Buses are often the vehicle of choice for student outings.
McKeesport Area High School students taking government, history and current affairs classes boarded a bus Wednesday, but in this case the vehicle was bringing the lesson to them.
The C-SPAN bus made an early morning stop at the high school to explain how the network and its three channels work.
The Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network was launched in 1979 to televise sessions of the House of Representatives. It expanded through the years and now carries Senate sessions and a number of programs about national and foreign affairs and nonfiction literature.
Sophomore Demetrius Ashley said the network's programming relates to many of the subjects he's learning about in current affairs.
“Basically, we're learning about all the issues going on in the world,” he said.
Inside the bus, he and other students were given a primer on the purpose of the network.
C-SPAN marketing representative Doug Hemmig talked to students about the difference between C-SPAN programming and cable news.
Don't expect to see quick camera work, cuts and zooms when tuned into coverage of Congress, he told them, noting, “We're more of a fly on the wall.”
The bus is outfitted with numerous touch-screen monitors that offer visitors an opportunity to interactively explore C-SPAN programming and resources.
It is touring Big Ten universities with stops at high schools in between. In addition to McKeesport, the bus visited Woodland Hills School District on Wednesday and is visiting Penn State University on Thursday.
Besides education outreach, the bus serves as a mobile studio, Hemmig said, noting the Penn State visit includes a televised interview with university president Eric J. Barron on the public affairs program “Washington Journal.”
Comcast sponsored the visit, and several representatives of the cable company were on hand.
State Rep. Bill Kortz, D-Dravosburg, stopped by to explore the bus and talk to students.
Kortz noted he is a graduate of McKeesport Area High School and said he was glad to see C-SPAN engaging with students.
“This is something that is good for the kids,” he said.
Teacher Robin Manning said students who electively enrolled in her current affairs class are interested in national and world affairs.
Manning said that initially, “I thought it would be a hard sell but it's not.”
C-SPAN presenters encouraged students to enter the network's annual video documentary competition. Documentary makers this year are encouraged to make a film about how action, law or policy by any of the three branches of government affects their lives or their communities.
More information about the competition is available at www.studentcam.org.
Eric Slagle is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1966, or eslagle@tribweb.com.
