Kids' Election gubernatorial debate energizes young 'voters'
By Bill Brooks, media consultant and freelance writer, Indianapolis,
Ind.
Woody Nichols admits that he had second thoughts when he
walked into the packed auditorium in the Children's Museum
of Indianapolis.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking," said the Delphi
Middle School eighth-grader, one of 10 students from around
the state selected to ask a question to Indiana's three gubernatorial
candidates during the Indiana Kids' Election Town Hall Meeting.
"I didn't know what to expect," said Woody, who
asked the candidates their opinions on city ordinances aimed
at keeping children away from violent video games.
Gov. Frank O'Bannon, the Democrat candidate, said he didn't
object to the local attempts to protect children, while U.S.
Rep. David McIntosh (R) doubted the law would work, preferring
instead to find ways to help parents guide their children.
Libertarian candidate Andrew Horning, meanwhile, used the
law as an example of the "too many laws that have been
made with the best of intentions. But there are too many problems
with that kind of law."
Those comments resonated with Woody, who observed that "the
Libertarian was pretty good."
The plain-talking Horning, in fact, seemed to captivate many
of the students. None of the three candidates, however, impressed
Zionsville High School senior Samantha Schein, who asked the
three men about their plans to encourage business expansion
in Indiana.
"I think they all avoided my question," she said.
"I don't think I got a clear answer from anybody. If
anybody, Mr. Horning was the only one."
But Samantha, a year away from her 18th birthday, said she
was eagerly looking forward to being able to vote. That sentiment
was echoed by her Zionsville classmate Mark Shortz, who wasn't
among the students asking questions, but was indeed one of
the students listening intently.
"I thought it was a very good debate," Mark said.
"It was a good opportunity for children to see the issues
that are really relevant to us," the Zionsville senior
continued, "and about how the governor is going to affect
us in the long run."
Mark, who has already turned 18, said the debate made him
more likely to vote -- but he's keeping his choice to himself.
That's perfectly okay to the gubernatorial candidates, who
each echoed praise for the Kids' Election event.
"I wish we could do this more," Horning said, adding
that students "are the ones I have the most hope for.
They haven't set themselves in that Democrat versus Republican
partisan mold yet. I would like to have a more open-minded
generation."
McIntosh, who during the debate asked every student to promise
they would vote when they are old enough, praised the Kids'
Election debate format, which saw the candidates field more
questions than in their other debates. He also praised the
program that promotes civic awareness.
"We should urge children at an early age to get involved,"
he said. "This event encourages them, makes them part
of the program."
Gov. O'Bannon agreed. "It's wonderful," he said.
"Anything we can do to get students at an early age to
be community-minded -- and to not be completely self-centered
like all of us were when we grew up. If we can get that,"
the governor continued, "then we're really setting the
base for democracy in the future."
About 315 students from Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Zionsville,
Fishers and Delphi filled the Children's Museum's Lilly Theatre,
while another three classrooms took part in the event through
a distance-learning television link up.
Because of that satellite transmission, Steve Jones of Bloomington's
Harmony High School was able to ask the candidates whether
or not they would support a moratorium on the death penalty;
Kiley Pedro of Crawfordsville's Tuttle Middle School asked
about random drug-testing of students involved in extracurricular
activities; and Brent Austgen of Lincoln Elementary School
in Cedar Lake asked how the candidates would help eliminate
violence in schools.
But the unofficial "question of the day" award
went to Morgan House of St. Patrick Elementary School in Terre
Haute. "Tell me why you want to be governor," she
asked the three men, each of whom had doffed their suit coats
as they shared the stage with scenery from the current production
of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
Nathan Nihiser, a freshman at Decatur Central High School,
probed the candidates about their stands on teen curfews --
and clearly didn't like the answers. Nevertheless, he approved
of the debate. "It was worth coming here," he said,
recalling writing a letter to O'Bannon when he was lieutenant
governor -- and getting a detailed response. "It was
a very good experience."
For the outgoing president of the Indiana State Bar Association,
Tom Yoder, the entire event was a winner.
"This may be the neatest thing I've been to all year,"
he said. "I think the candidates enjoyed themselves,
and the kids had a good time."
Mark Palmer, Indianapolis, chair of the ISBA's Speakers Bureau,
was pleased that the Kids' Election event gave students a
chance to ask about issues close to their hearts.
"From the kids' perspective, they got a rare opportunity
to see the candidates in an informal setting," Palmer
said. "And I think the candidates did a good job responding
to them in ways kids could relate."
Palmer said the Indiana State Bar Association, which operates
the Kids' Election program, couldn't have staged the debate
without the invaluable help of several cosponsors, including
Anthem, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Cinergy, Corporation
for Educational Communications, the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette
and News-Sentinel, Indiana Bar Foundation, Indiana Department
of Education, Indiana Secretary of State, the Indianapolis
Foundation, the Indianapolis Star, the South Bend Tribune,
and Waste Management, Inc.
Palmer said the debate was even more worthwhile, because
the videotape was available to schools all over the state.
"Hopefully they will get the message we are trying to
send."
The Indiana Kids' Election message, of course, is that citizens
should take part in the democratic process. The ISBA program
includes a speakers bureau through which volunteer attorneys
visit elementary schools to make presentations about voting
and to hand out information packets.
Another aspect of the program was an art contest, with the
three winners present at the Oct. 6 debate to receive awards
handed out by Secretary of State Sue Anne Gilroy.
And the culmination of the 2000 Indiana Kids' Election program,
of course, was a mock vote on Election Day -- with more than
700 schools signed up to take part and approximately 450,000
students "registered to vote."
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