Buckeye Boys State participant Jacob James wants to be a millionaire. Of course, he won’t be able to use that money in real-life. He wants to earn a million by scamming other boys out of their imaginary money during the Buckeye Boys State program. James wants to be known to future buckeye boys as the “first Buckeye Boys State millionaire,” he said.

James is from Fostoria, where he plays baseball, football and sings in the show choir. Until now, his hobbies never involved a scandal. But, here in the lobby of Harshman residence hall, he is surrounded by four other boys who are spitting out ideas of ways they can trick their peers.

Their latest idea is a fake cruise. The group decided to sell tickets to a cruise to Tahiti for $1,000. On the last Friday of the program, James said he would usher some “cruise-goers” into the lobby of Harshman. The cruise would actually mean that the boys would watch a movie, while James and his friends splashed water on them from behind the sofa. They even have a name for the fake cruise ship: The U.S.S Stoner.

“I’m captain of the ship, because it was my idea. But he’s my first mate,” James said, pointing to his friend, Ryan Dotson of Hamilton, Ohio. Dotson shakes his head.

“It was my idea,” Dotson said. “I’m only giving him the money.”

Two days before, these boys had never met. But by the second day of Buckeye Boys State, they are laughing together, thinking up crafty ways to scheme other boys out of their imaginary money.

Last week, campus was bustling with 1,323 of these high school aged overachievers who were learning about government in the Buckeye Boys State program.

The program is held every year by Ohio’s American Legion, which calls itself “the largest veteran’s organization in Ohio.”

The program is selective, with only a limited number of boys being accepted into the program by each local legion post. Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average and be involved in extracurricular programs to be eligible. It costs local sponsors $265 to send a boy to Buckeye Boys State. The program has been held here, at the University, since 1978.

For nine days every June, program organizers create an imaginary government that perfectly mimics the hierarchy in the state of Ohio – all the way from positions at the top in the Governor’s cabinet, down to county sheriffs, city mayors, police, and common citizens.

The election process is complete with assigned political parties. When the boys register on opening day, they are randomly assigned a colored nametag to designate whether they are part of the imaginary Nationalist or Federalist political party.

At a political rally on second day of the program, Monday, June 13, candidates for top positions echoed their real-life political counterparts. The imaginary Nationalist Party mimics the ideals of the democrats, with the Federalist Party echoing the republicans. Candidates earned praise in the form of hoots and hollers from crowd of boys and program organizers when they spoke during debate.

The candidate who later won the position of governor – Brent Kidd of Proctorville, Ohio – got a standing ovation during debates when he suggested that property tax is an unfair way to fund schools.

“Your family is going to have more money to live on, and its going to balance the system,” Kidd declared, and smiled when he heard the thunderous applause afterwards.

The election process was very competitive. When a candidate did not receive a standing ovation, he often heard a combination of “boo’s” and cheers from the audience.

This year’s election so closely mimicked real-life politics, that last Monday’s vote required a re-count. The votes were tallied on a computer, and after re-doing elections twice, the results were finally available much later than schedule, at 9 p.m.

The next day, all candidates began their jobs. Gov. Brent Kidd and Lt. Gov. Chris Lamb of Fairbourn, Ohio, were sworn in, and appointed other boys to jobs.

Aspiring entrepreneur, Jacob James, became a sheriff of imaginary Wagon Settler County, and appointed his friends – Aaron Hoyos of real-life Bowling Green, Eamon Kenny of Cincinnati, and Adam Rector of Lima – as deputy sheriffs. Ryan Dotson was elected as a senator.

All the boys must walk as carefully on the sidewalks as if they were driving on public streets, which means following all Ohio traffic laws. Lawbreakers may be ticketed or held in the jail. This year, the jail was located near the basketball courts between Harshman and Kreisher.

There was even a daily BBS newspaper, called “the Hetuck”, staffed by the boys who capture the action as reporters and editors.

But what most interested James and his new buddies was the imaginary BBS money.

We’re thinking about starting to print out little pictures of cars and sell ’em to people, and say, like, ‘That’s what you’re driving.’ Because, ya know, we set up roads and stuff. So, just to say you have a cool car,” James said.

James has already earned money as campaign contributions when he ran for sheriff. All that money was deposited into a BBS bank account. After paying the taxes required of all BBS citizens, James said that the boys can spend that money however they choose.

“The money’s not really good for anything unless you need supplies, but it’s mainly for bragging, so I just look good if I have a lot of money,” James said.