Second in a Series

High school kids give election information

Lindbergh High senior Sarah Beetz was at Sappington Elementary to tell the kids about our country's election process. She ended up talking about her birthday.

The Lindbergh student was on one of several 3-person teams participating in the statewide Kids Voting 2004 program. The University of Missouri-St. Louis administers the program, which is used in many schools every two years.

This is the first year the Lindbergh School District has participated in Kids Voting. You can learn more by clicking on www.umsl.edu/services/kidsvoting.

(Young Saint Louis.com ran its first Kids Voting 2004 story last month. A third story in December will cover the statewide kids voting results in Missouri.)

About her Sappington experience, Sarah said, "We got off the track a little when we got on the subject of my birthday." She had been telling them about the qualifications for voting, including the minimum age.

One kid asked Sarah how old she was. That turned out to be a pretty good question because Sarah will be 18 before the November 2 elections.

That means, unlike many of her fellow students, Sarah can vote in the Missouri general elections. The state's minimum voting age is 18.

About her feelings on the presidential race, she said, "I'll be voting for (President George) Bush. I believe in striking at enemies before they strike us," she said. She was referring to the preemptive U.S. attack on Iraq.

Lindbergh junior Abbey Schumacher was on a team that explained the voting at Crestwood Elementary. Her views on election issues differ sharply from Sarah's.

At Lindbergh, she's a member of Students for Kerry and Amnesty International.

Although she's only 16, she thinks she may be able to deliver one adult vote for John Kerry. She said, "My sister and I share the same political views. I think my dad with vote for Bush. But, my sister and I are still working on our mother."

Abbey said some of her election discussions with the elementary kids "didn't always go in the directions we wanted. Sometimes we had to reel them back in."

However, she said one elementary kid was very knowledgeable about the 2000 president election. "He talked all about the problems in Florida and everything," she added.

Senior Andrew Garner was on a team that went to Kennerly Elementary School. In 1993, he transferred to Kennerly "when we were flooded out of our home in Illinois."

The family has lived in the Lindbergh district ever since.

He said the Kennerly kids "were happy when older kids came in. We even went on recess with them."

One of the Kennerly kids asked the high school visitors to explain the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Andrew said, "We tried to show them the line between liberals and conservatives."

But, he added, "They also asked us a lot of questions about what it's like in high school."

Senior Michelle Manley was another Lindbergh student who went back to her elementary school. She was on a team that went to Truman Elementary.

Seventeen-year-old Michelle said she talked to six different classes. She said the elementary kids seemed interested, especially the 5th graders. "The older kids had watched more news and knew more about elections," she said.

Michelle said her team had a "secret weapon" to keep the kids interested in their discussions. She said, "We asked questions and gave candy to those who had the right answers."

Junior Jake Buerke was on another team that went to Crestwood Elementary. He said the young kids showed a lot of interest in the election talks.

"We tried to put our lessons on their level," the 17-year-old said. For instance, they explained elections in terms of kids making a decision with a show of hands.

Jake said, "Some of the younger kids didn't know that that's how our country is run."

He said he and his father discuss politics quite a bit. The discussions cover such things as missile defense and whether we should be in Iraq.

However, he admits, "If I could vote, I wouldn't know who I would vote for."

Most of the Lindbergh kids said their primary voting interest was in the presidential race. Abbey Schumacher said they governor candidates don't talk much about the issues. "They are just mean to each other in their ads," she said.