A Marathi Leader
Competition between high school students has reached an apex in academics and
in extracurricular activities, and for this reason students constantly scrounge for
opportunities to decorate their resumes. I feel slightly guilty to confess that this was
exactly my attitude when I joined JSA in sophomore year. It was a stroke of luck that I
chose that club out of the hundred or so offered at South Brunswick High School, for
attending that meeting was the single greatest move of my high school career.
The Junior Statesmen of America is the largest student-run organization in
America, and is a non-partisan foundation that promotes the enhancement of students’
political knowledge through the art of debate and discussion. It differs from Model
United Nations (MUN) in that it focuses more on domestic issues, issues which I
personally believe are more crucial to us in an election year, one during which the U.S.
U.S. economy is at its lowest point since the Great Depression. JSA is also unlike an
ordinary debate team because it is nonexclusive and withdraws from an overly
competitive atmosphere, allowing all members to benefit from the plethora of
opportunities it offers.
JSA is the quintessential political and leadership experience. In the summer of
2007, I was invited to attend the New Jersey Symposium on Leadership and Politics,
where I spent four days at Princeton University listening to and questioning prominent
political speakers like Commissioner Kris Kolluri and State Senator Bill Baroni. Also,
because of my position as the Mid-Atlantic State Director of Debate, I was honored to
introduce, and converse with, Congressman Rush Holt, who is an active member in the
Indian - American community. It is a tremendous feeling to establish personal contact
with such important figures.
But JSA truly changed my life last February when I announced my candidacy for
Mid-Atlantic State Lieutenant Governor. Running for office was, to say the least,
exhilarating. Creating campaign posters, attending candidates’ forums, performing at
“Candidates’ Idol,” and advertising my platform was all essential to the campaign and my
development as a statesman and an individual. The Mid-Atlantic State encompasses
members from New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina,
and even from the Virgin Islands. And when I was elected the Lieutenant Governor in
April, I was elected to represent ALL of them, and am now in charge of expansion,
community service, the state newspaper, the state legislation, and the state archive for the
entire Mid-Atlantic State.
My intention is not to list my accomplishments in hopes of hearing “ooh’s” and
“aah’s” from the Marathi community, but rather to demonstrate the impact that one
individual can have on a large group of people. The privilege of voting is an excellent
representation of this ideal; you, the registered Marathi voters, have the power to elect an
individual who will shape America’s future for the next four years and hopefully pull us
out of this quagmire, so I implore you, as a non-voting minor, to make use of America’s
greatest freedoms this November.
To my fellow high school students, since JSA is still expanding, and because I
look forward to broadening my constituency, please feel free me to contact me if you
have an interest in JSA so that I can assist you in starting a chapter at your school. If JSA
has taught me anything, it is certainly the concept that an informed citizen is a powerful
citizen. JSA will provide you with the information, giving you the power to become one
of tomorrow’s leaders.
I would like to thank Marathi Vishwa for the opportunity to share my experiences
in JSA with my fellow Marathis. I’m proud to be a part of this community, and I hope
that I have inspired you to take a stance and become an active member of society.
According to JSA, democracy is not a spectator sport. So let us make our voices heard.
Proudly,
Manas Kulkarni
Mid-Atlantic State Lieutenant Governor
MV Teen
manas.kulkarni.91@gmail.com