by Tony Glavinic
Many students would volunteer more and be more active in the community if they only had more time. But how, you ask, is this possible?
How about volunteering during school?
I know it sounds crazy. But juniors and seniors at Steller Secondary School are doing just that - volunteering for political campaigns on school time, and getting government class credit for it.
Students are working at campaigns on all different levels - Diane Benson for U.S. Congress, Sarah Palin and Tony Knowles for governor, and state House and Senate candidates Bill Wielechowski, Johnny Ellis and Harry Crawford are just a few examples. Teachers don't have any influence over what candidates students volunteer for, or where they are on the political spectrum. But as Steller students Kelly McFarlane and Jonathon Ward explain, politics doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it anyway.
Glavinic: What campaign are you working for?
McFarlane: The Bill Wielechowski campaign... I chose to work for his campaign because his campaign manager seemed the most credible and the most outgoing.
Ward: I needed a credit, and I got along with the campaign manager.
So just what are students doing at these campaigns for their school credit? Volunteer Sam Holley-Kline says it's not all exciting.
“Well, I've done a lot of vacuuming so far, I take out the trash... make some phone calls, I've done a lot of shredding, data entry, and...I've eaten a lot of food, a lot of pizza; there are donuts there I sometimes eat....I've drank a ton of Coke, I swear. And they have a lot of good bottled water, and...oh yeah, I transcribed something once.”
But it isn't all manual labor. Senior Luke Miller is working primarily with Johnny Ellis' campaign.
“I am doing data entry—like, I am entering names of registered voters that are Democrat in his district. I am also helping to compile walking routes, so that he knows whose doors to go to. And then, I am also helping put up signs—yard signs—in his district, and actually in other people's districts as well...I am helping with fundraisers, and I am helping put together some promotional things. And I am also creating a video for another candidate, Val Baffone, that will go online, on YouTube.com.
But is all this really worth academic credit? Steller government teacher Jim Rehmann says that the course benefits not only the students, but the greater community as well.
“Students who have gone through this program since I've been here in 13 years are now actively involved in political campaigns, some of them are officeholders themselves... we hope that as a result of their being more connected to the nuts & bolts of a political campaign, that as a minimum they'll turn out to vote, but hopefully the greater benefit is that they'll be a better informed voter.”
And the students do feel like they are getting something out of it as well.
McFarlane: It's certainly given me some insight as to how much work a campaign takes.
Holley-Kline: It's what I'd call... boring, in that I do the same thing over and over again.
Miller: It's actually opened my eyes to a lot that goes on in more of a grassroots political campaign than you hear about like the big gubernatorial campaigns and all the scandals that can happen, and it's really refreshing because of the fact that these people—you get to meet the politicians, and you know, they're real people...
Holley-Kline: Hopefully, I'll get a pretty good letter of recommendation here...and some credit too, which would be nice.
Well, I guess experiences will vary. But if nothing else, at least students can get out there learn more about current events and politics in their community, rather than sitting in a classroom all day.
You can watch the video Luke and other students helped create here.
Campaigning for Credit
