Four students who are juniors and seniors at Carver High School were selected to serve as pages in the Alabama Legislature this month. Naujie Lee, Janiece Payne, Joshua Prewitt and Brian Nance spent April 17 to 19 at the Statehouse.

The Alabama Legislature offers a unique opportunity for young people interested in the legislative system to participate in the legislative process through its Legislative Page Program. The Carver students were sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadway.

Each student wrote an essay and, based on that essay, their grade point average, extracurricular activities and community service, was selected to serve.

The duties of a page are varied, but normally consist of assisting the members of the house and senate and certain staff members, by performing errands on the floor of each house and during committee meetings. These errands include obtaining copies of bills, resolutions, amendments, substitutes and other official documents, as well as delivering messages to and from legislators. That means pages are provided the rare privilege to work on the floor of the house or senate, in the midst of legislative action. The students are hoping this experience will help them further understand the legislative system.

The agenda included purchase of the Talk About It program for students in grades six through 12. Talk About It is an anonymous communication program that allows students to send text messages or emails to faculty members at their schools. Students can chose to remain anonymous, although many in other schools that use the program chose to reveal their identities.

The program can be used to report bullying, personal problems, issues that classmates are experiencing and any other issue that students feel an adult needs to know. It has been shown to reduce bullying by 70 percent in some schools.

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