Participants campaign, elect officers

Caroline Nobo said it had been difficult to balance the duties of running for governor with the social calendar at Sunflower Girls State this week.

Nobo, who will be a Free State High School senior this fall, said having her personal life under the scrutiny of the entire state would add even more pressure.

That’s what happened to Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall, the guest speaker Wednesday morning at Girls State. Stovall recently withdrew from her campaign for governor, saying her heart wasn’t in the race. Many speculated the decision was related to her romance with Larry Steckline, the Wichita broadcasting executive Stovall is planning to marry this summer.

“For Stovall, it obviously was partly because she fell in love,” Nobo said. “When a you’re a girl and you fall in love, you make sacrifices. It’s good for her.”

Finding a balance between family and professional life likely will be a challenge for many of the 460 girls attending the 60th Girls State this week at Kansas University. Nobo, who would like to run for office someday, said women were expected to make more life sacrifices than their male counterparts.

Merry Chadwick, another Free State student, said she thought she could balance a political life with personal life by serving on a school board.

“If I had kids in school, I’d like to get involved,” she said. “Why wouldn’t you want to get involved with their lives?”

Girls State is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary. The girls, all entering their senior year, have spent the week running for office, debating issues and listening to guest speakers, including Kansas first lady Linda Graves on Wednesday night. The girls travel Friday to Topeka before the week’s closing ceremony Friday afternoon.

The girls also have tackled state issues such as funding for public education and services for the elderly, as well as issues of interest to teen-agers.

Ashley Hart, a Lawrence High School student, said one of her groups had discussed the problem of public displays of affection in high schools.

“They think everybody else is doing it so they should be, too,” she said. “In reality, nobody really makes out in the hallways.”

They also discussed abortion.

“I think since we’re a group of teen-age girls, we could answer it better than other people could,” Chadwick said. Still, she said, the group couldn’t arrive at a consensus.

The participants said the Girls State experience had given them a new understanding of politics.

“You really get to know what’s going on, since it’s first-hand,” said Nicole Berry, a Free State student. “It wears you out.”