Group teaches teenagers about politics

Courtesy photo<br> Rocky Cobb, Aubrey Smith, Alicia Nelson, Kayce Chlarson and Brandon Marchan, left to right, prepare to play paint ball in May.

by Cameron Probert<br
| August 3, 2009 9:00 PM

EPHRATA — Kayce Chlarson wants her fellow students to be more informed.

“There’s so many kids who want to know why is something like this happening,” the 14-year-old Ephrata girl said. “I always go with my mom to her GOP stuff in Grant County. I wanted to do something and not just sit and be a passenger.”

Chlarson, along with Grant County Republican’s State Committeewoman Dani Bolyard, formed a new group to help middle school and high school students answer questions about politics. Ephrata recently formed a chapter of Teenage Republicans.

“It’s all student driven,” Bolyard said. “The point is to teach them. They don’t know the issues. They don’t know the candidates. They don’t know what party they want to be in and with the type of primary we have it’s important.”

Chlarson’s interest in politics started after the 9/11 terrorist attack, when she was sitting with her mother watching the television.

“I remember my mom doing my hair and thinking, ‘How could someone do something like that to us?’ Even when I was in first grade. From there it just kind of grew,” she said.

The teenager heard other children asking similar questions around school, such as people trying to understand how politics work and what it seems mean.

“We always hear about how politics are supposed to be for the country’s good. Sometimes it feels like people are doing this for something to do, somewhere to put their anger,” she said.

At the same time, the Grant County Republicans were talking about ways to bring in a younger crowd, Bolyard said.

“We’ve come to be known as the white, rich man’s party, but there’s a lot of kids out there that are conservative,” she said. “We’d like to see them learning public speaking and logic.”

While groups like the Young Republicans and College Republicans exist, they don’t target teenagers, Bolyard said. She put together a paint ball event for the teenagers to participate in, so they could learn about the party while enjoying themselves.

“We played paint ball all day. They had a wonderful time,” she said. “Ephrata is the first one to officially organize. We’re also starting one in Moses Lake and one for the home schoolers.”

By the end of the event, Chlarson was voted the president for the Ephrata chapter. She’s hoping to hold events at the Grant County Fair, as well as field trips and get more teenagers involved.

“We want to keep it fun. I know politics can seem boring,” she said. “We want to go to Olympia when they’re in session and go and watch how it all works … A lot of kids my age like to have fun.”

Chlarson credits Bolyard and the Grant County Republicans for their help with getting the group started, adding she hopes to have meetings twice a month once summer finishes.

“I want to see me and other kids get all the information we can,” she said. “By the time I’m 18, I want to be a good voter. I think a lot of people these days just vote to vote and decide who’s the coolest.”

For more information, contact Bolyard at 509-707-3367 or Chlarson at 509-760-7324.