make their voices heard in all of the debates and thought talks! This year's debates were definitely interesting and exciting, much thanks to Alex and the Debate Department for doing such a wonderful job. Some of the more popular ones included, Boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics, fast food industry is responsible for the US obesity epidemic, convicted felons should be given the right to vote, and many more.  The ORV, having such a diverse range of delegates in attendance, accommodates this by varying the debate format, we use Traditional, Speed Chess, and Assembly to try and get all we can out of each topic.

After a long, but fun day of debating, delegates were encouraged to join in the Evening Activities portion of the convention. Chapter Challenge, which proved to be fun for all involved, was revived this year after being gone for quite some time.  Delegates were challenged to do a wide variety of things for their chapter including, headstands, drinking syrup, ad building a balloon tower. Lakota West showed everyone up by being the last chapter standing, not just on their heads, as such they were awarded the beautifully decorated Best Chapter Gavel. After Chapter Challenge, delegates were invited to attend the dance, which featured a “Roaring Twenties” theme.  After an exciting day, delegates then retired to bed to regain their energy for another amazing day of JSA. The second day started off with an optional summer school and leadership breakfast where delegates could learn about the different opportunities JSA offered during the summer. More debates occurred throughout the day ranging from legalizing marijuana to mandating the HPV vaccine for middle school girls.

The convention came to an end to quickly at Closing Session, where the best speakers and best moderators were given gavels to celebrate their excellence.  If there was an award for Best Fall State, this one would surly win it! The debates were interesting, the evening activities were fun, and the people were enthusiastic! If you're still haven't gotten your JSA fill, have no fear, the PNCs are rapidly approaching us. This FREE conference will give you a chance to interact with your fellow students while participating in the upcoming Presidential Elections. Another date to look forward to is Winter Congress February 15-17, 2008 in Washington, D.C. There, you will get to spend three days in the nation's capital, debating, sightseeing, and maybe even meet up with some politicians! We hope to see you at both of these events and for further conventions feel free to contact our Governor, Rita Rochford at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it !

Good luck,
Nikki Kanakkanatt
ORV Chief of Staff