By Nathan Duke
Gioia and about 20 students from LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City joined the Republican Party's Gingrich and students from Northern Virginia Community College and Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, N.C., to take part in Generation Engage, a nonpartisan youth-civic engagement initiative that encouraged students to discuss and ask questions about Bush's address. Engage has hosted similar events over the past year and featured a number of leading political figures, including former President Bill Clinton; U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R- Neb.); Coretta Scott King, widow of the civil rights leader; and U.S. Sen. John Edwards (D- N.C.). Justin Rockefeller, son of U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and national program director of Engage, attended the Feb. 1 event.Gioia said the forum is a good opportunity for students to get involved in thinking critically about politics.”We're letting young people know they can have a voice in the future of their city and their nation,” he said. “Politics is not a spectator sport. There are ways people can get off the sidelines and get into the game.”Gingrich was the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He led Congressional Republicans in a budget fight with Clinton in late 1995 and early 1996, leading to a brief shutdown of parts of the federal government.During the iChat conference, Gingrich fielded questions about Bush's address from students at all three colleges. Questions pertained to Bush's statement that Americans were addicted to oil, the influence of religion on the government, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, the nation's defense budget and whether Bush's warrantless wiretap surveillance program was legal.”You might be more liberal or conservative, but there were enough good pieces of that speech that most people could find one or two parts that made sense,” Gingrich said.As part of the Engage program, LaGuardia students and more than 900 city residents watched the address at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan the night before the iChat. They were joined by Peggy Noonan, a former speechwriter for Presidents George Bush and Ronald Reagan, and Ted Sorensen, a former speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy. Rockefeller said the program gets students excited about the political process and gives them an opportunity to ask political leaders challenging questions.”As an organization, we are trying to make politics social, relevant and fun for young people,” he said.Reach reporter Nathan Duke by email at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
