New Tech students get political with Rep. Thompson

On Friday afternoon, a dozen seniors at New Technology High School nervously waited for Rep. Mike Thompson to arrive to be interviewed by students as part of a political studies project.

“Should we line up and shake hands with him?” one student inquired. Another student, worried that his Kermit the Frog T-shirt was inappropriate for meeting an elected official, quickly put on a black sweatshirt.

When the St. Helena congressman arrived, the students led him to a small studio adjacent to the digital media classroom. Then the questioning began. Topics ranged from the Occupy Wall Street movement and Internet censorship to gun laws and immigration.