C-Span bus makes Santa Barbara stop

Danny Langhorne
Editor-in-Chief

As students strolled out of their second periods last Thursday a behemoth waited for them at the flag round about in front of the school.

After stopping at city hall in San Luis Obispo and UCSB the C-Span Election 2008 Bus rolled onto the grounds of SBHS at 10 a.m. on January 31.

AP Government teacher Mr. Gamble pushed for the bus to specifically come to SBHS. “Anything that can get students more engaged in the political process is a great thing. These type of events help show young people that politics is important and approachable,” said Gamble.

Students were invited in groups of 10 to 12 for 10-minute periods to learn more about C-Span.

The goal of the crew of the bus including Matthew S. McGuire, National Accounts Executive for C-Span, was to educate students about what the channel is all about just days before California held its primary with twenty-two other states.

“The great thing about our Network is that we show everything from start to finish. Commercials take a lot of time out of showing the event so that’s why we don’t show any,” said McGuire.

Students were given a sit down tour of the 45 foot-long mobile TV-studio. After a brief summary of the history of C-Span the crew went on to discuss how they can produce a show on board with the video and sound equipment of a professional TV studio. The mobility of the bus allows them to broadcast to their headquarters in Washington D.C. spontaneously with presidential candidates or other politicians either outside the bus or inside the bus’ interview area.

The C-Span representatives were able to show this with a video of an interview with former president Bill Clinton that was taken in 1995 in the White House’s driveway.

The C-Span Bus has been traveling across the country, stopping at town halls and schools to address people’s misconceptions. “We’re not going to tell you who to vote for,” said McGuire.

The bus was invited to Santa Barbara by Cox Cable.