The American Legion Buckeye Boys State program, the largest Boys State program in the country, took place on the University’s campus this past week.

American Legion Buckeye Boys State is an eight-day hands-on experience in the operation of the democratic form of government, the organization of political parties and the relationship of one to the other in shaping Ohio government, according to the Ohio Buckeye Boys State’s website.

“This is a hands on learning experience. These young men don’t come into the program to sit in classrooms to have our staff explain to them how the process works,” said Buckeye Boys state director Gerald White. “They learn about the process by being the process.”

Buckeye Boys State participants are young men from all around Ohio who just completed their junior year of high-school. This year, the program had just under 1,200 participants who represented nearly 500 high-schools, the home school community and the online school community, according to White.

The American Legion Buckeye Boys State program thrives on its abilities to provide its participants with a hands on learning experience.

“If a young man wants to know how the mayor of Bowling Green operates, he’ll run to the mayor of one of our 29 cities. If the young man wanted to know how the county commissioners in Wood County operate, again, they’ll run to the county commissioners of one of our nine counties. If a young man wants to know how Governor Kasich operates, he’ll run to the governor of Buckeye Boys State,” White said.

Participants have the opportunity to “rub shoulders with living history”, White said. The veterans of the American Legion are on staff as part of the teaching program. The program is also sponsored by the Ohio American Legion, the largest veterans organization in the State of Ohio, according to the Ohio Buckeye Boys State’s website.

The program benefits not only the young men who participate, but also the community.

“When the young man finishes the program, he knows more about how government operates in the state of Ohio than 75 percent of the general population,” White says. “Also, these young men, along the road, are going to be returning to their communities to serve on village boards and city councils. They’re going to serve in the House, the Senate. You know, they may serve in the governor’s office [or] one day be the governor. We think we’re laying the ground work for informed citizenry of the state of Ohio. We are promoting to these young men that public service is not necessarily the dirty work that a lot of people associate with it. That the public service, the public sector of government, is important to the overall function of how the state of Ohio operates.”

Bowling Green State University’s campus has been the home of the program since 1978.

“The Boys State program has been on a number of facilities in the state of Ohio since we’ve started in 1936. The boys state program has been on the BGSU campus since 1978, when our board of trustees opted to move from Ohio University, where the program has been for a number of years, up to Bowling Green State University,” White said.

The Buckeye Boys State program prides themselves on being the largest Boys State program in the country.

“The American Legion Boys State program in Ohio, we are the largest boys state program in the entire nation. Every state but Hawaii conducts a boys state program,” White said. “Again, our program is the single largest boys state program in the entire nation. We also like to think our program is the best.”