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Students participate in mock elections

By Hoa Nguyen
Staff Writer

November 1, 2006

Some Greenwich High School students came to vote at the Media Center yesterday out of curiosity, while others saw the upcoming election as pivotal to the future of the country.

"This whole set of elections can overturn the control of Congress," said Tyler Gwozdz, 16, of Riverside, after casting his vote yesterday afternoon during mock elections at the school.

More than 1,000 mostly sophomores and juniors enrolled in government and civics classes are expected to participate in the mock elections, in which they will cast votes for governor, U.S. senator and U.S. representative. The voting, which continues through tomorrow, is done online at www.youthleadership.net, a Web site maintained by the University of Virginia Center for Politics, Youth Leadership Initiative. Across the country, about 100,000 students are expected to participate and teachers will be able to access the results by state, said David Wasserman, the communications deputy director for the center.

While the elections don't count for anything -- except for students who earn extra credit for their social studies class by volunteering to act as poll workers during their open periods -- the results have in the past generally reflected the choices of real voters, officials said.

"We've had, for the most part, student elections that are fairly impressionistic predictors of what happens in the election a few days later," Wasserman said. "Maybe these kids are taking the time to learn about the candidate and coming up with their own conclusions and their parents are learning from them."

Gwozdz came to vote with John Kavanagh, 16, of Cos Cob. Both are self-described Republicans who said they are up-to-date on political issues just as much or more so than their parents.

"She doesn't watch the news as much as I do," Kavanagh said of his mother.

From what some of these students said is important to them, the race for the 4th Congressional District seat is the one to watch, perhaps because of the issues involved, such as the U.S. presence in Iraq and the drama of a Republican incumbent fighting for his political life.

"Never before has there been such Democratic support," said Gwozdz, who counts himself a Shays supporter. "I agree with Shays and his view on the war. He wants there to be a certain timetable."

But Sara Sturzinger, 16, of Riverside, has a completely different take on Shays.

"The one thing that threw me was how he changed his opinion on Iraq," Sturzinger said of the congressman, who has visited Iraq 14 times and has said he now believes there should be a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. "It took him 14 times to get it right."

Though she supports Diane Farrell because of her stance against the Iraq war, Sturzinger said she voted against Democrat Ned Lamont, whose anti-war stance is a cornerstone of his senatorial campaign against incumbent Joe Lieberman

"I picked Lieberman," Sturzinger said. "I kind of asked my parents what they think."

Donovan Aviles, 15, of Chickahominy, also said he shares the Democratic tendencies of his parents and sees the upcoming election as a way to send a message to President Bush.

"I dislike Bush," Aviles said. "He makes the Republican Party look bad."

Stevie Hollopete, 16, of Greenwich, said he based his voting on listening to the candidates, including Libertarian Phil Maymin, who is running against Shays and Farrell for the congressional seat. Hollopete, who is friends with Maymin's younger brother, said the Libertarian impressed him as "a representative who wouldn't get lost in the politics of it all."

Other voters said they participated because they were curious about the process.

"We have an open period and we thought it would be cool," said Krystie Yandoli, 16, of Greenwich, who voted for a member of the Concerned Citizens Party because she wanted to support "someone who is concerned with the citizenry."

Yandoli came with friend Zach Gzehoviak, 16, of Byram.

"I'm moderate," Gzehoviak said. "I don't really know what to think."