Nebraska State Bar Foundation

The Senate Youth Program of the United Sates Senate turned 50 years old this year. According to the American Bar Association's Public Education, the Senate program is a "unique educational experience for high school students interested in pursuing careers in public service."

Two student leaders from each state and the District of Columbia will be selected to participate in the 2013 activity. They will spend a week in Washington, DC, observing our nation's government in action. Transportation, hotel, and meal expenses are provided by The Hearst Foundations. Each delegate also receives a $5,000 college scholarship and is encouraged to pursue a course of study in history or political science.

Teachinghistory.org reports that teachers are using social "pinboard" services like Pinterest and Learnist to communicate with students and other teachers. Such pinboards allow the collecting and organizing of content while surfing the Web. For example, you might "pin" to a board a collection of articles related to a lesson plan you are preparing. As you browse, you may find photos or other articles that you will want to pin to other boards to organize like content, save it, and even share it with others.

You could share boards with students to assist them in writing research papers. They will still have to conduct research, but you will have directed them toward sources you have determined to be reputable. The references may even include photos and artwork.

A new title in the Nebraska Crime Commission's Criminal Justice Video Library is Student Sexting and Cyber Bullying. In DVD format, the video is 60 minutes long and is intended for adult audiences. It should be particularly pertinent for school administrators and school resource officers. Law professor Kathleen Conn is the presenter of the information that is divided into eight sections.

Cost of rental is $3.00 per week and may be requested by contacting Ann Bauers at the Crime Commission, 402-471-2195 (direct) or by emailing her: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

With 2012 being a presidential election year, the Nebraska Secretary of State, John A. Gale, is partnering with the Bar Foundation and the Nebraska Supreme Court to sponsor the 13th annual Law Day Essay Contest. The question is as follows:

In many United States elections, less than one in four registered voters actually vote. Also, not all citizens who are eligible to vote actually register to exercise this import right. In Nebraska, even in the 2008 and 2004 general elections, which included voting for president, the number of citizens actually voting was no better than 3 of every 4 registered voters:

QUESTION: In this 2012 presidential election year and in all other elections, what do you think should be done to increase the number of registered voters and voter turnout?

Addie Curley and her School Counselor Kathy DeBoer are recognized at the Law Day Luncheon by Chief Justice Mike Heavican, Nebraska Supreme Court

By Adelaide Curley, Marian High School 10th grader

Editorial note: Adelaide received a partial scholarship from the McGrath North Mullin & Kratz law firm to attend the National Student Leadership Conference in the summer of 2011.

The program I decided to attend was International Diplomacy in the summer of 2011. I spent 11 days at American University in Washington, D.C. learning the ins and outs of what goes into being a successful diplomat and leader. We had many guest speakers, including Ambassador Ade Adefuya from Nigeria, Anne Bradley from the International Justice Mission, and Mr. Colman McCarthy from the Center for Peace Education. Each speaker was incredibly interesting to listen to, bringing with them a mix of instruction and humor.