Wake Tech Holds iChat With Presidential Candidates

About 75 students came to the student lounge at Wake Tech's main campus to talk online with Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama. The majority of the participants were high school and college students.

"One-third of every high school students drops out. So how could you change this problem?" Charles Howe, a Fuquay-Varina High School student, asked.

"I think America should create second-chance schools," Democrat John Edwards replied.

“They are the future. The young people today are the future,” Dr. Paul Norman said.

All too often, students don't take an active interest in politics.

"There's not much participation. Most of the people my age don't understand politics. Some see it as a source of division," Wake Tech student Alex Edwards said.

A group called Generation Engage wants to get students involved. This was the third year they organized an interactive forum in Raleigh.

"Raleigh has a unique breed of young people. You have 16 colleges, public institutions that is, plus you have an array of private institutions and then you have 58 community colleges on top," John White, with Generation Engage, said.

Organizers said technology was the key to getting students engaged in politics.

"This generation has taken it to another level. You have MySpace. You have YouTube. You have all these major networks that are opening up the means of communication," White said.

Republican presidential candidate John Cox and Ron Paul also talked with students Saturday. Raleigh and cities in Iowa and California were the three palces chosen to participate in the iChat.