Serve as a Statehouse Page!

Area senators today invite local middle and high school students to make the Indiana Statehouse their "classroom for a day" by serving as Senate pages during the 2011 Indiana General Assembly.

Pages have the opportunity to spend a day at the Statehouse working with their senator and Senate staff in the upcoming legislative session, which runs from Wednesday, Jan. 5 to Friday, April 29.

"Students who page, learn about the legislative process through observation and participation," said State Sen. Dennis Kruse (R-Auburn). "By interacting firsthand with legislators and staff, state government is brought to life. Pages get to see lawmakers introduce bills, debate and vote on important issues, all while meeting other students from Indiana."

State Sen. Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne) said interested students should submit page requests as soon as possible in a letter or e-mail. The student's name - as it would appear on a certificate - address, home telephone number, age and school affiliation should be included with requests. Friends wanting to page on the same day should send requests together. Wyss said specific date requests will be considered, but may not be possible.

State Sen. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City) said the Senate's page office will confirm the scheduled date after processing incoming requests.

To be a page, e-mail requests to the following addresses or all four senators can be reached toll-free at 1-800-382-9467 or by U.S. Mail at 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204:

Senator.Long@iga.in.gov
Senator.Kruse@iga.in.gov
Senator.Wyss@iga.in.gov
Senator.Banks@iga.in.gov

You may also get information on paging for a one of our Democrat representatives by visiting their website.

Participating as a page is an excused absence from school. Pages must arrive at the Statehouse by 8:30 a.m. to begin their day in orientation.They then tour the historic Statehouse and observe proceedings in either committee rooms or the Senate Chamber.

Parents are responsible for transportation and student pages provide their own lunches, which can be economically priced at the Government Center Cafeteria, Circle Centre Mall or one of the many downtown restaurants.

For additional information, call the Republican office at 1-800-382-9467 or the Democratic office at 1-317-233-9814.