It’s a landslide!

While pundits try to out-predict each other about the prospects of the close-race candidates, last week 700 Sonoma Valley High School students, in a mock presidential primary election, voted for Barak Obama for president by an overwhelming 48.5 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton limped in second with 19.6 percent. Edwards, McCain and Ron Paul, in descending order, each gained less than 5 percent of the vote.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell launched the mock presidential primary election, called MyVote California. Throughout the state, 230,000 students participated.
In addition to the presidential candidates, three initiatives offered opportunities for students to express themselves on important positions. First, should the registration fee for every car and truck be based on the amount of pollution it emits? Sixty-four percent said, “yes.” Second, should every eligible citizen be required to vote? Forty-seven percent said, “yes.” Third, should people who use e-mail to bully or harass be allowed to do so, as part of their freedom of speech? Fifty-one percent said, “yes.”
This last is significant in light of the growing concern about personal information broadcast, either knowingly or unknowingly, over the Internet. In a recent Pew study, 64 percent of teen students said they participate in at least one form of content creation on-line, including artwork, video, and personal web pages. Some 28 percent of teens had their own blog, up from 19 percent in 2004.