fandomhigh | Dru's Classroom: the formation of a new club

"Fuck.." Duce sounds annoyed and yet, composed. Plugging in the laptop, she pokes it out of sleep mode and shoots up the mockups she did in Study Hall. "Here's what we did this morning. The slogan isn't incorporated, because we had no clue what you wanted."

The computer screen displays hip, neo-retro campaign posters mocked up on Photoshop. "We have access to a full printshop, and there's also that new one in town. So.. what goes on this? Just the notice of intent, or is there a list of candidates and issues yet?"

"Right now let's just do notice of intent," Angelus indicated his abandoned first attempts at posters. "Simple, basic: here's the club, we're meeting right now in this classroom, anybody who wants to help is welcome. Once we get past that hurdle we can do the fancy stuff. Like, you know, name this bad boy."

Angelus rubbed the back of his head. "So... what? 'Students interested in making sure that everyone has a voice in the upcoming election come to Dru's classroom'? Or maybe we want 'everyone has a voice in Fandom High' then add a note about the elections."

Duce tilts her head back, staring at the ceiling as though it's a heretofor unrecognised source of inspiration, "Hm. 'Let your voice be heard - this time, you talk and the candidates listen'."

Frowning slightly, she comments, "Think the line's getting blurry. Is the intent to get write-in nominees or just add topics to the candidate's debates that would otherwise not get heard?" She shrugs a shoulder, "Presidential debates have sucked since the Women's League of Voters lost control of them - now they're all pre-scripted. Can probably play off that."

"This is why I normally avoid politics," Angelus said. "It's nowhere near as neat as torture and murder. Okay, avoid mission creep. The intent is that the way things stand now I'm seeing two huge groups who've got gags over their mouths: the write-ins who aren't on stage at tonight's debate, and the non-human students who are being used as convienent scapegoats for certain people's campaign strategies. Avoiding the issue of what, if anything, we'll do with this club after the election, let's just focus on that.

"Task one: the event tomorrow night which will give write-ins the chance to share a stage with whatever regular candidate has the balls to show up and risk having to ask real and unfiltered questions from the student body."

Duce listens and nods her head once, "So.. unofficial debates. Challenge to the current candidates by the write in - bold type '(Event) (Date) DEBATE - We'll Be There under images of the write ins - Will You? under images of the currents. Could also possibly use 'Procrastinating on writing your debate platform? We're not. (Event) (Date) DEBATE over pictures of the write-ins."

Drumming her fingers on the table, she also comments, "The non-nats are a wash - they're not going to vote for anyone who's painting them as villains, but most of them probably wouldn't vote at all unless they personally knew a candidate. Given a viable alternative to whichever candidate is using the villain-paint, there's a chance they'd backlash and vote for that person out of spite."

"That's what I'm thinking," Angelus nodded his agreement. "And we can't do a debate as such, Bristow vetoed that. But we can do an event where everybody gets to do a stump speech then, if they're brave enough, deal with the fact that they're now surrounded by the voting populace without any filters. If any of the candidates, write-in or otherwise, aren't smart enough to figure out how to take full advantage of that then I wash my hands of them."

"So.. we call it an open mic night." Giving Angelus a darkly amused look, "There you go, overestimating the intelligence of the average highschool student again. You saw the smear campaign against Belthazar yesterday? Really.. he's a demon, and apparently an aggressive one, and someone was idiotic enough to publish that in a highschool where they couldn't possibly have gone unseen?" She tsks.

"If Parker's team did it, they're really not too bright. There's a guy in town about to get charged with statutory rape and corruption of a minor on her behalf. Unfortunately, that little fact isn't public yet, so we can't use it."

"So.. we challenge them all to an open mic goodfolk sit-down. And.. moderate it, how? Our suggestion would be to set up drop boxes, anonymous, asking what questions the students would like to see asked, and use that to make the list the candidates get asked. That would add curiousity to the normal draw, plus keep the cacophany down when everyone jumps in to ask their question. You could have one person read the questions in order of .. what, subject?"

"'Meet the Candidates'?" Angelus suggested. "Let them all start out with a timed speech where they actually have to prove themselves, then open up the floor to questions?"

[ooc: One of the catches here is that I'm busy Thursday night and won't be able to get online until 10. So anything that involves using a moderator will need to be a character other than Angelus.]

Duce shakes her head, "Noooo way. The timed speech, beautiful, go with that - open the floor? Hell no. You'll have people jumping topics and shouting and whispering and making a huge vocal mess. It won't look organized and it will reflect badly on the whole thing. Get the questions in advance and promise they'll all be read. Have a ringmaster do it."

