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Meeting the candidates in a new way
10/27/07 8:30 PM
By: Deborah Tuff
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Robert Mitchell III, 20, attends Wake Tech Community College. He has a spinal condition which requires him to walk with a cane. In a question-answer forum, Mitchell was able to ask presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton if she supports stem cell research-- which could one day possibly enable him to get rid of his cane.
"She basically said she would end President Bush's ‘War on Science,’" said Mitchell.
Wake Tech served as one of three hosts across the nation to air a live telecast chat-session with presidential candidates this weekend. Democratic candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, and former Sen. John Edwards, and Republican Candidate John Cox volunteered to take part.
"It’s really cool because you have this video-conferencing software so you don't even have to be in the same state or the same region as them," said Fuquay-Varina High student Sean Reynolds.
The questions ranged from nuclear missiles to health care.
Sen. Hillary Clinton was one of the candidates taking part in the tele-chat. |
"We're trying to engage young people,” said John White, with the non-profit organization Generation Engage. “Our target demographic is 16-30 year olds."
Scores of college and high school students attended, many of them first-time voters.
"…More people, more young people are actually caring about politics today," added Fuquay-Varina High School student Charles Howe.
In the meantime, Mitchell says he looks forward to the future -- one he hopes will be minus his cane.
"This is one of the best days of my life, needless to say, so I’m very excited,” he said.
The video tele-chat with the presidential candidates is a partnership between Generation Engage and The League of Rural Voters.
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