Date: Fri 25-Oct-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

schools-mock-election

Full Text:

SCHOOLS

with cuts

Behind Closed Curtains: Students Practice Voting

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Suddenly, November 5, national presidential election day, isn't very far off,

and whether they like Clinton, Dole or Perot, Newtown's history and social

studies teachers want their students to be prepared.

They want them to know what the election process will be like that day, for

millions of voting Americans - and they decided October 17 and 18, that a mock

election using authentic voting booths would be the perfect way to teach that

lesson.

Before last week, for instance, students who accompanied their parents to the

polls might have felt slightly left out, not to mention curious.

Watching their parents enter the voting booths, they might have wondered what,

exactly, was happening behind those blue curtains?

Certainly, the disembodied legs didn't provide a clue.

Last week's mock election went a long way toward clearing up some of the

mystery,

The polling machines used by the students were provided by the town, as parent

volunteers and municipal checkers assisted Newtown Deputy Registrars Karin

Aurelia and Shirley Lawrenson with the mock election.

After the results were counted, it turned out the middle schoolers chose

Clinton (48 percent) over Dole (36 percent) and Perot (16 percent).

Forty-eight percent of the high schoolers who voted also gave the nod to

Clinton, with 31 percent voting for Dole and 21 percent voting for Perot.

But it wasn't their students' opinions that Newtown teachers were looking for,

it was their appreciation for the mechanics of the election process.

"Our purpose was to inform and educate. We wanted to make it as authentic as

possible... and for them to take it seriously," said Mr Simon, as he helped

ride herd on the more than 900 excited students who filed into the B-Wing

gymnasium Friday morning.

Thanks to their social studies teachers, they were ready and they were

informed. They knew why they were there and who they were voting for. They'd

even made their own photo IDs to show the checkers, complete with birth dates

and vital statistics.

"If they didn't have a photo, they drew one. Those were fun!" said parent

volunteer Judy Stowell, sitting at the head of the A-L line.

One by one, the students were checked off and told to walk up to one of the

three voting booths in the front of the gymnasium.

Volunteer Natalie Gifford, manning one voting booth, said she was pleasantly

surprised at how well the students behaved.

"Please stand behind the black line," Ms Gifford told the next student in

line.

"I watch their feet. If they don't move, then I know they're in trouble," Ms

Gifford added.

"What do I do now?" was the most common question, she said, and her reply was

usually the same.

"Push the red handle all the way to your right to close the curtain. Now vote.

And don't forget to push down the all the levers for the candidates you

choose."

"Help! How do I get out of here?" was another frequently heard comment, she

said.

After the students had voted and found out that pushing the red handle all the

way back to the left would finish the job and Yes! open the curtains, they

usually emerged with smiles of relief and accomplishment.

"It's kind of scary! Once you get inside, everything goes blank for a moment.

Then you remember what you're supposed to do," said middle schooler Sean

Surat, after it was over.

At the high school the day before, the mock vote took longer because there

were only two machines and the students could only come to the auditorium in

small groups during their social studies classes. Only 65 percent participated

in the mock machine poll, but the entire student body would be participating

October 29 during a paper ballot poll that would include registration of each

student.

Special Ed Students Fashion Flag

The national presidential election has been a perfect opportunity for special

education teachers Ellie Monroe and Paul Esposito to involve their students

with learning disabilities in a school wide project, Ms Monroe said.

"We're already thinking in terms of preparing them for the year 2,000," she

added.

The 70 students made videos and commercials about the election, learned about

political platforms and helped the art department make the paper ballots that

will be used October 29.

Most importantly, they created a huge American flag to decorate the front hall

bulletin board.

"We cut out the red and white stripes and made all the stars. Each student

signed his or her name to a star. We put 50 in the flag and the rest were

scattered around it," Ms Monroe said.

At first, her students were afraid of entering the polling booths, she said,

but they were very proud after they accomplished the task.

"But, it wasn't just the special ed students who were intimidated," she added.

"[Social studies teacher] Bob Dilzer said even some of his honor students were

afraid to go in there!"