(November 1, 2006) — As District Superintendent Dr. Michael Escalante settled himself on the fourth row of the amphitheater, he greeted various Clark students with a cheerful “hello” and a clever explanation: “I’m sitting up here with the big shots!” he said. Escalante and the students were preparing for the state-organized mock election on Tuesday, October 24. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, Chief Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools Greg Franklin were also in attendance. The activity aimed to expose high school students to the candidates for the upcoming off-year elections. “They’re trying to instill a sense of civic competence, opportunity and civic duty, and the idea of voting at a younger age,” history teacher Nick Doom said, who was initially contacted regarding the state-organized election. The three state officials opened up the event with speeches, each saying something different about the importance of the day’s proceedings, as well as commending Clark for its recent achievements in becoming Distinguished and Blue Ribbon certified. O’Connell put it simply: “I call you the triple crown winners of the state of California,” he said. After McPherson’s speech, ASB Vice President Anais Chorbadjian introduced the 12 seniors who were representing the candidates for the positions of governor and state senate. Each gave a brief speech summarizing their respective candidates’ beliefs and intentions, in order to give the voting students an idea of who was on their ballots. Both McPherson and Franklin were impressed with the presenters, audience and school as a whole. “Its tremendous,” McPherson said. “To be a distinguished school and to have the other awards and recognitions that Clark has received… you’ve got to feel very proud of it. You [Clark] are at the top of the top.” “I’d be interested to hear some feedback from the students,” Franklin added. “I thought the student speakers did a great job of presenting the platforms that they were chosen to represent.” The students were then dismissed to their classes, where they were given voter’s guides detailing every candidate’s stance as well as identifying all the propositions, and then cast their ballots into cardboard collection boxes. The results were sent to the state, and have been posted at the Secretary’s website, ss.ca.gov . Many of the students were positively influenced by the activity. “I think I’m gonna vote when I’m 18,” said sophomore Helen Poya. “It’s important. We don’t get the chance to practice our rights that often.”