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Matt Rosenthal Will Represent Delaware at American Legion Boys Nation

Rising senior Matt Rosenthal will represent Delaware at this year’s Boys Nation program in Washington, D.C.
Matt, who served as Party Secretary for the Federalist Party and House Minority Leader at Delaware Boys State in June, earned the honor through a competitive ballot and interview process. He will travel to the District on July 17th for the week-long program, which is sponsored by the American Legion and teaches participants about the processes of the Federal government through mock elections and a mock Senate.

At Delaware Boys State, in which students elect a mock State Senate and House that then debates and passes bills, Matt helped to facilitate elections in his role as Party Secretary. He also decided to run for an elected office. As House Minority leader, he said, he enjoyed the work of ensuring that every member of his party had the chance to speak and have their opinions considered, and he met with every delegate individually to hear their concerns about the issues under discussion.

The delegates debated bills that ranged from the serious—a police body-camera measure—to the silly—a law that would have required party Whips to do the “Whip dance” whenever a new bill was passed. (That bill was ultimately vetoed by the Boys State governor, who felt it would be inappropriate for his colleagues to dance during Governor Jack Markell’s visit.)

Joking aside, Matt said, Boys State “showed me how important the democratic process is, and how easy it is for individual voices to get drowned out. Now I feel that government and public service is for me, because I really liked that.”

He’s looking forward to his experience at Boys Nation. Though he plans to run for elected office, he said his focus will be on learning and meeting interesting people who share his passion for government and public service.

Congratulations to Matt!
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