Debate season open for younger set, too
While presidential debates are the focus of most adults in America, members of the Junior Statesmen of America, most between the ages of 15 and 18, met at the University of Houston on Saturday to have their own debates about the issues of the day.
The students took part in amock presidential election ( President Barack Obama carried the day over challengerMitt Romney) and debated various resolutions.
Carnegie Vanguard High School junior Indre Altman moderated a gun- control debate, and defended voter identification laws in another discussion.
65 attended
“It was a good opportunity to practicemy skills,” said Altman. “I tried to address every point ofmy opponent and answer every question I was asked honestly.”
Clear Creek Senior Toni Nickel was one of several JSA leaders who organized the event.
“We had a nice turnout” of about 65 participants, said Nickel, who represents the Texas branch of the JSA as junior state governor. “We had some very lively discussion. We like to look at ourselves as what we think the president and Congress and the Legislature should look like.”
The students, all from the Gulf Coast region, questioned each other over political issues such as the Keystone XL pipeline and the extension of the Bush tax cuts.
Guest speakers
Students also heard from guest speakers, including UH professor Renée D. Cross and Paul Bettencourt, a Harris County Republican Party Advisory Board member and former county tax assessor- collector.
“If you take away anything today I want you to take away this: Whether you’re in business or politics, you cannot act indifferent,” Bettencourt said.
Cross began her talk by quizzing students.
“Who can define a political party? What’s the difference between ideology and partisanship?” she asked. “You didn’t think you were going to just sit there all morning, did you? You’re not going to be graded— so don’t worry.”
Honing skills
The JSA, which held similar conferences in other areas of the country, is the largest high school student- run organization in the United States.
The debates and speakers are designed to help the students increase their leadership and public speaking abilities.
JSA leaders also addressed the members on the importance of political participation.
“It’s not just Romney or Obama,” Nickel told his fellow students. “Voting for the justice of the peace of your area may not seem like a big deal, but for the people that go before him or her, it becomes life changing. This is activism at its finest.”