City of Stockton Press Release

Connie Cochran
Public Information Officer

(209) 937-8827
connie.cochran@ci.stockton.ca.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Stockton’s Youth Advisory Commission Presents: Rock Your Vote!

(Stockton, CA) – The City of Stockton’s Youth Advisory Commission will present, Rock Your Vote!, on Saturday, October 18, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Central United Methodist Church, 3700 Pacific Avenue, across the street from the University of the Pacific (UOP).

Stockton’s Rock the Vote! is an event organized by the Youth Education Action Team, a subcommittee of the Youth Advisory Commission. The goal of the event is to provide teens with the opportunity to debate current topics and evaluate political candidates, preparing them to make decisions for themselves when they are eligible to vote. Teens are invited and encouraged to participate in mock debates about current topics, such as the war in Iraq and global warming. Area high school teens will role play speeches and debates, acting as the current presidential candidates, and a mock vote will take place. Local candidates for political office will stop by to observe the process and interact with the teens.

“This is one of the most exciting elections in the history of America,” said Ashley Kimball, Youth Advisory Commissioner from Lincoln High. “In less than two years, I’ll be able to vote. Teens need to be ready to evaluate candidates and issues the first time we fill in a ballot, because we are the future.”

Sponsoring organizations include the City of Stockton, Beyond Please and Thank You, and the League of Women Voters of San Joaquin County.

For additional information, please call Miranda Nighbor, Stockton Librarian and Youth Education Action Team Lead Assistant, at (209) 937-7778.
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