Children's Express recognizes the fact that kids, although they cannot vote, need to have a say and understand the issues in this election, both at the national and state levels.

That is why we brought 10 central Indiana students from seven schools together to discuss three issues with the Republican nominee for governor, Attorney General Linley Pearson. Children's Express staff members also participated in the discussion, held at the Statehouse.

Pearson told us he is qualified to be governor because for the past 12 years as attorney general he has dealt with all branches of government.

Environment

One of the issues in the '92 campaign has been the environment. According to Pearson, Indiana is making strides in improving the environment but still has a way to go. In 1991, Indiana received 1,452,299 tons of out-of-state trash.

Pearson thinks the problem of out-of-state trash is a nationwide problem and needs a nationwide solution. As governor he would exert lobbying pressure on Congress to pass a bill that would allow individual states to handle some environmental problems without violating the federal Interstate Commerce Act. Such a bill had been passed by the Senate, but not the House of Representatives.

"The problems that we have in the state of Indiana are not what we're doing to our environment, but what we are doing to other people's environment. . . . We have been transporting air pollutants through the air to other states.

"Our state is the 12th largest producer of hazardous and toxic waste in the entire country and the fifth largest exporter," said Pearson, who takes credit for changes that helped lower Indiana's contributions to Ohio's environmental problems.

"I wrote the law that came into existence in 1982 that made felony penalties for intentional violations of toxic waste pollution . . . I was the one who said there had to be separate enforcement and pushed for strong criminal penalties and strong civil penalties," he said.

Pearson is encouraged that Hoosiers are concerned and are taking steps both individually and by putting pressure on public officials. Kids, said Pearson, have an important responsibility to read as much as they can about the issue.

"If you're better informed, you're going to make wise decisions and you're going to promote the fact that other people should make those decisions, too," he continued.

Education

School choice has been another controversial topic in the '92 contest. Supporters of choice suggest it may be a solution to the dropout problem in the United States. Last year, Indiana had the 14th highest high school dropout rate.

Pearson believes the state's school system is good and does not endorse school choice statewide. (For example, an Indianapolis student could not select to attend a school in Fort Wayne.) He said it would be financially impossible to transport students across the state, adding that there's nothing wrong with trying school choice district by district or small areas within a district.

Family values

Family values has been a hot campaign topic, with discussions about single-parent families. As increasing numbers of teen-agers become pregnant, society struggles with solutions. In the United States, a baby is born to a teen every 67 seconds.

"It's very difficult for someone in the government to say that they can stop teen pregnancies in any way because it has to do with the home life, it has to do with the value system, it has to do with peer pressure.

Pearson suggested that pregnant teens dropping out of school only hampers the teen's future.

"It should be mandatory that people go on to school and finish and get an education."