Election day is next Tuesday, Nov. 2. Many seniors at Diamond Bar High School are a step ahead of us in learning the voting process.

In mid-September, the civics classes in the Pathways Communication Academy at Diamond Bar High School used real voting booths, ballot boxes and paper ballots in a lesson about government.

The students followed voter registration protocol, maintained voter privacy, practiced proper polling site behavior, and learned about "hanging chads" and other issues.

This was an actual election about student issues. They cast votes for their Pathways officers, and voted for three propositions concerning fund raising, T-shirts and financing their Adopt-A-Family Service Project.

This exercise was very important for the many students who will vote for the first time as 18-year-olds.

The project was coordinated by Pathways Communications Academy Leadership Adviser Sandra Davis and Civics teacher Megan Gwilliam.