As November 6 draws closer, the relevance of local, regional, and national politics is surging for all American citizens; including that for students at PHS, who are playing an active role in a variety of campaigns as well.

For senior economics and civics classes, a four-hour volunteer commitment to one or multiple campaigns is required for each student. The entity for which seniors campaign can range from measures on the ballot in Piedmont to the campaigns of the Presidential candidates.

“With so many candidates and propositions, the opportunities are practically endless,” Civics teacher Dave Keller said. “The volunteering requirement for seniors has become a tradition, though.”

The vast majority have chosen to volunteer with the two main Presidential campaigns Keller said. He attributes this interest to the simple fact that it only happens every four years and it is what people experience through the media everyday.

Volunteer options can include working through a call list, re-registering voters, handing out fliers, going door-to-door, and educating perspective voters at various events. Senior Andy Slabaugh found a way to help a national candidate only a minutes away from his home. Talking to targeted voters of the Barack Obama Presidential campaign from Colorado, he was able to work at an office in Oakland using his phone.

“Using a database system I asked different people who they planned to vote for since Colorado is right on the edge of voting Democrat or Republican,” Slabaugh said. “There were a lot of older people in the calling room with me, so they could give me tips on how to deal with the callers that gave me attitude. I handled it well.”

Students in other grades also have become particularly politically active this year. Peter Lally, President of the Young Republicans Club, has organized a speaker series that will occur on-campus on Oct 30. Although the purpose of this event is not to support a specific candidate, it will hold relevant to Liberals, Conservatives, and everyone in-between, Lally said.

“A variety of individuals from inside and outside our community will come and share their thoughts on some of the key issues in the upcoming Presidential election, primarily focusing on the economy,” Lally said.

Millennium High School recently hosted a ‘Presidential Debate Night” on October 3. Over 60 students from both PHS and MHS attended. At the event they watched the first Presidential debate on television, then followed it up with a discussion of the topics addressed by President Obama and Governor Romney.

“Many social studies teachers, including myself, offered a small amount of extra credit for going,” Keller said. “Regardless, I was thrilled with the number of students that showed up.”

Importance of occurrences such as the first debate were highlighted by Keller, saying that if Romney was to win the election, scholars and historians would look back at the first debate and possibly attribute it to his comeback.