Amanda Coward, front row right, participates in the Teens and Politics panel.
Amanda Coward represented New Albany High School at the Teens and Politics Panel sponsored by Justine magazine on Tuesday, September 9. Thirteen students from high schools and the University of Mississippi discussed their opinions on presidential issues before a packed crowd in the Overby Center Auditorium on the campus of the University of Mississippi. The standing room only audience of over 200, most of whom were UM students, listened attentively as the panel discussed topics such as: alternative long term fuel sources, the war in Iraq, the timed withdrawal of troops, our country’s dependency on foreign oil, the rising cost of higher learning, influence of the media on the election and integrity in the media in news reporting.
Coward is a senior at NAHS where she writes for the school newspaper, the Maroon and White and is a member of the Speech and Debate team. She is the 17 year-old daughter of Mark and Katie Coward. Some of the topics that Amanda discussed included teacher pay with her opinion being, “teachers are the least paid with the most important job”. Amanda also expressed that while she received a great deal of her information on issues from the Internet, her interests were fueled as she watched both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions with her senior economics class.
Journalism teacher and sponsor of the Maroon and White, Lee Ann Thompson attended the event with Amanda. “I was blown away by all of the students on the panel. They were a most impressive group of intelligent and informed teens who were able to express their opinions in a way that came across in a non-arrogant manner,” Thompson said. She continued, “Amanda was no exception to this group. As she spoke, I could hear others around me commenting on how well she communicated her ideas.”
Thompson believes that everyone in the room walked away from the discussion with hope for the future. “It was obvious that the students involved will be our leaders of tomorrow. I am very proud of Amanda and how she represented our school in an outstanding way. I imagine that being on a panel which was being broadcast, podcast, photographed and witnessed by a roomful of college students was pretty intimidating, but you would never know it!”
Students on the panel represented high schools such as Madison Central, Harpeth Hall in Nashville, Memphis Jewish, White Station and St. Mary’s Episcopal in Memphis, South Panola and Oxford. Seventy-seven percent of the panelists were public high school students, 62% had traveled abroad, 77% stated they would like to be involved in politics and 77% felt they held similar political views as their parents. Of the panelists, 38% were liberal, 38% were moderate and 23% were conservative.
Elizabeth Googe, a NAHS graduate and a Journalism intern for the Presidential Debate at the University of Mississippi, attended the event. As part of her assignment she is documenting her experiences on the “Debate This Ole Miss” blog concerning events leading up to the debate. Googe stated, “Honestly, they impressed me. Their points were well-informed, their information legit, and their arguments sound.” She continued, “The panel today just proves how much teenagers are aware of the government. They are a demographic that is often written off as unimportant, when in all actuality teenagers are a powerful resource.”
The panel was moderated by Jana Pettey, Publisher/Editorial Director of Justine Magazine and Dr. Samir Husni, Director of the University of Mississippi School of Journalism. The University of Mississippi is hosting panels and debates daily leading up to the Presidential Debate on Friday, September 26.
