Arkansas Girls State counselors demand reform after mass resignation

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Seventy-four out of the 78 counselors of the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State 2026 Session released a statement following the mass resignation of the entire core staff of the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State.

“We are alarmed by the current leadership of the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee,” the counselors said in a joint statement. “We commend the core staff for their courage in resigning from this program following this week’s events. These women are the heart and soul of this organization, and we stand with them.

“We affirm the testimony of all counselors and delegates alike who witnessed a Girls State that did not follow the program’s original intent: to empower young women in Arkansas to lead.

Our primary concerns include:

1. Many articulate a culture of fear and shame fostered by the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee and their unprecedented presence throughout the week, with multiple instances of body-shaming and threats of  dismissal from the program based on actions that were not explicit violations of the delegate and counselor handbooks received before the commencement of the 2026 session.

This meant that many inappropriate behaviors listed below by the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Committee members went unreported out of fear of dismissal, retaliation, and further shaming. One of the primary purposes of Girls State is to teach young women to use their voices, but the culture promoted in this year’s session promoted by the committee was one of silence. The vast majority of the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Counselors of the 2026 Session find this to be a grievous diversion from the principles of Girls State, and we refuse to allow it to go unnoticed. We will not be silenced.

In the wise words of former American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Governor of the 2009 session and an esteemed speaker for the 2026 session, LaRhonda Glover, “We will not shrink.”

2. The many individual testimonies of alleged mistreatment and disrespect of counselors and delegates by members of the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Committee, including a baseless search of a delegate’s room at 1:00 AM by American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee chair Melissa Mangini following supposed allegations of the delegate owning a vape. This traumatic experience negatively impacted all delegates involved, and Mangini’s search yielded no results. Additionally, many counselors and delegates reported disparaging comments by the members of the American Legion Auxiliary in attendance at the session, with no resolution to their claims despite reporting them to the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee. Two notable examples of this behavior include an American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Committee member allegedly asking a counselor if a delegate “was pregnant” because of her appearance and another American Legion Auxiliary member allegedly swearing at and threatening a counselor with violence during the session. Although we do not have proof of every disparaging comment made by these women, we choose to believe the counselors and delegates who experienced this inhumane treatment firsthand.

3. The sudden onset of a lack of diversity amongst selection-based roles/awards within the program. During this session of Girls State, the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Committee took strides to eliminate the role of the former Girls State staff in the selection vote of the Girls Nation senators, leaving zero staff members with a vote, with all of the selection power falling to the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Committee members. Notably, one counselor alleges the disregard and disconsideration of all recommendations made by Girls State Junior Counselors per an admission allegedly made by American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee Chair Melissa Mangini. Upon this change, the Senator positions—while undoubtedly filled by qualified, deserving, and worthy girls who are at no fault—notably displayed a lack of diversity that is not typically seen amongst these positions in previous sessions of American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State. Furthermore, the many recipients of scholarships awarded primarily by the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Committee also displayed a similar lack of diversity. Changes to the Girls State program were made that also happened to highlight and exemplify specific girls that fit into the same demographic as the aforementioned award recipients, while simultaneously limiting the spotlight from those that did not, namely the delegate-elected Governors of Arkansas Girls State.

4. A dress code that many have interpreted as misogynistic and oppressive was put into place for this year’s session by the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee that included knee-length requirements for dresses and skirts, no shorts, no tight pants unless the top’s length ended at the mid-thigh, no rips/tears/frayed jeans, and shirts that must cover shoulders and do not show any cleavage. Members of the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee engaged in the frequent shaming of delegates and counselors who were unable to dress according to the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee’s standards due to the unclear regulations that were not communicated in their entirety before arriving on Harding’s campus for this year’s program.

This dress code also exposed all those subjected to it to the dangerous effects of extreme heat while wearing clothing that covered most of their bodies in temperatures as high as 90 degrees. Even as delegates experiencing adverse effects from the heat were instructed by the nursing staff to remove their outerwear, they were afraid to do so in case it would violate the dress code. Even parents were required to follow the dress code in order to enter registration, despite no prior warning being published before arrival on Harding’s campus. We were told that the purpose of the dress code was “modesty and professionalism”, but elected officials attending as guest speakers were able to maintain professionalism while wearing items of clothing that clearly broke the dress code. Additionally, members of the American Legion Auxiliary were allowed to break the very dress code they put in place with no repercussions. We find the dress code put into place by the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee during the 2026 session to be degrading, hypocritical, and dangerous.

For many of us, Girls State has been a life-changing experience. We have donated our time to this program for multiple years and continue coming back because, like the core staff, we remain dedicated to the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State. We do not want to see an end to the program that has had such a large impact on our lives, but we must see change to consider continuing to serve with American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State or encouraging others to do the same. We call for a returned emphasis on diversity and inclusion within Girls State so that every Girls State girl feels celebrated and supported. We call for reform of the program’s dress code and standards of behavior that empower young women instead of shaming them. We call for an American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State Committee that will partner with us in reuniting the program under these demands and take accountability publicly for their failures to do so throughout the 2026 session. A verse of our Girls State song reads, “From our leaders, we will learn for some day will come our turn to fulfill their utmost plan: A lasting peace for every man.” It has come our turn, and we will not settle for a Girls State that does not adhere to our mission of empowering every young woman to lead.