In students we trust

Posted on 10-18-2006 at DailySouthtown.com

Teresa Washington thought her teacher was crazy for painting both Illinois gubernatorial candidates as crooks during recent government classes.

So the Eisenhower High School senior went online Monday night and read up on incumbent Democrat Rod Blagojevich and Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka.

"The more I looked into it, the more I thought maybe she was right," Washington said. "That's why I chose the Green Party."

Washington is one of 900 seniors in Community High School District 218 who will participate in a mock election with real Cook County ballots and polling booths this week.

The mock election is sponsored by the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute with cooperation from the Chicago and county boards of elections. It is the culmination of a project called Students for an Educated Democracy, which strives to engage students in the voting process before they turn 18 so they are more likely to register to vote immediately after becoming eligible, field coordinator Isabel Reyes said.

Government teacher John Duckhorn emphasized how easy it was for students to fill out a registration form and cast a ballot Tuesday after most of his class completed the tasks in about six minutes. He said there was no excuse for just 47 percent of registered voters ages 18 to 24 to have voted in 2004 presidential election.

"These candidates are going to make decisions that affect the rest of your lives," he said. "What's keeping you away?"

"Laziness," students murmured.

As part of the three- to six-week project, students received copies of newspapers to follow the election campaigns and a bilingual booklet on understanding Illinois government as a supplement for their social studies, government and economics lessons. Students brainstormed a list of the qualities they look for in leaders and considered what personal characteristics should affect candidacy, such as race, age, marital status, personality and gender.

None of the youths said they cast a ballot for Topinka because she was a lady or Alex Giannoulias because he is Greek. But there was some evidence of "kitchen table" influence, with students voting along the same lines as their parents.

Gary Smith, 17, backed Blagojevich after conferring with his father. "He said he didn't like Judy Baar Topinka, he liked Blagojevich. He said Blagojevich was for the people and Topinka could be, but she's for herself now. So I voted for Blagojevich. He cares for the people, I can tell he does."

Almost 11,000 city and county students at 13 high schools are participating in the Students for an Educated Democracy this election season, but District 218 schools were the only ones to get custom referendum questions on the ballot.

Students were asked to cast a "yes" or "no" vote for three questions: Should we implement mandatory/random drug testing for all students? Should the district place metal detectors at our entrances? Should there be a community service requirement for graduation?

"We tried to steer clear of the slam dunk questions like 'Should we have an open campus,'" said social studies curriculum coordinator Sean McSweeney. Though the results are non-binding, Muir hopes to use the community service results to buoy a proposal by the student council to change graduation requirements. The results will be tabulated by the Hispanic Leadership Institute and returned next week for analysis.

But Muir's preliminary count, after one class, showed the community service requirement ahead by three votes. It was unclear if any students had requested a recount by press time.

Kati Phillips may be reached at kphillips@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5976.