encourage young people to get involved
From:
Terri Hyle
Date:
Jul 27 17:30 UTC
Short link
On a personal note (and one which will age me), I turned 18 and was a senior in
high school about the same time 18 year olds got the vote. A close friend's
father was a precinct committeeman (this was in Indiana) and thought it would
be a terrific idea for a newly qualified 18 year old to serve as an election
official in the upcoming primary elections. He felt it would be improper to
nominate his daughter, so he asked me if I would be willing to serve as an
election sherrif (one of the official offices for elections in Indiana, at
least at that time). It meant I got an officially sanctioned day off of
school, which is why I agreed to do it. As it turns out, it was very
educational: the other election officials treated me as a full fledged adult
for the very first time! I got paid the princely sum of $15.00--very nice bucks
for a high school kid who made less than $1.00/hr babysitting, and I got my
picture in the local paper--which greatly embarrassed me, but made my
grandmotherr proud.
More importantly, I got a chance to become involved in the political process.
My family was not political, so this was a step outside of the box for me. I
have never forgotten the experience and believe that serving in this capacity
helped develop a life long feeling of ownership in the political process.
I am all for opportunities for young adults to become part of the political
process. Gene Pelowski's mock legislature is a wonderful opportunity for
students to learn how the process works.
Terri Hyle
.