Week 28, Marlborough School

April 3, 2012

Town Meeting

I can't believe we are already at week 28!  Our days are numbered and we have SO much left to do, or not.  We had town meeting today to further discuss the senator idea of government.  We began with an announcement that the meeting was for peeps, not kids... please use your peep when speaking.  Our agenda consisted of senators and businesses/jobs.  It was suggested that peeps be limited to only speaking four times during the meeting to help things run more quickly.  This was seconded (in thirded and fourthed...)  "THERE ARE NO THIRDS!" shouts the moderator.  The measure fails.  The meeting is called to order at 8:24am.  Bob comes up and presents his ideas about senators:

                   - Oligarchy:
                                     3 peeps from any grade
                                     1 peep for each grade, representing 5 peeps each
                                     1 representative from each grade

Disco Dave has an idea, " I know this may sound crazy... Make everyone a senator, then there's higher things than senators, president- senate- reps... different levels of power."

Moved to vote

More discussion:
"Each grade can talk with the whole council, then the '3' will make the final decision."  "Hey, I have an idea, we could just have three grades separate as groups to make decisions, then send a rep."

"Which one would be like the senators from Star Wars?"
"ORDER!"
"We could just have no government"  "We cannot get rid of the FED"

We vote:

1. separate grades to vote (1 rep /grade)
2. 3 total people
3. 1 peep representing five peeps
4. 1 peep from each grade
5. direct democracy
6. leveled power with a president
7. anarchy

Results:

1. 2
2. 0
3. 2
4. 2
5. 2
6. 5
7. 4

"ORDER!!"

"I move to reconsider"

"Some people voted three times"

"In history women were not allowed to vote, we could just do that"

Disco Dave gets up again to tell us more about his idea, "The President was a side track of leveled power, there would be President and then dot dot dot dot dot, and then peeps.  Leveled power is sort of like a pyramid."  He then draws a block pyramid on the board with the President at the top, followed by three senators, followed by five representatives, followed by everyone else.

"The FED would still be above the president"

"All in favor of redoing this entire vote?"  11 yays, 3 nays

Re vote results:

1. 0
2. 0
3. 2
4. 0
5. 0
6. 8
7. 6

Leveled power wins- we now have a pyramid scheme government.

"RECONSIDER!"  only 4 are for another re vote.

Disco Dave tries to present again.  Morton moves, "Cut out the representative level, we don't have enough people for that."  This passes 12 to 5.

Disco Dave, "No we aren't, this was my idea..."

"Do you have to be of a specific financial standing to run?"

"You just need enough money for a campaign- or pass out 'Vote for me' papers- because I did in fact invent this..."

This is when the bell rang.  In an exit poll, half of the kids want to continue this next week, while the other half want to get back to building.  During the meeting one peep suggested that not everyone should have to participate in the meeting.  Rolph informed them that this is why we are bothering to have this discussion: to figure out who will be making decisions for our community.  The peeps of Tiny Town do not know how lucky they are that Rolph is such a simpleton, it sure would be nice if he got it together and forced some very undesirable federal laws and taxes on this town.  Something to brainstorm for next week.