Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 18, 1993 TAG: 9302180380
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACIE JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
AN EDUCATION THAT GOES ONE STEP BEYOND
Thirteen-year-old Laura Houston and 15-year-old Ashlyn Cross are trying to make the most of their middle-school years by learning everything they can in school - and out.They've been absent from classes for more than a month while working as pages for the Virginia House of Delegates.
Their days are longer; workloads heavier; and schedules tighter, but they agree they've never learned more about the political process. But both have ruled out political careers.
Houston, an eighth-grader at North Cross Middle School, wants to be a psychologist, and Cross, a ninth-grader at Cave Spring Junior High, a paleontologist.
Living out of a downtown Richmond hotel with 38 other House pages and two head pages is fun, said Cross. Also, "It's neat to see some of our friends on television or in the newspapers."
But there is not a lot of time for fun. Wake-up call is between 6 to 6:30 a.m. Work begins at 8:30 a.m. sharp, and the pages grab a quick lunch between noon and 12:30 p.m. at the legendary Chicken's snack bar on the first floor of the Capitol.
After work, they walk back to their hotel and must report to the hotel cafe between 5:45 and 6:15 p.m. to eat dinner.
There's a compulsory study hall, from 7 to 9 p.m., with tutors on hand, in a hotel room. Cross and Houston usually pick up their schoolwork for the week when they come home on the weekend. Cross plans to make up her missed science labs when she returns to school and takes missed exams over the weekends.
Houston is exempt from taking the tests her classmates take while she is gone. But she does keep up with her peers' lessons and is tutored in Spanish and algebra over the weekends.
Cross, who said safety is a top priority of the pages in Richmond, is careful and aware of with whom she walks and where she walks. Even around the Capitol.
"With the NRA [National Rifle Association] people and protests, there are policemen on every elevator, even the freight elevators," said Houston, who has seen abortion protesters and NRA protesters.
The pages stick together for safety and have to dress alike: navy-blue blazers, navy skirts or slacks, white shirts and name tags.
They usually walk back and forth to the Capitol, but when it's cold they ride a shuttle bus.
No unsupervised fraternizing is allowed, so the female pages are on one floor of the hotel and the males on another. They have chaperons on the floors.
House pages must be between 12 and 14 years old and Senate pages between 13 and 15 years old when they apply for the job in late summer or early fall.
Page candidates must maintain at least a B average and be involved in extracurricular activities. House pages are endorsed by a local state delegate and appointed by the Speaker of the House. Houston and Cross were sponsored by Dels. Steve Agee, R-Salem, and Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton.
Pages earn $125 per week, in addition to $60 a week for breakfast and lunch.
They run errands, make and cancel appointments for delegates and place bills into big-ring calendar books so they are ready to be presented and acted upon. They also collate the bills and deliver them to delegates' offices.
About every two weeks, pages rotate jobs for variety.
"The first day they showed us around, but that's about it. That's all the training we really had," said Cross. She is the oldest House page this year, except for the head pages, who have a year's experience.
"The first week, if you didn't know where something was, you had to ask because you were going to take it to the wrong place," Houston said.
Houston has canceled a hair appointment, delivered non-alcoholic drinks and run to Chicken's snack bar for delegates who have been busy debating bills on the floor.
"Sometimes I get a good tip," said Houston, who insists Democrats tip more than Republicans.
A record 2,369 bills and resolutions have been introduced during this year's 46-day short session, keeping the delegates as well as the pages busy, said Raymond Via, page master of the House.
Some days are busier than others, Houston said.
"We had to stuff 3,800 envelopes. We had to fold the paper and put it with the right name on the letter and then put another piece of paper in there. Then we had to go back and put the ZIP codes and the carrier numbers. . . . It was awful, and there were only four of us doing it. We were there about three days."
Although the paycheck is gratifying, an added plus is meeting famous people, the Roanoke County pages said.
"I met Oliver North; he is so short," said Houston, who has also seen Miss Virginia in Chicken's, met local politicians and had her picture (she's standing behind a state delegate) in the Washington Post.
Cross, who has seen Gov. Douglas Wilder and other high-ranking officials, said she has yet to meet one of them.
On Fridays, if they've completed their duties early, Houston and Cross get a midafternoon head start home to Roanoke. Their parents' take turns driving them back and forth. The girls didn't know each other before they became pages.
"One [page] in 12 years has gone home because of homesickness," said Via.
Houston and Cross miss their old friends but are in no hurry to return to school. "We're having too much fun," Houston said.
"But I do miss my family," added Cross, who is looking forward to resuming her dance lessons.