January 13, 2022

Dripping Springs High School senior Lizzie Galassini placed sixth at the two-day UIL 5A State Congress Tournament held Jan. 11-12 at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Galassini competed against 50 state qualifiers and was one of 18 students to advance to the finals.

Galassini captured the UIL Region 13 Congress Tournament title in November to qualify for the state tournament.

Topics debated at the state tournament included establishing a universal basic income, designating Election Day as a federal holiday, decriminalizing drug use, instituting a carbon tax, providing tuition-free college or trade school, and increasing funding for non-lethal weapons for police officers.

Congress is an individual contest in a large group setting that models the legislative process of the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements) submitted to the tournament, and they research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies prior to the contest to prepare their speeches. At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal discourse on the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation, and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined.