>> JUST 137 COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY WERE
PICKED TO PARTICIPATE IN COLLEGE DEBATE 2016.
LOOKING AT KEY ISSUES IN THIS YEAR'S PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES AND
ELECTIONINGS.
TWO OF THE STUDENTS INVOLVED CAME FROM AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
COLLEGE HERE IN SPRINGFIELD.
ON THIS NIGHT OF THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE JAZMINE
BAEHR AND ALEXANDER CLARK ARE TELLING US ABOUT THEIR
EXPERIENCE.
>> IT WAS DURING THE SPRING BREAK, ALL OF THE POLY SIDE
MINORS AND MAJORS FROM OUR PROFESSOR SAYING HERE'S A GREAT
OPPORTUNITY, YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE TO APPLY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO,
BUT YOU MIGHT AS WELL TAKE A SHOT, AND THE APPLICATION TOOK
LIKE TEN MINUTES, AND SO -- >> WHY NOT.
>> WHY NOT.
>> A COUPLE OF TRIPS TO CALIFORNIA POSSIBLE.
>> THEY PAY FOR IT, TO FLY OUT FOR THE HOTEL, AND YOU, YOU ARE
IN CLASS FOR THREE DAYS IN SEPTEMBER.
>> AND MANY OF THE PROFESSORS ARE WATCHING, DON'T WORRY.
SO YOU GO TO CALIFORNIA FIRST, AND LAST SPRING, AND FOR A
WORKSHOP, I GUESS, GET STARTED, GET YOUR FEET WET AND TELL ME
ABOUT IT.
>> WE GO, THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE AND WE LEARNED A BUNCH OF THINGS
SO WE LEARNED ABOUT THE INTERNET SAFETY AND OBVIOUSLY TEACHING US
TO BE RESPONSIBLE IN LINE BECAUSE A LOT OF WHAT WE WERE
DOING IS SOCIAL MEDIA SO THE FOCUS FOR US IS TO GET KIND OF
YOU'RE GENERATION INVOLVED IN THE ELECTION SO WE WERE ON
SOCIAL MEDIA SO WE DID SOME TRAINING BUT ALSO LENDERS HOW TO
BE CIVIL SO WE HAD 130 KIDS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, DIFFERENT
IDEOLOGIES AND KIDS ON THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT, AND WE LEARNED
HOW TO BE CIVIL WITH EACH OTHER AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS EVEN
THOUGH WE MAY NOT AGREE BUT BE ABLE TO BE CIVIL ENOUGH TO WHERE
WE COULD COME TO A COMPROMISE AND FIGURE OUT WAYS TO KIND OF
GET TO WHERE WE NEED TO GO TO.
>> OK.
BIG JOB RIGHT THERE.
AND SEPTEMBER, YOU GO BACK, AND THIS IS NOW FOR KIND OF
INTENSIVE TOWN HALL TYPE OF THING.
JAZMINE, YOU START.
WHAT HAPPENS THIS TIME?
>> THEY HAD NINE MAJOR POLITICAL ISSUES THAT I GUESS FACEBOOK HAD
DONE A POLL OF FOR US, AND WE HAD TO NARROW IT DOWN TO FIVE,
SO ALL 3,700 OF US HAD TO AGREE ON THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT
ISSUES TO TALK ABOUT AND THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO TALK
ABOUT, AND FROM THOSE FIVE TOPICS, WE DID AN ENTIRE DAY OF
WORK SHOPPING TO GET THREE QUESTIONS FOR EACH OF THEM.
THEN WE VOTED ON LIVE TV TO CHOOSE ONE QUESTION FROM EACH OF
THOSE CATEGORIES SO IT WAS KIND OF CRAZY THAT ALL 1 37 OF US --
>> WE COULD SIT HERE AND ARGUE
AND GO AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY WE ARE
HERE TO BE THE VOICE AND WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW IN THIS
ENTIRE COUNTRY IS -- WE ALL NEED TO PAY ATTENTION AND TO FIGURE
IT OUT AND KIND OF COME TO THE COMPROMISES AND BE CIVIL AND
HAVE CIVIL CONVERSATIONS AND WE SHOULD NOT, YOU KNOW, HATE
SOMEBODY OR OREGON WITH SOMEBODY BECAUSE WE DISAGREE, AND THAT
WAS A BIG THEME AND WE PUT THAT UPON OURSELVES AND THE THING
WAS, IS WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, WITH THE SIX QUESTIONS WE WERE
DEBATING THE QUESTIONS AND DURING THE DAY WE MIGHT GET INTO
AN INTENSE DEBATE BUT AT NIGHT ONCE THE POLITICS WAS OVER WITH
WE WERE HANGING OUT TOGETHER AND HAVING A GOOD TIME.
>> THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT.