She hrms.. "It shouldn't be you. You're too visibly the posterboy for Evil, and anything you do is going to be suspect. It would look better if there were a teacher adminning it.. what about that teacher who sponsored your JA group? Or Drusilla?"

(ooc: ack. I can help moderate it as a player, but Duce shouldn't ringlead.)

"Dru's not sane enough to lead," Angelus said. "I say that with love. Dr. Carter sponsors JA so she'll look just as biased as I would."

He rubbed his chin. "Off the top of my head? If we're going for admin? Grissom or Spider."

"Wait.. you just vetoed Drusilla for insanity and promoted Spider? Won't fly. So, go with Grissom. He's nonpartisan, everyone pretty much likes him, he's used to controlling mobs of highschoolers, and he's a forensic scientist so not much should squick him out. Think he'll do it?"

(ooc: I utterly veto Spider. Spider's player has /way/ too much on their plate right now.)

"Here's a thought though," Angelus said. "If we're doing this moderated question format, what makes our event significantly different from the debates? I don't like following banjo acts with banjo acts. Let's have speeches, then it's whatever candidates showed up surrounded by whatever students showed up. If that leads to chaos, well, who wants to vote for a candiate who can't handle chaos?"

[ooc: Totally agreed. But Angelus had to mention it IC.]

"People who vote for the pretty, popular person?" Duce counters. "Yeah, you're right about the banjo act." Brooding, "Can't we do something like 'The Weakest Link' but have it be campaign trivia or something?"

Angelus shook his head. "Too much work on our parts. Not that I wouldn't love to try and figure out all kinds of fun ways to make them sink or swim on stage, but the deadline's too tight. I think we should stick to plans that keep the hard work firmly in their court. After all, the point is for them to prove they're worthy of us, not the other way around."

Drumming her fingers again, "We're going to need plants. Unless you trust the student body to come up with cohesive, intelligent questions? Maybe the posters should have possible questions on them, just to get people thinking in the right direction."

"If I trusted the student body to come up with those questions on their own I wouldn't be here," Angelus said. "In fact, I'm actually thinking of posters and radio ads with those very things right up until the election. Won't do a damn thing for the debates or tomorrow night, but it might get a braincell or two to spark around here.

"As for tomorrow: plants and posters. Ideally, this is where the candidates themselves will come in handy. It'll be in their best interest to think of things to catch their opponants out."

Duce types something on her laptop, and after a moment, it pings at her. She glances at the message and offers, "We've got a go to use the press all night, provided we can get the materials together. Another suggestion was to print the event on one side of a notecard with blank lines on the back for people to write down the questions on, so they can bring them to the debate. Maybe with example questions around the border of the front side?"

Thinking of something, she adds, "Make sure the food is seperate from the debate area or there'll be at least one attempt to start a food fight."

"That... is not an unwise idea," Angelus said. "I'll warn Logan. Think you can handle taking care of that card thing?"

"Not a problem. Can do notecards, flyers, window clings, fake newspapers.. " Snorting she grouses, "If the candidates had put forth their platforms already, we'd be happy to mock up an 'infomercial' type letter with the pros and cons of their campaigns.. buuuuut they didn't."

She considers that.. "Think we could get the write-ins to do it? If we can get it to press this afternoon, they'll be ready by tonight, or tomorrow morning at the latest."

"No idea," Angelus said. "You're rooming with one. Cal promised to spread the word to the rest of the Batsh*t Ticket. I'm friends with another. At this point we may just want to do an all points bulletin on the school's email list. Speaking of which - " Angelus gave up on making a starter poster that was especially pretty or pithy " - Let me hang these up. We need more bodies in here. Be right back."

[ooc: He's got vamp speed and he's not going far. Just reply and assume the conversation resumes when he returns in five minutes]

"Yeah, we know. Des' calendar is.. " Her face suddenly twists into a somewhat comical mixture of frustration, annoyance, and abashedness. "We're useless tonight. Other committments. However, can still get the press run done. Just won't be useful hanging them. Where should they be delivered? Here?"

(ooc: Go for it. Duce would watch in amusement.)

"Yeah, here," Angelus said. "We'll make this our offices for now. And I'll be gone tonight too. No way I'm sitting out that debate."

Duce's face is still decidedly odd, "We won't be at the debate either. We'll be busy.. at home. Are they being recorded? If not, can send someone to do it."

"No idea, but considering the lack of privacy at this school I wouldn't hate having a personal tape for my own use," Angelus said. "You got a friend with a camera?"

((OOC: Or a Journalism Professor who has all the public areas bugged and could easily be persuaded to make a recording available as public record?))

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