State Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, on the right, guides students on how a bill becomes a law during an exercise Feb. 10, 2025, at Umatilla High School.

UMATILLA — Umatilla High School welcomed State Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, to teach students about the legislative process and civic engagement. 

Smith led an interactive activity Feb. 10 at the high school, guiding students on how a bill becomes a law, walking them through each step of the governmental process — from an initial idea to debate and, ultimately, a vote. 

“ The reason I do this is to show the value of the first amendment and the value that the media plays in keeping the process fluid and transparent,” Smith said. “Students come out of there with a real understanding of the actualities of how an idea can work through the process and become law. It takes what’s in the textbook and has it jump out and become a real process.” 

For this exercise, students had to decide whether chocolate should be the official ice cream of Oregon.

“I like to keep the exercises simple,” Smith said, chuckling. 

Each student played a role during the simulation such as state representative, governor, senator, lobbyist, supreme court justice and journalist. 

During the simulation, some students advocated for vanilla, others pushed for huckleberry and some argued for strawberry to be the official state ice cream instead of chocolate. 

In this case, since the young legislators couldn’t agree on the bill, it moved through different stages for further debate. When no consensus was reached, the bill was decided by a vote of the people, reflecting how ballot measures are used in real state government decisions.

“It’s just like what goes on in Salem,” Smith said. “We are trained by around 90 members in the state Legislature. You have folks with different life experiences, with different ideas and opinions. And so that’s the number one challenge, is that we’re not all the same. Then another challenge is  having a state representative and a state senator coordinated to where they work together, because that doesn’t always occur, and so in a classroom you see that.”

Smith also answered students’ questions and shared examples of recent bills that have gone into effect, emphasizing how some legislation is highly technical and requires careful consideration.

According to the UHS press release, the visit left a lasting impression on students, sparking new perspectives on the legislative process.

Brooke Gerard, a UHS student, described the experience as “impressive.”

“Something that surprised me about this whole complicated process was how easy it ended up being to understand,” Gerard said. “I’m taking a whole class about the U.S. government and its bills and laws, and none of it clicked easily. Smith explained the process within a class period. The activity was so fun and quite easy to envision, I’m now considering if it could be a career path for myself.”

“I encourage all of the students to step up and to be the next state representative, as their voice matters,” Smith said. “Hopefully, by doing this course, it’s inspiring them to see that they can do it and that in this country and in this state, anyone and everyone can become president.”

In the end, the people spoke and chose vanilla as Oregon’s official ice cream because it allows for more toppings.