{news} Manchester Journal Inquirer: Scott Deshefy in high school debate

[David Bedell]

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/10/20/towns/enfield/doc48fc92882f0f9612036586.txt

Taking charge
Fermi students to grill 2nd Congressional District candidates on issues such
as the economy, Iraq war

By Stacey A. Silliman
Journal Inquirer
Published: Monday, October 20, 2008 10:55 AM EDT

ENFIELD - When the three candidates for the 2nd Congressional District take
the stage at Fermi High School on Tuesday to debate, they'll face a panel of
students ready to make their mark on the upcoming election.

The debate, which will feature a two-minute answer and one-minute rebuttal
format for questions, will begin at 7 p.m. at the high school on North Maple
Street. The public is invited.

The students said their debate might be the only one to feature Green Party
candidate G. Scott Deshefy along with incumbent U.S. Rep. Joseph D.
Courtney, D-2nd District, and Republican Sean Sullivan. The candidates will
draw numbers out of a hat to determine the initial speaking order.

"I think he brings an interesting perspective and I think people are looking
for something beyond Democrat and Republican," Meghan Ruff, a student
panelist, said of the decision to include Deshefy in Tuesday's debate.

"We also believe in fairness and there's a lot of green issues going on
right now," Valerie Bak, the debate's greeter, added.

More than 20 students have been researching the issues and the candidates
for nearly a month to prepare questions for a panel of four students to ask.
Ray Hardman of National Public Radio will moderate the debate and he will be
permitted to ask follow-up questions if the students do not.

Rachael Barillari, one of the student panelists, said the debate will be
divided into foreign policy, domestic policy, and a section of questions on
issues the student body deemed most important, such as college affordability
and the economy.

"The economy is No. 1, it's been everywhere, bombarding us," Bethany
Sullivan, another student organizer, said of many of the debate's focus
questions.

Students also rated the war in Iraq second in their hierarchy of issues,
with the environment third, according to Barillari.

"We have to let these people know that we do know what we're talking about
and we are going to be involved - we're about to become voters, so they
better pay attention to us," Sullivan added of the student driven portion of
the debate.

All of the student panelists said they had watched the presidential debates
between Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., but didn't
garner any real insight from the moderators of those encounters to be used
in their own debate.

The debate program is part of the schools' Youth Vote program, which begins
in fourth grade, according to Amy Witbro, partnership coordinator for
Enfield public schools. Most of the students involved in the debate program
are juniors and seniors who are not able to vote yet.

"A lot more people are interested this time," student panelist Michelle
Polek said of her fellow students. "We're the next generation and we're
starting to take charge."


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