Yonkers students get prime seat for Electoral College

ALBANY - New York's meeting of the Electoral College on Monday was a standing-room-only affair, with former President Bill Clinton and other dignitaries packing the Senate floor as spectators sat elbow to elbow in the galleries above.

For 110 high school students, the scene was their classroom for the day.

Thirteen schools from across the state bused students in to the Capitol on Monday, where they received a coveted pass to view the Electoral College proceedings from the ornate Senate chamber, which has a capacity of just a few hundred.

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The students watched as Clinton and New York's 28 other electors officially cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and New York senator who won her home state but lost the Electoral College to President-elect Donald Trump.

Among the schools were three in Yonkers: Roosevelt High School, Yonkers Montesorri Academy and Yonkers High School.

The Yonkers' schools brought along 11 students and two adult chaperones, who watched from the galleries alongside reporters, camera operators and government staff members.

"They chose students from our schools that pertain to leadership positions, like from student government," said Kyrollos Shehata, a 17-year-old senior who is student body president at Yonkers Montessori.

"I've always been interested in politics ever since I was younger, when I watched the debates between President Obama and John McCain."

Mateo Carrillo, 17, of Roosevelt High School, said he's also interested in politics, but like Shehata, he intends to pursue a science field when he heads off to college. A senior, Carrillo is running for student body president.

Among the other high schools with students who attended Monday were Oakfield-Alabama High School in Genesee County and Maine-Endwell High School in Broome County.