About 550 rising high school seniors are on the University’s campus this week running a mock state government through the 73rd annual American Legion Boys State program, according to a UA news release.

Boys State Director, Judge Pete Johnson, said schools statewide elect outstanding male high school juniors for Boys State, giving them the opportunity to participate in community service projects as well as learn how to become engaged in state government.

“The mission of Boys State is to develop citizenship,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to create a healthy interest in government.”

By creating a mock state government, Johnson said, students are given the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the Alabama state government by playing the roles of the state’s key authoritative positions.

For the second year, Boys State will be working community service into te participants’ schedules. Volunteers will be partnering with the UA Community Service Center, the City of Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa City Schools and Tuscaloosa Parks and Recreation Authority, said the University’s director of community service, Wahnee Sherman.

The volunteers will be helping renovate Alberta, Martin Luther King, Jr., Northington and Skyland Elementary schools.

“We’re … painting the court lines, putting in a new backboard and just generally renovating,” Sherman said. The volunteers will also landscape and help with swing set installation, as teaching the importance of being active in the community is one of Boys State’s main goals.

Daniel Speck, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, said he attended Boys State in the summer of 2006.

At the first meeting, the young men are split into political parties, Speck said, and through the duration of Boys State, participants attend speeches about political issues. “You have to come together with your party and decide where you stand,” he said.

Joyce Lanning, an associate of The Climate Project, spoke about global warming Tuesday in Morgan Auditorium. By informing students about the issues with global warming, the problem can be helped, she said.

“I really think the fingerprint is there,” Lanning said. “Our fingerprints are all over the earth’s climate.”

Austin Stansky of Central High School in Florence, Ala., said that while Lanning’s point was well presented, he did not agree with her stance.

“I don’t exactly believe in global warming, but she did a good job of relaying the facts about climate change and how we can make the earth better,” he said.

Boys State also offers young men the chance to meet others with similar interests.

“The best part of this opportunity is developing friendships with guys here and growing as an individual,” Stansky said.

The opportunity to meet others drew Cole Rickles of New Hope High School in Huntsville, Ala., to Boys State.

“My counselor approached me about participating and I decided that meeting other people was worth the trip,” he said.