New voices -- and views -- for youth New voices -- and views -- for youth (August 18, 2004)

Students learn how to produce TV show to promote voting by the young

By Jessica Scott
Special to the Almanac

"Quiet on the set. Bring up title. Cue camera 2. Cue music. Bring down titles. Cue talent."

This was how it began, with student director Cynthia Cruz leading our crew in the control room of the Media Center in Palo Alto, as we debuted the "New Voices for Youth" program.

The Media Center runs the area's local public-access TV service, which covers Menlo Park, Atherton, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Stanford.

After only 11 hours of training, our live show had begun on Channel 28, and for the next 30 minutes the 11 of us produced, directed, and performed in our own version of a mock debate between two students, one in support of President Bush and the other supporting John Kerry.

All of this began with two local League of Women Voters groups -- South San Mateo County and Palo Alto. Eager to encourage young people to become politically aware and vote in the upcoming election, the League chapters got a grant from the Media Center to train a group of students to operate studio gismos and gadgets, which included cameras, sound equipment and a teleprompter.

In addition, we were taught the directing, performing and producing skills that go into creating a live TV show. The students ranged from a sixth-grader to a UC Davis undergraduate, and came from Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Redwood City.

The League has good reasons to be concerned about young people's political awareness and involvement. An astonishingly low percentage of young adults (age 18-24) register and vote -- 45 percent register and 32 percent vote.

The League hopes that our youthful enthusiasm might help change this.

The goal is to train more students, create 30- and 60-second public service announcements for TV, and produce a live program to be shown on cable TV and at schools and community centers -- wherever it's appropriate.

Participants

Student participants in the New Voices for Youth production were: Fabian Gutierrez, a sixth-grader at Edison McNair Academy in East Palo Alto; these students from Menlo-Atherton High School: Jessica Scott, Kathryn Scott, Laura Furney-Howe, Cynthia Cruz, Nicole Bitler, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Eric German; Erica Rodriguez; Torres Luis of East Side College Prep in East Palo Alto; and Anna Gutierrez, a freshman at UC Davis.

Jessica Scott of Menlo Park will be a senior this fall at Menlo-Atherton High School.

INFORMATION

** If you want to be more politically active and/or aware, you can go to the League's Web site, www.smartvoter.org, to learn more about registering, candidate positions, and pros and cons on ballot measures.

** To contact the League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County, 800 Alma St., Menlo Park, CA 94025. Call 325-5780. E-mail: info@lwvssmc.org.

** For information on the Media Center (900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303), call 494-8686 or go to www.communitymediacenter.net.

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