From left to right, West Virginia House of Delegates candidates Troy Miller (D-98), Joe Funkhouser (R-98), Osmund Anderson (D-99) and Wayne Clark (R-99) speak at the For Students, By Students General Election Town Hall in the Storer Ballroom on Oct. 3. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Political candidates, community members and college students gathered together in Shepherd University’s Storer Ballroom for the “For Students, By Students General Election Town Hall” last week.

The town hall was hosted by Shepherd University’s Student Government Association (SGA), with the support of the Bonnie & Bill Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications.

“We are about a 70% commuter school, so a lot of students come from this area,” said SGA President Paul Teter, who hails from Romney.

Although Teter could not vote for any of the candidates speaking at the town hall — who are vying for the seats for Districts 97, 98, 99 and 100 in the House of Delegates and for the Jefferson County Commission seats for Shepherdstown, Harpers Ferry, Middleway and Charles Town — he said he believed it was still an important event for him and the other 30% of noncommuters to attend.

“I live here probably about 80% of the year,” Teter said. “With both the county and local politicians, their decisions do impact me and other students, especially when it comes to education.”

Shepherd University Student Government Association President Paul Teter moderates the For Students, By Students General Election Town Hall in the Storer Ballroom on Oct. 3. Tabitha Johnston

SGA Communications Director Joanna Schoonover agreed with Teter on the importance of student engagement in the political process.

“This emphasizes that students’ voices matter, and students have a role in government. Even if you aren’t from the region, the policies and the decisions that these candidates make will impact Shepherd University and, subsequently, the students,” Schoonover said. “It’s important to know what’s going on and what could potentially happen in the future.”

Stubblefield Institute Director Ashley Horst said she has been pleased for her organization to be able to help the SGA with this town hall, as well as the SGA’s first one, which was held last semester.

“They felt like a lot of the issues that were important to them weren’t necessarily getting talked about at the other forums, and so, they asked if we would help them. We kind of guided them through the process,” Horst said, mentioning how this town hall demonstrates the desires of the newest generation of voters. “This generation really want civility. They want civil discourse.”

One of those politicians participating in the civil discourse at the town hall was Troy Miller (D-98). Miller, who is an Appalachian Studies graduate student at Shepherd University, spoke on the value of receiving input from the students.

“From my view, if I’m elected — and I hope to be — I’m elected to represent every person in my district. Not just the voters,” Miller said. “There is certainly a benefit to hearing from community voices — both of those who are boarders and those who can vote here.”

According to Teter, the number of Shepherd University students getting involved with the political process this semester has been steadily increasing, based on the results of recent voter registration drives in the Student Center.

“The Stubblefield Institute and the League of Women Voters have been holding voter registration drives in the Rams Den,” Teter said. “The last one we did was a record number of voter sign ups!”