WE REALIZE THAT 137 OF US NATION-WIDE WERE CHOSEN FOR THIS
CONFERENCE, AND WE KNOW A TON OF PEOPLE APPLIED.
SO THE FACT THAT SOME WANTED TO VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP AND SOME
WANTED TO VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON AND SOME WANTED TO VOTE
FOR THIRD PARTY WAS IRRELEVANT BECAUSE IT WAS SO MUCH BIGGER
THAN WAS WE BELIEVED BECAUSE AS A MILLENNIAL GENERATION WE
REPRESENT 25% OF THE VOTE SO THE BIG PART OF THE QUESTION IS, THE
QUESTIONS ARE HUGE BUT THE FIRST PART WAS ALSO TALKING ABOUT
GETTING OUR GENERATION TO THE POLLS AND INVOLVED IN THE
POLITICS AND TO CARE, AND THAT'S SO MUCH BIGGER THAN 137 OF US.
WE WERE JUST CHOSEN TO BE THE REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR STATES.
>> GOT TO ASK YOU, JAZMINE, AS I UNDERSTAND IT YOU SAID THAT
THERE WERE THESE VARIOUS TOPICS, NINE TOPICS.
SIX QUESTIONS PICKED TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE NATIONAL
COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES.
YOUR TEAM, BREAKOUT TEAMS, YOUR TEAM HAD ONE OF THE QUESTIONS,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AND REALIGN THE GOVERNMENT POLICY IF
YOU GET IN THERE TO HELP THE IMPOVERISHED PEOPLE GET OUT OF
POVERTY.
I DIDN'T WORD IT QUITE THE WAY THAT YOU DID.
>> THE WORDING THAT WE CAME UP WITH, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO
RESTRUCTURE THE GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, TO HELP THE
UNEMPLOYED OR THE IMPOVERISHED MAINTAIN SELF SUFFICIENCY.
>> LET'S TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT THE MILLENNIALS.
LET ME ASK YOU, WE SEE VARIOUS POLLS NOW THAT THE MILLENNIALS
ARE LOOKING AT AND I CAN UNDERSTAND IF YOUR GENERATION IS
ANGRY AT THE GENERATIONS THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE, WE'RE NOT
HANDING YOU A REAL GOOD DEAL, A MESS.
BUT I GET THE IS ENCE THAT FROM THE TWO OF YOU YOU HAD AN
AMAZING TIME MEETING PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM
AND YOU ARE KIND OF READY TO ROLL UP -- FINISH COLLEGE AND
ROLL UP THE SLEEVES AND GET IN THERE.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
AND I THINK THAT -- SO ONE THING I REALIZED ABOUT THE MILLENNIAL
GENERATION AND I THINK THAT ONE THING THAT GIVES ME A LOT OF
HOPE FOR IT IS WE'RE THE FIRST GENERATION THAT GREW UP WITH THE
INTERNET AND THAT'S ONE THING THAT SEPARATES US FROM EVERY
GENERATION SO WHAT THAT IS, WE HAVE HAD UNLIMITED ACCESS, SO WE
HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LEARN ANY AMOUNT OF INFORMATION ON ANY
STORY, NO MATTER WHAT, AND I THINK WHAT THAT DOES IS WE'RE
EDUCATED AND WE KIND OF KNOW BETTER AND WITH OUR GENERATION,
I THINK THAT, ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES, WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO
IS, IT IS A GENERATION, A SOCIETY GROWS GREAT WHEN MEN
PLANT TREES -- IT'S UP TO US THAT WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF GET
HANDED THE MESS AND NOW IT'S UP TO US AND WE CAN KEEP PASS IT GO
DOWN AND ON THIS WHOLE THING, AND WE CAN BE THE GENERATION
THAT STARTS TO TURN AROUND AND WE KNOW THAT WE CAN FIX IT HERE
AND SET THE TONE FOR THE GENERATIONS AFTER US AND MAKE
THIS LIFE EASIER FOR OUR KIDS AND I THINK THAT THAT'S KIND OF
THE MINDSET, AND WHILE WE WERE OUT IN CALIFORNIA THAT WAS LIKE
WHEN WE WERE ASKING THESE QUESTIONS, THAT WAS THE BIG
THING THAT WE WANTED, WE WERE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WITH THE
QUESTIONS BECAUSE WE WANTED, BOTH NOMINEES, TO GIVE US THE
BEST ANSWER, WE DID NOT WANT TO ASK A QUESTION THAT WE COULD
DANCE AROUND BUT WE WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH AND FACTS AND YOU
CANNOT REALLY HIDE FROM PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN, HAVE GROWN UP
WITH THE INTERNET.
WE'LL FIND OUT.
>> EXCELLENT.
AND JAZMINE BAEHR, GOOD FOR YOU, THANKS FOR BEING INVOLVED AND
FOR TALKING TO US.
>> THANK YOU.