Presidential candidates, government officials, the news media and Moorpark College students all came to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley for a republican presidential debate on Jan. 30.
For Moorpark College students, the day of the debate became their third day of volunteering. Starting on Jan. 28, Moorpark students were ready to go at 8 a.m. CNN and Politico first used the students as stand-ins for a mock debate.
“They put microphones on us and we got to pretend to be in the debate,” said Catlin Scott, a 19 year-old history major. “They did sound checks, checked camera angels, and made sure we were all in the right places.”
The student volunteers did that for most of the first day, but said they didn’t mind.
“It was fun,” said Scott. “There was down time, but it was still fun.”
The Moorpark College students were not alone. Pepperdine and Cal Lutheran also had volunteers helping make sure the debate ran smoothly.
“There were a lot of volunteers there, more than last time,” said Scott, who also volunteered at the previous debate, held at the Reagan Library last May.
One Moorpark volunteer was very happy she decided to help out at the debate.
“It was a really good way to get involved,” said Danielle Skornik, an 18 year-old political science major at Moorpark. “It was interesting to see how all the technology was incorporated.”
“I volunteered so I could learn for myself but it was also nice to help out,” said Skornik.
On the day of the debate Moorpark students helped with a variety of jobs including passing out credentials.
“I stood at the bottom of the hill and made sure everyone got their right passes,” said Scott.
The Moorpark students got to watch the debate on a large screen that was set up below where the candidates were sitting. Since all the audio had to be off they were given ear pieces so they could hear.
From start to finish, most Moorpark College students volunteered over 20 hours each.
“Overall it was a really good experience, said Scott. ” We got to meet all the candidates and shake their hands. Mike Huckabee came right up to us and personally thanked us for helping out.”
