Congratulations to Frenship High School senior Jacob Salazar who placed sixth at the UIL State Congress Competition for the Class 6A Classification Saturday at the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
This is Salazar’s third time to represent Frenship High School at the UIL State Congress Competition, his second time to reach the finals, and his first time to place in the state’s top six competitors.
According to the Texas UIL Website, the UIL State Congress competition models the legislative process of democracy, specifically, the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements) submitted to the tournament, and they research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies prior to the contest to prepare their speeches.
At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal discourse on the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation, and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined. Parliamentary procedure forms structure for the discourse, and students extemporaneously respond to others’ arguments over the course of a session.
Salazar was also named outstanding Class 6APresiding Officer. As Presiding Officer of his rooms, Salazar oversaw the room’s operations by running parliamentary procedure, keeping charts of questions and speeches, and recognizing speakers who gave speeches.
