By Frank DeLoache
Salisbury Post
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama can claim one more primary victory ó of sorts ó after Thursday.
But Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and U.S. Sen. John McCain can argue about how to split the delegates to the Republican National Convention from West Rowan Middle School.
But one conclusion seems clear: West Rowan’s experiment with its own caucus and presidential primary taught eighth-graders a lot more about politics and the candidates who want to replace George Bush in the White House.
And the students seemed to enjoy becoming part of the process.
As he left the West Rowan polling station (Room 604), Jonte Angle said he was torn between Obama and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.
“I thought a little about Obama, but he wasn’t as strong (as Clinton) for gun control,” he said. “She’s against the guns.”
The experiment was the brainchild of West Rowan Curriculum Coach Julie Stolze, who happened to visit her in-laws in Iowa over the Christmas holidays while that state was caught up in the madness of its presidential caucuses.
Stolze approached eighth-grade teachers Carmen Gibson, Tim Kepley and Sarah Schiemann about holding caucuses and a primary to make their studies of state and national government come alive.Gibson’s class was divided among the four Republican remaining candidates and three Democratic candidates. Each group researched its candidate and created caucus displays explained the candidate’s record and positions on key issues.
Students in Schiemann’s and Kepley’s classes had the job of researching the major issues in the campaign and deciding which were most important to them.
On Wednesday, each student brought his or her list of key issues to the school library, where the candidate groups had set up caucus displays. The caucus groups then got the chance to explain where their candidates stand ó and try to sway students’ votes.
Finally, on Thursday, the eighth-graders and faculty got the chance to vote for their favorite candidate in each party.
Discussion was often spirited during Wednesday’s caucuses.
In contrast, Thursday’s presidential balloting at West Rowan Middle School Thursday seemed more solemn and dignified.
You could credit Stolze and the eighth-grade teachers with creating the dignified setting of a polling station in Room 604.
As the students entered, they immediately faced a table, manned by one or more students, where they were asked to find their name on the registered list of eighth-grade voters and sign next to it.
After signing, they received a voting certificate of sorts which they took to another table, also manned by students, who gave them a ballot.
For the purposes of West Rowan Middle, the student had to research candidates in both the Republican and Democratic primaries. So they also got to vote in each party primary.
The school borrowed five real voting machines from the Rowan County Board of Elections, so the students would get the real feel of marking a ballot. And they got a little “I voted” sticker when they left the poll.
As she stood at one voting machine just after noon Thursday, Shiquanna Rucker seemed struggle for a second about who would finally get her vote.
A few minutes later, she explained that she was wavering somewhat between McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. She voted for Giuliani, crediting the caucus students who represented Giuliani with explaining his stand clearly.
Rucker said she believes mothers should have the right to decide whether to have an abortion. She said that’s why she voted for Obama in the Democratic race.
Corey Shoe, a 14-year-old student in Tim Kepley’s class, said McCain, who was a prisoner of war during Vietnam, has his vote “because he’s been through a war and he knows what it is like to be there.”
Among Democrats, he thought Obama and Clinton were similar but picked Obama because of his youth.
But if he was 18 and had the right to vote, Shoe said he’d go for McCain.
For the record, here are the results of the West Rowan Middle primary. Remember that students and faculty got ballots allowing them to vote for one candidate in each party.
In the Democratic primary, 42 percent of students voted for Obama, followed closely by former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, with 39 percent, and then U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, with 19 percent.
The faculty also favored Obama with 58 percent, following by Clinton, with 30 percent, and Edwards, with 12 percent.
The teachers might have been swayed more since Edwards dropped out of the race the day before.
For Stolze and the West Rowan teachers, the vote tallies really weren’t important. Stolze was more impressed by two comments two students made while they were talking about the project.
One said, “Now when I hear the news on TV, I understand what they’re talking about.”
Another student told Stolze, “My momma had never voted before the last election, and I’ve talked to her about how important it is to vote.”
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Contact Frank DeLoache at 704-797-4245 or fdeloache@salisburypost.com.