Back to the main Media page On the West Side, Middle Schoolers are Liking Obama's Chances by Jonathan Katz Medill Reports Chicago, January 31, 2008 Travel to Chicago's West Side to ask middle schoolers about the presidential campaign and what do you think you'll hear. These kids have a prediction: Obama's going all the way. In a mock election Thursday at the San Miguel School in Austin -- a Catholic school that has a student body that is almost entirely black--67 of 76 students from fifth to eighth grade voted for Obama to win the election. But more than just wanting him to be elected, 60 said they now expect their man to win the real thing, too. "He's made it this far," said Wesley Brown, an eighth-grader. "Now I think he's going to win it all." In a discussion with eighth-graders, students said they think white voters have proved they're willing to vote for either a black president or a woman, an idea that eighth-grader Monique Bolden said shows Americans are seeing people "in another perspective." "It would be fantastic because it means the world is changing and they're not being as racist as they used to be," she said. "And if a woman can win, that means that men think women have a chance to be just as good." Kids were split on whether race was a factor in their picks. Of the 67 students who voted for Obama, 23 wrote that it was because he's black, the most common answer. Twenty mentioned an aspect of his personality, such as his trustworthiness or his intelligence. "I don't care what color he is," said eighth-grader Mikayla Risper. "His leading ability is all that matters." Brown, the eighth-grader, added that you have to be able to look deeper than the candidate's words, many of which are purely to secure votes. "I've noticed you can't really vote for people based on what they say," he said. "You have to vote based on your hopes for that person." But the kids--most of whom will be just barely old enough to vote in the next election--expressed deep concerns about Obama's safety should he win the White House seat, worried that he might be poisoned by a security guard or shot on a balcony. "There goes another black person risking his life, and he knows it," said Jamal Davis. "I don't want it to be like Martin Luther King all over again."I don't want to say, "There goes another one of our best." Still, with a vague recollection of the last two presidential elections, many students confessed to a lingering mistrust of the voting system. "There are a lot of sneaky people out there," said eighth-grader Jakendra Seals. "I think they're going to take people's votes and cheat them out of them, because they don't want a black person to win. So some people won't vote for Barack because they think their votes won't count." Another eighth-grader, Mika Morgan, said she hoped this would change how she thinks a lot of people view blacks, as seen in the news, movies and TV. "It would be good to see a black person get recognized finally, instead of always seeing them killing someone or get killed or committing crimes," Morgan said. "Maybe they'll see something positive now, instead of always seeing negative things about black people." Daniel Robinson, also in eighth grade, went back to some wisdom from his family on race having little impact on a president's success. "My uncle always says," said Robinson, who predicts a Republican victory, "it's about time they let a black person in the White House so that he can mess up a little bit.""