Three high school girls asking for a female moderator to be included in the presidential debates have been ignored in Washington.
By Robert Rizzuto and Shira Schoenberg
From left to right, Emma Axelrod, Elena Tsemberis and Sammi Siegel. The three high school girls launched a petition advocating for a female moderator for one of the presidential debates.More politics news
As Massachusetts state Senator, Scott Brown reached across party lines on some issues, toed Republican line on others
: On issues relating to veterans and child protection, Brown worked with Democrats to get things accomplished.
Three high school girls aiming to convince the Commission on Presidential Debates to include a female moderator in the 2012 presidential debates hit a snag on Tuesday, as the non-profit commission reportedly refused to open its doors and accept a petition the students started.
Emma Axelrod, Sammi Siegel, and Elena Tsemberis, friends who attend Montclair High School in New Jersey, went to Washington l following the successful collection of more than 160,000 signatures on two petitions. The inspiration for their ambitious mission came after a lesson in their high school civics class, where they learned that a woman hasn't moderated a presidential debate since 1992 when Carole Simpson, then a journalist with ABC News, became the first and only woman to ever moderate a general election presidential debate.
Despite several requests to meet with Janet Brown, executive director for the Commission on Presidential Debates, the girls say that their messages were never returned. And after traveling to the nation's capital from New Jersey, security guards reportedly didn't allow the students to enter the commission's office, and rejected a box of petition signatures decorated as a red, white and blue ballot box, citing "safety concerns."
A call to the commission from The Republican and MassLive.com was not returned on Tuesday.
“The Commission might be too afraid to meet with three high school students or to accept 170,000 signatures on our petitions, but that’s not going to stop us from delivering the message that it’s shocking and embarrassing that no woman has moderated a U.S. presidential debate in two decades,” Siegel said. “Our campaign will continue, and we will continue to try to meet with the Commission until they accept our signatures in person. Janet Brown won’t be able to ignore this issue or the tens of thousands of voices around the country for much longer.”
The students also planned to deliver signatures to both the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee, as de facto representatives for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns, considering the influence they can have in the process. Neither campaign has commented on the students' request for a female moderator.
“This is about equal representation, not some partisan or political message,” Tsemberis said. “There are so many women who are capable of moderating a presidential debate. The Commission, the DNC and the RNC need to hear the message that 20 years is too long to go without a woman on the biggest debate stage in the world.”
Axelrod said, “The time is now for the Commission to meet with us and seriously consider selecting a woman to finally be on the presidential debate stage.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced last week that the first presidential debate, on Oct. 3 in Denver, Colo., will focus on domestic policy. The second, on Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y., will be a town hall meeting where voters can ask questions. The third, on Oct. 22, in Boca Raton, Fla., will focus on foreign policy. The vice presidential debate will be Oct. 11 in Danville, Ky. The moderators will be announced in August.
Until then, the girls will be spreading their message via social media, press interviews, and their trip to Washington.