Governor visits city's youth

High school senior Justin Tait will have hands-on experience in a city or county clerk's office before he even graduates.\nTait was one of the students to fill the middle section of Bloomington High School North's auditorium Tuesday to hear Governor Mitch Daniels speak on everything from his own internships and college days to his beliefs about capital punishment. The high school juniors and seniors present for Daniels' speech were participating in a program that allows them to leave school for part of the day and extend their education beyond the classroom through community service, cadet teaching or a senior internship.\nDaniels encouraged the future leaders to take advantage of these opportunities to gain real-world experience while still in high school and reminded them that not all students have such chances. \nHe applauded the students for taking part in something they could have overlooked. \n"Sometimes you can learn as much from real world experience as you can in the classroom," he said.\nAside from service learning, Daniels also discussed the impact of alternative fuels on Indiana. \n"It'll have an enormous effect on this state, and it's (going to) put a lot of money in rural Indiana," Daniels said.\nWhen a student asked how he balanced his personal beliefs with the beliefs of Indiana residents, Daniels said capital punishment is one issue that has forced him to address this question.\n"I am very ambivalent about the state taking a life. ... I could never be comfortable with those decisions which I've now faced several times," he said. "I've really had to ask myself the same question: Where does my sense of right and wrong (come in), and when am I representing (those in Indiana)?"\nPrincipal Jeff Henderson said having the governor come allowed students to see the importance of being an informed citizen. \n"It's a wonderful opportunity for kids to speak to local government leaders," he said.\nDaniels said he was tired of seeing young people leave school because it was not a good enough place to reach their goals in life. \n"We've tried to make the changes we think will make this a better state," he said.\nDavid Pillar, co-director of the program, said this will give students a great chance to go out and be active in the community. He said it will also give them a real job shadowing experience as they will be doing it for an entire year instead of just one day.\nDaniels said afterwards that it's not just students that can learn a lot by leaving their desks and going out into the world.\n"I think I learn more from the students than they learn from me," he said. "I don't think you can ever learn enough without getting to know the citizens (of Indiana). You can't learn that sitting in an office"