If Only They Could Vote : Campaigners Hear Different Schools of Thought at a Forum in North Hills Gym

It felt more like a pep rally than a political forum, what with the cheerleaders and the spirit band.

But once the crowd of 1,000 elementary, junior high and high school students inside the Monroe High School gym in North Hills settled into their seats Tuesday, a dozen politicos--from presidential campaign workers to candidates for state and federal office--took to the microphone for some straight talk about next week’s election.

“This election is really about you, all of you,” Justin Hughes, a representative of Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, told the crowd, which responded with an ovation to match any touchdown celebration.

Most in the crowd were too young to vote in the Nov. 3 election, but Tuesday’s program was part of the Monroe law and government magnet school’s effort to get students involved in the political process. Since late September, Monroe students have presented lessons on politics and government to classes at two junior high and an elementary school.

On Tuesday, the message students said they wanted to send candidates was that although they may not be old enough to vote in this election, many will be by 1996. And if politicians want their votes then, they’re going to have to start working for them now.

“In the past, I’ve felt not included in what’s going on,” said Angele Ralph, 17, a senior at Monroe. “With programs like this, people are actually thinking about you.”

Or at least trying.

Republican candidates and representatives from President Bush’s reelection campaign tried to drum up support for the Grand Old Party by mentioning the double-digit inflation under Jimmy Carter’s Administration in the late 1970s.

“Jimmy who?” a few students snickered. Many of the younger students were not born until well into the Ronald Reagan era.

And the Republican candidate in the 40th Assembly District race, Horace Heidt, got an unexpected response when he ticked off the failings of the Democratic Congress and then asked the crowd, “Do you want to blame it all on the President?”

“Yes!” the students shouted in unison.

Although the crowd was decidedly Democratic--cheering wildly for candidates who supported abortion rights and increased education spending--Democrats were not spared the barbs when the students thought candidates were talking down to them.

“Bill Clinton . . . asked me to give his greetings to one of his favorite high schools,” Hughes said.

“Yeah, right,” someone sneered.

During a brief question-and-answer period at the end of the hourlong program, Joseph Hobley, a 10-year-old from Gledhill Street Elementary School, asked a question that most adults would like to have answered: “Why do you have to make fun of somebody just to get a vote?”

Republican Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn’s representative, Jaylene Hobrecht, hemmed and hawed for several seconds, then finally responded.

“People need to know about her record,” she said, referring to Herschensohn’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Barbara Boxer.

Joseph was not impressed as he shuffled back to his seat on the gym’s hardwood floor.