AHWATUKEE, Ariz. — The day has come for some students at Mountain Pointe High School to run and moderate two debates.
October 13 will mark the day students host the Tempe Union High School Governing Board Candidates and Legislative District 12.
Students and staff there say these debates are a huge deal, especially because they are mostly student-run.
“Alright, so…let me take some quick attendance,” said Advanced Placement Government and Government teacher Lane Waddell.
ABC15 watched as Mr. Waddell gave his AP Government students final words of advice ahead of the debates.
“So, let’s make sure everything’s set,” he said, during class.
Mr. Waddell tells ABC15 students have been working very hard these last few months to put all of the pieces together ahead of the debates.
“It’s kind of a big deal,” he told ABC15.
Students were just happy to be able to run the show.
“I am ready. I am excited,” said Connor Murry, a senior at Mountain Pointe High School.
“I’m proud. I’m nervous. I’m a bunch of emotions right now,” added Zain Turner, a junior at Mountain Pointe High School.
“I just need it to be 6 o’clock already,” exclaimed Maisa Regalado, a Senior at Mountain Pointe High School.
Regalado tells ABC15, she can't believe this day is finally here. She says they've been working on this since the third week of school.
“I moderate and kind of lead the whole group just to keep everything organized,” she added.
She says it’s an opportunity to make students’ voices heard. These are the top issues she says students want clarity on.
“Safety. Important things like feminine hygiene products. That’s a big issue, especially with some of our homeless population at school,” Regalado told ABC15.
Zain Turner says he’s excited to hear what candidates have to say, especially when it comes to education.
“Education is just one of those things that people need to be involved in because education is elevation,” he added.
Students handled planning, outreach, advertising, and ultimately executing two big debates open to the community, free of charge.
“The students will be leading question-answer sessions with the candidates from both areas. It’s really satisfying to watch them as they do grow throughout this whole process,” said Mr. Waddell.
“Once we all got in our groups and started collaborating and working together it ended up becoming something we really took pride in,” Turner told ABC15.
“It’s really a labor of love of our class,” added Murry.
Murry says Mr. Waddell inspired him to carry the torch of other seniors, who have led these debates for more than a decade.
“We put a lot of work into this and so we’re ready to show all of the Ahwatukee community members that we are good and ready,” Murry told ABC15.
“I couldn’t be happier for them. I’m really proud of them,” added Mr. Waddell.
The first debate starts promptly at 6 p.m., and the second at 7 p.m. at Mountain Pointe High School's auditorium.
