Glenbard South Students Take Active Role in Presidential Debate

sophomore Stephanie Brenner wants to know what the Republican presidential candidates will do to ensure America remains a top manufacturing power.

Classmate Lee Ann Brooks wants to know what Michelle Bachmann’s plan is to ensure that Americans without health insurance have access to affordable care.

On Tuesday, these two students, along with their classmates in Elizabeth McGann’s social studies classes spent class time recording questions to pose to the field of Republican candidates participating in Thursday night’s debate sponsored by Fox News and Google. The candidates will answer video-taped questions posed from Americans including those from these students.

McGann has spent the first part of the semester exploring American politics with her history classes. Her students have paid close attention to the philosophies of the political parties to get a better understanding of the political landscape.

“When I heard about the debate format I knew this is a perfect way for them to actually see how they as citizens can reach out to the candidates even though they’re not of voting age,” McGann said.

McGann had her students research some of the hot-button political issues before submitting them to the candidates. Many of the issues raised by the students reflect the same concerns as adults, including health care, immigration, jobs and the economy, national energy concerns and the environment. She said her students eagerly took to the task, especially with a chance their face might appear on national television.

Sophomore Sean Baloun said he posed a question to Texas Gov. Rick Perry about jobs. When the governor joined the presidential campaign he touted his record for job creation in Texas, claiming that 40 percent of the nation’s jobs have been created in Texas. Baloun said he wanted to know what Perry would do on the national scene.

Baloun wasn’t the only student interested in the economy. Several of the sophomore students wanted to know how the candidates would stimulate the economy and the growth of jobs. It’s an issue that hit home with some of the students who have older family members out of work or working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Daniel Diego and Mya Gillespie-Jones both have extended family living with their immediate family due to a lack of employment.

After listening to Republican reaction to President Barack Obama’s latest economic stimulus plan, Gillespie-Jones said she wanted to know what the Republican candidates would do to put Americans back to work.

Tarah Valdez also reached out to Perry in her question. With relatives in Texas and on the other side of the Mexican border, Valdez wanted to know what Perry’s plan was to protect people from the Mexican drug cartels not only in his state, but in all the border states.

McGann challenged the students to look at their views regarding current events and see how they line up with the philosophies of the Republican and Democratic parties.

“I am really encouraging them to understand issues and how that impacts their personal political beliefs,” McGann said.

So far that’s a formula that seems to work with the students. Brenner said she finds herself falling more in line with the philosophy of the Republican Party, while Brooks said she leans more to the left politically, particularly along social issues such as gay marriage. Although a Catholic, Brooks said she does not believe religion should play a role in determining who should be allowed to legally marry.

But other students said they don’t necessarily feel like they fall under a party banner right now.

“I’m conservative about some things and other things I’m more to the left on. It just depends on the issue,” Baloun said.