Study Of Presidential Election Lights Students’ Political Fire

By Larissa Lytwyn

Though not quite old enough to cast a ballot, middle and high school students across the nation have been studying the presidential election in their social studies classes.

Most of these students have formed strong, research-supported opinions they will continue to share with poll-bound friends and family until November 2.

Seventh graders in Newtown Middle School’s Orange cluster are no exception. They have spent the month of October studying the election with social studies teacher Oona Mulligan.

“It’s amazing how well-informed they have become,” Ms Mulligan said. “They have really done their research and are more informed on the issues than many voters!”

With the aid of up-to-the-minute news stories, educational websites, and a multitude of other resources, the students researched issues including education, the economy, the War on Iraq, homeland security, and the environment to write persuasive essays aimed at convincing undecided voters which major presidential candidate they should support.

The information they collected, including their culminating essay, was organized into a scrapbook.

“They then used the information they’d supported in their essay to make campaign ads for the candidate they favored,” explained Ms Mulligan. “I hold a degree in marketing, so the advertising field is of great interest to me. We spent a long time studying the way advertisements are produced and used to persuade [the public].”

Ms Mulligan said that students’ ads had to integrate a slogan, which she described as akin to a thesis statement, into a poster featuring three issue-driven “talking points” aimed at persuading voters.

Students also had to consider their advertisement’s audience, writing what their target-audience would be in the corner of their poster.

Nearly all the students said their advertisement targeted young adults approximately between the ages of 18 and 24. The advertisements are currently being displayed in the school’s A-wing stairwell.

“We also studied political cartoons, and the students will next be creating their own cartoons,” said Ms Mulligan.

Students were also shown segments of the three presidential and vice presidential debates in class.

When asked if studying the presidential campaign had inspired an interest in politics, virtually every student’s hand was raised.

Bursting with animation, students discussed the reasons why they supported President George W. Bush, Senator John Kerry, and even candidate Ralph Nader.

“At first I was leaning toward [Mr] Kerry, because I was mad at [President] Bush for the war [in Iraq],” said Tracy Dunn. “I was really upset because my DARE officer had been sent to Iraq, and then I learned that his partner had been killed there. I was really afraid that my DARE officer might die, too.”

But then, she said, she began to research President Bush’s hard-line stance on the war and felt it was “necessary” to “stay the course.”

“I know there is a good reason that we are there,” she concluded.

Another student, Emily Edgerton, experienced an opposite evolution of opinion.

“In the beginning, I really liked [President] Bush,” she said. “But later, through my research, I came to believe that we are focusing too much on the war in Iraq and less on domestic issues, with the job loss [over a four-year period] and everything. So now I support [Senator] Kerry.”

“I believe [Senator] Kerry will form stronger, better political alliances with European countries,” put in Danny Clement.

Matt Beier said that before beginning the political projects, he had rarely thought about politics. “Now I realize how important it is, to everyone,” he said. “It’s all around us. It’s how things run.” He said that homeland security was the issue most important to him. But, he continued, he was unimpressed with both President Bush and Senator Kerry.

“I think both [President Bush and Senator Kerry] could be a lot better,” he said. Perhaps this is why Shane Casey supports Ralph Nader.

“I believe Mr Nader would do a lot of great things for this country,” he said. “He is a big supporter of the environment and also education and other issues.”

Shane said he thinks Mr Nader’s beliefs reflect both President Bush and Senator Kerry’s stances. But Mr Nader, Shane continued, uses it to form a stronger, more comprehensive plan.

In his essay, Shane wrote, “Some of today’s recycling plants do not recycle the trash they get. Instead, they just hold onto it because they do not have the funds, or the facilities, capable of operating correctly. Mr Nader will build newer, more efficient facilities that will get the job done.”

Benjamin Miles said he believes that Senator Kerry can also “clean up the environment.”

“[Senator] Kerry wants to use alternative energy sources, instead of oil, for power,” he said. Additionally, Benjamin argued, Senator Kerry has an excellent plan to create more jobs.

In his essay, Benjamin wrote that the senator would “successfully recreate the 12,700,000 manufacturing jobs that were lost under President Bush in the past four years.”

Not surprisingly, the students were also concerned about education.

Kristen Tanner and Rachel Ruiz agree that the No Child Left Behind Act is a strong program.

Despite objections by Benjamin and fellow Senator Kerry supporters Bridget Naphen, Calvin Song and Brady Eggleston that the program is underfunded, Kristen said that the achievement of the act was significant in itself.

“It sets really high standards for our students,” said Kristen.

“In the long run, it will make students better achievers and get better jobs and everything,” added Rachel.

Shane, however, said that the act itself, with its emphasis on standardized testing, would have a negative effect on students’ psyche. “Mr Nader is against standardized testing,” he said. “He knows how much stress and strain it could put on students!”

Brady talked about how she believed Senator Kerry was a stronger, more effective speaker than President Bush, as evidenced by the debates.

“He stutters a lot and often doesn’t seem to have a very good idea of what he’s talking about,” she observed. “But [Senator] Kerry has a really good idea of what we need to do.”

Benjamin said that Senator Kerry “knows how we need to get out of Iraq.”

Rachel and Kristen balked.

“We need to stick it out,” said Rachel, “and stay the course.”

“It wouldn’t be safe to get out in six months, like Senator Kerry says,” said Kristen. “I believe that during this period of war, it wouldn’t be a good idea to have someone else in office. We need to stick with President Bush. He has all the facts, all the knowledge. And he’s had four years of experience.”

In contrast, Bridget argued that Senator Kerry would strong former alliances with other nations.

In her essay, she wrote, “[Senator] Kerry would create a safer and healthier environment,” as well as create more jobs, better fund the No Child Left Behind Act, and provide health insurance for all American children.

In his essay, Calvin reflected on how “millions of people are without any health care at all.”

Covering every child, he wrote, would be the beginning of a truly reformed, more effective health care system.

“The way the kids have identified all the issues and really supported their points, as you can see, with a lot of information, is really great,” said Ms Mulligan. “We’ve done a lot of work on this [political campaign]. It’s great to see how these students have developed an interest in politics. Now, let’s hope they keep that interest going when they turn 18!”