ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 12, 1996 TAG: 9603120065
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: HALE SHEIKERZ STAFF WRITER
Callie Raulfs has attended only four days of classes since January. She's visited her home in Christiansburg only once.
Instead, the 14-year-old Christiansburg High School freshman has spent her winter nights at the Omni Hotel in Richmond. During the day, she's eaten at downtown cafes, attended meetings, taken a trip to the circus and kept up with issues such as juvenile crime, new speed limits and environmental laws.
It was all part of her job as a head page in the Virginia House of Delegates.
By 8:30 a.m. every weekday and occasionally on weekends, Raulfs was at work in the bustling state capitol along with delegates, senators and the 59 other high school students who serve as pages in the General Assembly.
Two other students from the New River Valley also were pages: Nathan Johnson, a Christiansburg Middle School student, worked in the House of Delegates; Melissa Jo Rich, a freshman at Christiansburg High, worked in the Senate.
When the assembly is in session, Raulfs' primary responsibility is to take charge of the other 39 pages in the House of Delegates who, like her, have been away from home since the legislature convened Jan. 10.
She makes sure the other pages do their assigned jobs - that they keep bill books up to date, perform general office duties, run errands and answer the phones in the clerk's office. They also work on special projects and on the floor of the General Assembly.
"I think a lot of people like being on the floor better, but that's preference," Raulfs said.
Raulfs became interested in being a page in the seventh grade, when she visited the state Capitol on a field trip. There she learned that pages had to be 13 or 14 years old, have good grades and be endorsed by their delegate or senator.
So Raulfs met with Del. Jim Shuler, D-Blacksburg, and received his endorsement. Then she submitted an application to the speaker of the House, who selects student pages. By 1995, she was working in Richmond.
"I feel very proud of doing this," she said recently. "I think it's a neat experience to work at the Capitol and to meet delegates, senators and the governor, to be a part of everything that goes on."
This year, Raulfs was the only page in the House who wasn't a rookie; all head pages must serve as pages first.
In the Senate, however, everyone's a rookie; you can only be a Senate page once.
"You didn't feel strange because it was new for everybody," Rich said Monday. "You got to get used to it together."
Pages who aren't from the Richmond area bunk at the Omni Hotel, two to a room during the assembly session.
House pages are divided up, girls on one floor, boys on another and staff members from the House clerk's office take turns as chaperones, said Bruce Jammerson, clerk of the House of Delegates.
There are fewer Senate pages, so they're grouped together in one hall, also with chaperones.
"You miss home cooking and your own room," Rich said. "It's like living for two months in the Marriott." (On the brighter side, you don't have to worry about cleaning your room; the Omni provides maid service.)
The students receive $150 a week to cover expenses such as their food from restaurants and eateries near the hotel. They also receive wages of $125 a week.
Being away from home and school doesn't mean the students are free of homework. All pages attend mandatory study halls every night for two hours. They receive their assignments and homework by mail and e-mail. Tutors are provided, but students also rely on themselves.
"It's hard to keep up with everything," Raulfs said. "You have to teach yourself."
Johnson said he gets distracted during study hall because he gets interested in what the other students are doing. He often ends up doing his homework in his room after the study hall is over.
And of course, the pages get plenty of education from their hands-on experience with government and legislation.
"It's been really fun. I wish it could last all year," said Johnson, who wasn't interested in politics or government until recently. "I didn't know what to [expect] ... but [the delegates] goof up a lot during session and it makes me a lot more relaxed."
The pages left office Saturday at 5 p.m. even though the assembly continued past its adjournment deadline.
Monday morning, all three of them were back in school.
"It's different from going to work every day," Rich said. She plans to check into the requirements for becoming a page with the U.S. Senate.
Though she had a great time as a page, Raulfs says her political career may be over now.
"I think there are other ways I can help people more directly, such as a social worker or teacher," she said. "You can see the results of your efforts more than if you were a politician."
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STEVE HELBER/AP. 1. Head page for the House ofby CNBDelegates, Callie Raulfs, shakes the hand of Gov. George Allen after
a bill signing ceremony at the Capitol in Richmond. 2. Senate page
Melissa Rich delivers papers to State Senators Louise Lucas,
D-Portsmouth, left, and Henry Marsh, D-Richmond, during the session.
3. House page Nathan Johnson, center talks with Del. Morgan
Griffith, R-Salem, right, and Del. James Dillard, R-Farifax, after
delivering drinks on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates at
the Capitol in Richmond. color. KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996