Countywide : Students to Have Say in Governor’s Race

With elections less than two weeks away, area high school students will campaign in a mock race for the state’s governorship today and debate topical voter issues with their peers from neighboring counties.

About 25 students from Ventura County schools, including Westlake High School, Ventura High School and Rio Mesa High School, will participate in the conference, “Election ‘90: The Future of California.”

Sponsored by the Junior State, a nonpartisan, political group for high school students, the conference will include addresses by representatives of the campaigns of gubernatorial candidates Dianne Feinstein and Pete Wilson.

Student representatives, including about 75 other teen-agers from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, will campaign for the candidates of their choice throughout the afternoon.

The conference--beginning at the University of California, Santa Barbara, about 9 a.m.--will include debates on issues such as restricting obscene music and offering Channel One in schools.

“A lot of teen-agers my age aren’t familiar with these topics,” said Anna-Liza Pascual, a junior at Royal High School in Simi Valley. “I think this club is very useful because it educates us. But it makes it fun.”

Organizers hope that the conference creates “a pool of informed voters who will hopefully push their peers to be the same,” said Don Smith, program director for the Junior State.

“It’s a critical point in their lives where they begin to form the habits they’ll take with them into adulthood,” Smith said. “Students will recognize that they have a stake now in affecting their lives.”

While many are not of age to vote, a few of the local students said they hoped that the conference would clarify which candidate has taken a more proactive position on education, among other issues.

“It’s important for young leaders to know what’s going on,” said Anna Fouke, a senior at Ventura High School who will attend the conference. “Even if we can’t vote, we should still be aware of the issues.”

She added that the conference “allows students to take a stand on things they don’t normally have a voice in.”