by Jessica Walters

When faced with electing government officials, debates are a crucial part of the process. They allow candidates to personally communicate with voters.

Debates can be especially important if this is the voters' first experience with politics - namely, those who are finally 18 and can now legally vote. The problem is most debates, whether they are senatorial or presidential, are focused at adults, not at youth. With the upcoming election for U.S. Senate, a group of high school students felt the younger citizens of Alaska deserved a chance to ask their own questions and hear candidates' reactions.

Together with the League of Women voters, the students of Youth Vote 2004 met in May 2004 with the idea of setting up a debate strictly for younger constituents. Nina Johnson, a senior at Chugiak High School and the debate moderator, felt a youth debate was even more important than a debate aimed at older adults.

"I think its more legitimate, because I think, youth, we're what matters. You look ten, twenty years down the line, we're going to be the people making the decisions and I think our impressions now are going to have more of an impact. So, I mean sure, adults watching the debates now make a difference now, but long term I think this debate will have more of an impact than any other debate. At least that's my hope," Johnson said.

The youth debate is part of Youth Vote 2004 and the League of Women Voters' plans to increase overall youth involvement in elections, especially targeting those about to turn 18. Aside from the debate, they've provided relevant classroom curriculum and are giving kids from grade school through high school the opportunity to vote themselves in a mock election.

Unlike recent national debates, moderator Nina Johnson says the students felt it was important to invite candidates from every party, not just the predominant Democrat and Republican parties.

"I am extremely happy that we have the opportunity to do that, because, really the point of this debate was not just to tell people about this election, [it] was to educate students about the electoral process, the parties, and I think that inviting the third parties did have an immense advantage for everyone involved, that got to watch," Johnson said.

Of the seven candidates invited, five were able to attend--Tony Knowles for the Democratic Party, Scott Kohlhaas for the Libertarian Party, Jim Sykes for the Green Party, and nonpartisan candidates Marc Millican and Ted Gianoutsos. Senator Lisa Murkowski for the Republican Party and Jerry Sanders for the Alaskan Independence Party did not attend.

All the debate questions were written by students and included topics such as the war in Iraq, gay marriage, the No Child Left Behind Act and what the candidates would like their legacy to be if they were elected. There was also a lighter side to the debates with the "lightning-round questions," where the candidates shared their favorite band in high school and their favorite car. One of the most humorous moments of the debate was the tongue-in-cheek answer nonpartisan candidate Gianoutsos gave when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. His reply was, "I wanted to be Lisa's son so she could appoint me to the Senate."

Responses like this helped fuel the energy of the audience. Many students were impressed with the responses of the candidates and felt they left the debate with a more comprehensive understanding of politics and the issues.

After all the hard work, the Youth Vote 2004 volunteers were pleased with the result. Nina Johnson was especially relieved.

"It went smoothly, that's all that a debate moderator could ask for. No one was rude, everyone was respectful, and the youth in the audience got something out of it, and that's really the best case scenario for me, and I'm very happy about it."