Campbell Teens Choose Barack Obama As Their President

The final Presidential Debate took place Monday night but for a group of local middle school students, the choice has already been made.

Thirty Moreland Middle School students have been researching, debating and even casting their votes in a mock election designed to give them a better understanding for the election process.

"It's very powerful to see the students thinking for themselves and making their own decisions, formulating their own beliefs," says Moreland Middle School teacher Brian Conroy. "It empowers them in a way that we should empower all kids. Instead of feeding them information, they are taking information, synthesizing it and making informed choices. That kids are able to take a stance and articulate their stance and become citizens is very encouraging to see."

He teaches debate class to eighth graders and this year, much like in 2008 and again for the gubernatorial race in 2010 is teaching student what they need to know before casting their vote.

"The number one reason to do this is to make these kids informed voters, allow them to make informed choices even if they’re not able to vote," he says. 

The project consists of three parts:

• Informed through research;
• Simulation of the debate process;
• and a mock election.

"They’re well able to express their own opinion," Conroy says. "It's great that our school allows us to teach this class and allows them to take these kind of classes. This is a tribute to our district."

After hearing the candidates answers and seeing them debate among each other, students then cast their votes on Oct. 22 to see who would be their next elected leader. Here are the results, provided by their teacher, Conroy.

Barack Obama (Democratic): 67 percent (20 votes)

Dr. Jill Stein (Green): 20 percent (6 votes)

Mitt Romney (Republican): 7 percent (2 votes)

Gary Johnson (Libertarian): 3 percent (1 vote)

Rosanne Barr (Peace and Freedom): 3 percent (1 vote)

Check back to watch video footage of some of this mock debate.