Related story: Coventry students' mock election was everything but the real deal

By Meaghan Wims
Journal Staff Writer

When Coventry Middle School teacher Ted Mitchell called to tell me about the school's mock election and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed's upcoming visit, I thought, "Thank God.''

Up to my ears in election stuff, I was getting sick of deflecting would-be politicians ("I'm sorry, I don't know if we have room for your `What I Love About Coventry' poem") and leafing through campaign finance reports (Ooh, Lou Raptakis spent 700 bucks at Andreas Restaurant).

I knew this story would be nice break. And I admit, I'm a sucker for a warm-and-fuzzy story every once and a while.

First I sat through Reed's Q&A. Partly out of boredom, partly out of being a nosy reporter, I watched the audience.

It was Halloween, and the teachers were on guard. Any time a student wiggled in his seat or played with his sweatshirt hood, a teacher swooped over.

I ended up using more of the details of the restless, Halloween-anticipating crowd (``One student's hair was tinged with green; another's Harry Potter eyeglasses were swiftly swiped by a watchful teacher'') than I did of Reed's speech.

Wandering the school hallways, I found the best part of the story: The students' campaign materials. My favorite was "Matt Brown Brochure! YEAH!'' and the sketch of Charles Fogarty looking a lot like the Grim Reaper.

As funny as the campaign posters were, this was serious stuff to the kids. I knew I needed to strike a balance between both the silliness and the seriousness of their civics lesson.

Writing the story was easy and fun, and I thought readers would appreciate some levity along with our serious election coverage.

The schoolwide vote was in line with the state results, with one exception: These kids LOVED the Cool Moose [candidate].