Vicksburg High students participate in political debate

Vicksburg High School students held a political debate Wednesday morning on topics that included COVID-19, education funding and privatization.

The students answered questions from moderator Deatra Cable, with the sides representing Mississippi’s candidates for the U.S. Senate, Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde Smith and Democratic challenger Mike Espy.

Each response was a representation of the candidates’ positions using either direct quotes or a synopsis of a candidate’s stated beliefs.

Twenty five local dignitaries, elected officials, and educators attended the event including judges Toni Terrett and Marcie Southerland, North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace and Vicksburg Warren School District Superintendent Chad Shealy.

“I enjoyed it,” Mayfield said after the debate, “and it is always good to see young people participate in a political process — and you can tell that they did their homework.”