Team Indiana Places Eighth in National 'We the People' Competition

High school students who represented Indiana - after preparing at Baker & Daniels' downtown Indianapolis office - in the 23rd annual We the People congressional hearing competition placed eighth among the teams competing on the national level in Washington, D.C., April 22-27, the Indiana Bar Foundation reported in Indiana Lawyer.

Team Indiana, comprised of 28 seniors from Munster High School in the northwest part of the state, was among more than 1,100 high school students from 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands, according to the story. Because the Hoosier students advanced to the top 10, the team competed in a congressional hearing room at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Baker & Daniels hosted Team Indiana at its office April 6 when lawyers from around the state, as well as educators who were familiar with the competition and constitutional law, judged the students and advised them on how to polish their presentations, Indiana Lawyer reported.

The team was supported by the Indiana Bar Foundation, as well as financial contributions from members of the state's legal community, according to the story. Since the program moved to the Indiana State Bar Association and IBF six years ago, teams representing Indiana have placed in the top 10 at the national level five out of the last six years, according to Erin Braun, director of civic education for the IBF and We the People state coordinator.