 "Photo: Nir C. Buchler")
 "Photo: Nir C. Buchler")
Churchill once said that "democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." As I was heading to Albany for a semester internship at the New York State Assembly on January 1, 2007, I kept in mind this quote. Albany used to be labeled by some as the most dysfunctional system in the country. On the same day at 6 a.m., newly elected Governor Spitzer was running in Washington Park in Albany with the slogan that "On day one everything changes."
So, we, the 160 interns of the New York State Assembly program, we knew that we were coming to Albany in a historical time.
Every year, students from colleges across New York State, intern at the New York legislators office.
The internship is competitive (students usually are given 12 to 15 credits by their colleges) and remunerated (interns are provided with a stipend of $4,140).
They are given meaningful tasks, in fact, past interns have become legislators, key players in executive offices or lobbyists.
Following a week of orientation each intern is assigned to an Assemblymember office. The staff of the program is careful in placing interns so that the interest of interns and the demand from offices are met.
For instance, upon my request I interned for the Assemblymember of the district where I live (and where Baruch College is located) and I enjoyed great responsibilities because of limited staff resources for freshman legislators.
Besides responsibilities in their offices, interns are required to attend a one-hour class per week.
I had the opportunity to attend a class taught by Professor Desfosses, who used to serve as the President of the Council of Albany and is a renowned journalist and scholar. Certainly, those classes helped us to understand the dynamics of New York State Politics.
In addition, interns have to attend weekly forums featuring distinguished speakers.
As interns were getting used to their tasks in their office, the Albany session was by all accounts very different from the past years.
New York State is unique in the sense that the Governor is very powerful. In fact, some New York governors have used Albany as a stepping stone to become U.S. Presidents. In parallel, the legislature can counterbalance the executive power.
Hence, it is not uncommon to witness a struggle of powers between the Republican Senate the Democratic Assembly and the Governor.
January and February have usually been months with low political activity in Albany, but this year we witnessed a heavy exchange between the legislature and the executive power on who to pick to replace the State comptroller.
As the legislative process went along with intensive budget negotiations and an interesting agenda of reforms, interns were assigned important tasks by their office. Some represented their Assemblymember in meetings; they greeted and wrote to constituents.
Many of us worked on bills, tracked sponsors and wrote bill memos but for many, the momentum of the internship was the mock session.
During the mock session process, interns met in conference and introduced real bills that were introduced by their respective legislators.
Those bills went through committees that interns attended and then a few bills were introduced to the floor.
Each intern strictly represented the Assemblymember of his or her office. Thus, interns who were supposed to replicate the legislative process were not supposed to represent their personal ideas but the opinions and vote of their legislators.
Interns then had the opportunity to use the Assembly chamber for three hours, sit at their legislator seat, represent, debate and vote.
This year, we intensively debated on a resolution on Iraq, a bill on sex education, a bill on TAP aid to students and a bill on emergency contraception.
As a political science major I thought that this practical experience was unique.
The program is not restricted to political science majors and every student can apply to the program.
Students interested in the program can contact Nir Buchler at nb059877@baruch.cuny.edu.
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