The South Carolina YMCA Youth in Government Program (YIG) is a branch of the YMCA of Greenville, offering programs and conferences for Middle and High School students statewide. In the High School program, students take over the South Carolina statehouse grounds to role-play the various positions in the South Carolina State Legislature and the State Court systems. Students spend the months prior to the conference preparing by researching topics and writing bills and researching bills written by other students. Participants work in teams to prepare their trial cases, and write briefs and prepare oral arguments for their appeals cases. Each year, the school brings a delegation and, each year, we have been honored with the “Premier Delegation” Award.
The Middle School Model Legislature conference is a three-day, two-night conference designed to provide hands-on experience to teach the legislative process. The overall goal of the program and conference is to teach the mechanics of the state legislature and to teach the importance of active participation in democracy. Our Middle School delegation prepares for the conference alongside our High School students and has also been honored with the “Premier Delegation” Award.