//SMALL


Awkward? I


Not really...


BY AUDREY BAXTER audreybaxter@csdecatur.net


t’s a big adjustment going from being the kings and queens of middle school to the bottom of the food chain in high school.


Tat’s why it didn’t help when two ninth graders’ parents made a big decision that had people buzzing all over Decatur. Tey would both be running in the 2011 City of Decatur school board election... for the same seat. “When my mom first told me she was


considering a run for school board, I had the typical answer of ‘Mom, you’ll embar- rass me,’” freshman Luke Bumgardner said. However, when Peg Bumgardner started getting serious about campaigning, her son became more supportive. “I told her no matter what decision she made about running, publicizing and campaigning, I would support and help her,” he said. Freshman Elli Goebel had a different conversation with her dad about the race. Garret Goebel sat down with his daughter and asked for her permission to run. “He ex- plained that [his running] might change some peoples’ first opinions of me – that they


would base their opinions on me somewhat off of


what they knew about


him,” she said. That didn’t stop Goebel from letting her dad run. “I have my own opinions and mind,” she said. “I think that not allowing my dad to run for a


Freshmen OK with parents’ election duel


position that he thinks he could do well in would be silly.”


Tis is not the first time Goebel’s dad has


run for a school board position. He ran in 2009 against Mark Wisniewski and lost in a close race. To Goebel, things are different now than they were the last race. “Tings seems busier this time around – less extra time for my parents to drive my siblings and me places, less time when the house can be noisy.” Many people might assume that there


would be an uncomfortable situation between Goebel and Bumgardner – two students who see each other every day. “I could see how it would be a little


awkward,” sophomore Kristin Munson said. Munson’s aunt, Valarie Wilson, has run for school board multiple times and has won all of the races that she has run. “It just depends on who the two people are and what their relationship [is like].” At first, Bumgardner was prepared to feel


some tension with Goebel. “I figured there might be some awkwardness between the two of us over the course of the campaign, but only if other kids started taking sides on who to ‘support,’ even though they can’t vote,” he said. “Fortunately, kids are not getting that involved in the school board race ... yet.” According to Goebel, everything is


going okay between the two students. “I think the only awkwardness that could ever pop up is when we feel like it should be awkward,” Goebel said. Even casual conversations between the


two haven’t been an issue. “We have worked together in groups recently, and neither one of us has brought school board up,” Bumgardner said. “Any tension between us has actually decreased since the race began.” Te publicity that both candidates are


receiving can take some getting used to for Goebel. “It’s sort of weird when you get a ride home with a friend and there are


signs with your last name on them going up everywhere,” Goebel said. She feels that as time goes on, it’ll start to sink in. Being under the spotlight can be in- timidating for Goebel.“I feel sort of like people are watching me a lot to decide whether or not my dad is a good person or to figure out what his opinions are through me,” she said. Bumgardner agrees that it will be a little


strange seeing “Elect Peg Bumgardner” yard signs around Decatur but said that his mom has “always been a prominent figure in the Decatur community.” Te two are on the same page as far as


feeling pressure. “I have always felt pressure to make sure I am doing the right thing and not leaving a bad impression of our family,” Bumgardner said. “Tere is that urge to act right because of the campaign. If you live in Decatur, you better do the right thing because everybody knows ev - erybody.”


On the eighth of No-


vember, campaigners will rally for one last time, votes will be counted and recounted, and the position for the District one school board member will be decided. As far as what the two teenagers are feeling, Bumgardner has a pretty good idea. “By that day, when the votes are being tallied, everything is final, and it is up to the citizens of Decatur,” Bumgardner said. “All of the hard work and time put into the campaign will come down to that day in one exciting moment, win or lose.” n


Photos by Audrey Baxter OCTOBER 2011 • CARPE DIEM 19


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