For background, see entry above ("Miscellaneous Ramblings").

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Dear [Sponsoring Cooperative]:

…Although I enjoyed the trip very much, there were a few aspects of it I thought were not as great as they could be. As my sponsoring cooperative, I thought that you should be aware of these issues so that you can take any action you feel appropriate, helping to make future Youth Tours even better than this one was.

 First, you should know that I have been raised in a strong conservative, moral environment. I have served as a student leader in a Christian organization, and have become accustomed to being treated like an adult and, consequently, being expected to behave like one. On top of all this, I have grown up in Branson, which, as you know, is a community that emphasizes conservative, traditional values. With this background, I was hoping a trip to Washington DC, along with 80 of the best and brightest young people Missouri has to offer, would be an environment in which I (and others) would be expected to behave maturely and professionally.

 I was somewhat disappointed when I found that a group repeatedly described as “the cream of the crop” was allowed to behave in an unprofessional, immature manner. I was disappointed that nothing more than juvenile behavior seemed to be expected of us. It was expected that we would be loud during meetings. It was expected that we would be late getting back to the buses or meeting other time commitments. It was expected that we would be flirty and show excessive attention to the opposite gender. And the delegates performed according to these expectations. However, I think the Youth Tour delegates were entirely capable of behaving more maturely – but they did not, because they were not expected to.

 I think the behavior of the chaperones also contributed to the lowering of expectations. For example, the chaperones were always the last ones back to the bus. They also took the lead in more significant matters. Before one of the dances, two of the male chaperones, wanting to make sure that we understood what types of dancing were banned, demonstrated “dirty dancing” for us. This escalated into a big joke, and certainly did not discourage dirty dancing! I was also concerned when all the chaperones went out to dinner on the night of the all-states dance, leaving the students relatively unsupervised during what several people later told me was a fairly risqué event.

 I understand that WRVEC is not the organization that plans or sets the standards for the Youth Tour. I also understand that my values and morals are not shared by every Youth Tour delegate – or by every White River employee. However, I was concerned by the way that the Youth Tour delegates were allowed to act, and I thought it would be appropriate to let you know about my concerns. I have also sent a letter to Mike Marsch, the state director for Youth Tour, informing him of my concerns. I want to do all that I can to ensure that Youth Tour is the best possible experience for each delegate, and I know that is your goal as well.

 Again, thank you so much for sponsoring me on the Youth Tour, and thank you for considering this matter.

Sincerely,

Katie Roberts