By DEBBIE ROSEN
Gore, Lazio elected by Oceanside Middle School students
With eyes of excitement they entered the voting booths and cast their ballots. It was the power of the people. And when all was said and done they crossed party lines, electing Vice President Al Gore to the presidency and Congressman Rick Lazio to the senate. The students had spoken.
By popular vote, young adults in the seventh and eighth grade at Oceanside Middle School learned hands-on why exercising the right to vote holds monumental meaning, according to Social Studies Chairperson Bob Fenter. Nine hundred and fifty students had the opportunity to cast their ballots in two voting booths provided by the county over the course of two days. The final count gave Vice President Al Gore 596 votes and a win over Governor George W. Bush's 354 popular votes. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton received 303 votes to Rick Lazio's winning tally of 616 ballots cast by youngsters.
Those spearheading the project made the school resemble a polling pace. Signs reading "No Electioneering Beyond This Point" adorned the main hallway. Social Studies teachers stood in front of voting booths offering explanations of just what to do. Then, the time came for students to make their voices heard.
"I didn't know why my parents had made such a big deal over voting, but now I do," said seventh grader Melissa Weiss, as the curtains opened and she walked out of the voting booth. "This was so much fun, but now I have to wait until I'm 18 to do it all over again."
Voting is just one part of what the middle school administration calls their Election Project, aimed at teaching students the importance of voting and how they can make a difference in the world. "I want the kids to walk away from this experience knowing they can have a voice in our society," said Social Studies teacher Dan Keegan. "By actually pulling that lever in the voting machines, I think it brought home the point of how one vote can truly make a difference."
With help from social studies and english teachers, and headed up by Social Studies Chairperson Bob Fenter, the Election Project will take students through the voting process, from counting ballots cast in the popular vote right to how the electoral college determines the presidency. High school Social Studies Chairperson Kevin Sheehan got involved, as well, and came up with the idea of obtaining voting booths from Nassau County to make the lesson come to life.
In preparation for voting, social studies and english teachers prepared classes by providing them with a local daily paper to read, instructed students to watch and take notes on debates, talked about the issues and held political discussions. "We want to have our students empowered and to do this they need to become informed," said Mr. Fenter. "We are also examining issues such as why did some students not vote for any senatorial candidate. Maybe they didn't know enough about the candidates or maybe it was a conscious choice."
Three seventh grade students in the class of social studies teacher Ann Mary Schwartz shared their feelings on the upcoming election and discussed who they voted for and why. Two of the three students said the first debate affected the choice they made.
Danny Weprin said that first presidential debate actually changed his mind and ultimately his vote. Originally, Danny was a Bush supporter. "Education and health are important issues for our country," said Danny. "After watching the [ first] debate, I liked what Bush had to say about education, but I agreed with everything else Gore said," he added. "It doesn't really matter what they think, thought, it matters what they're going to do."
Anastasia Cohen voted for Al Gore and Rick Lazio. While she based her presidential vote on the issues, she voted to put the republican candidate Rick Lazio in the senate for two reasons. "I don't like Hillary [Clinton]. She's not from New York," said Anastasia. "Rick Lazio is from here. He's from Long Island."
While the issues of health, education and gun control were of utmost concern to the kids, Melissa Weiss said it all comes done to a matter of trust. "While I was watching [the candidates] during the debate, Bush seemed to make things up," said Melissa. "Gore's appearance, well, he looked you straight in the face. It all comes down to who you trust."
The student election took place following the first presidential debate. Now that another debate has been broadcast and a third to come, the project will take on the electoral college. Mr. Keegan's after school club, the Yorker Club, put together boards itemizing each state, teacher names, names of candidates, and number of votes. This past Thursday and Friday, October 12 and 13, teachers reached into one manila envelope, revealing the state their class would become. On November third, classes will have a representative relay their state's number of electoral college votes to be tallied onto the board. "Ultimately, students will see how their popular votes cast compare to the electoral votes," said Mr. Fenter. "Then we will know who really won the election."
