The reality of life and the electoral college

Monday, October 9, 2017
Learning a little something about his civic duty, Greencastle eighth-grader Stephen Dombrowski casts his vote in the electoral college debate as League of Women Voters representatives Karen Martoglio (right) and Brooke Cox look on during the Reality Experience Monday at the Putnam County Fairgrounds.
Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE

For nearly 400 eighth-graders, the reality of their experiences Monday at the Putnam County Fairgrounds offered their first real taste of living like an adult, from getting a job to paying taxes to living paycheck to paycheck.

Students from Greencastle, Cloverdale, Eminence, North Putnam and South Putnam schools -- many of whom have never previously been exposed to the true cost of living -- descended upon the Community Building at the fairgrounds for the annual Reality Experience, now sponsored by the Greencastle Kiwanis Club with assistance from the local Rotary and Lions clubs, Kappa Delta Phi and Delta Theta Tau philanthropic sorority, the League of Women Voters, Putnam County Foundation, Youth Development Commission and Putnam County Hospital, along with numerous local real estate, insurance, banking and justice system representatives.

Kiwanis inherited the Reality Experience 11 years from the Greencastle Business and Professional Women (BPW) which had called it the Reality Store. Essentially the process remains the same as a 15-stop, hands-on tour of the adult world, starting with the inevitability of paying taxes and concluding with information on voting and civic pride. A Milton Bradley Game of Life without the board or those annoying pink and blue pegs.

Greencastle eighth-grader Lauren Elam spins the Wheel of Life and ends up with a drug test for a job as Loretta Maxwell of Kappa Delta Phi assists her.
Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE

Even the last of those 15 stops was eye-opening Monday as the Greencastle League of Women Voters asked students to respond to the question: Should the electoral college be replaced by the popular vote? The reality of that stems from President Donald Trump winning the electoral college but not the popular vote in the last election.

The final tally was 192 eighth-graders in favor of replacing the electoral college and 190 against.

However, the school-by-school splits were intriguing.

Greencastle students voted 77-44 to replace the electoral college, while Eminence eighth-graders did likewise by a 17-3 margin.

Cloverdale, North Putnam and South Putnam eighth-graders all opted to keep the electoral college. The Cloverdale vote was 27-18 in favor of the electoral college, while the North Putnam margin was 77-46 and the South Putnam outcome was 39-34 pro-electoral college.

The Reality Experience, however, was more about confronting the harsh reality of tight budgets, rising housing and utility costs, insurance needs, future goals and innumerable obstacles.

The goal of the project has been to motivate local eighth-graders to think about their futures, what financial resources might be necessary to meet their lifestyle and the value of education -- yes, those grades are important -- in getting a job that pays well enough to enable such an existence.

You can see a light go on with some as they realize what their parents are sometimes struggling with.

Students take a spin on the Wheel of Life and discover their profession or their lot in life or the albatross around their neck.

Roll the dice, and they see if they’re a parent to four or none. Get a green card and go directly to the legal table for some divorce court action. Get a DUI or a drug test.

OK, so life itself isn’t quite as simple as the Reality Experience portrays it during a one-hour trip to the fairgrounds. But Monday’s annual program for the county’s eighth-graders can be just as cruel nonetheless.

Students visit 15 stations to learn about the salaries of jobs in the real world and what a wage earner can afford after necessities like food and putting a roof over his or her family’s heads.

By the time most of eighth-graders work their way around to the food and housing table, they have no money, having succumbed to the lure of a new car or truck, coupled with the need to insure and maintain it. That can mean little or no dough left for food and clothing, let alone furniture and appliances.

One student brings his paper to the insurance table where veteran insurance men Matt Welker and Andrew O’Hair await.

“You don’t have enough money,” O’Hair tells him, pointing him to head for the table across the room. “You’re going to need a second job.”

Ah, reality ...

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