Ever since Richard Turner became mayor of Weehawken, he has insisted that the township participate in an annual Student Day, where high school students get to know more about the daily business of their hometown hands on.
The 10th annual Student Day took place last Wednesday, culminating in the students actually running the regularly scheduled Township Council meeting in the respective positions that they held for the day.
Senior Michael Maione was Turner for the day. Giovanna DiBerto filled the shoes of Township Manager James Marchetti.
If there was one thing that the students participating in the exercises had in common, it was a lack of awareness about the council/manager form of government, which is very unique for Hudson County but more known in other parts of the state, that is utilized in Weehawken.
“I wasn’t aware of it,” Maione said.
He wasn’t alone. None of the dozen or so students participating in the program knew that Turner was actually elected as a councilman-at-large and was appointed to the position of mayor. And that Marchetti is the one who handles most of the daily business and operations in the town, because he is a full-time employee and Turner is only a part-time employee as mayor, earning a salary of $8,000 annually.
“I really didn’t know much about what goes on in the town,” said Maione, who is the Student Council vice-president. “This was a good opportunity for me to learn about how things operate.”
DiBerto was equally startled with what her job-for-a-day entitled.
“I never knew anything about what the township manager did,” DiBerto said. “I am very impressed with what Mr. Marchetti does in the town. It’s all very complicated.”
The lack of understanding is one of the reasons why Turner insists on holding the Student Day every year.
“This is their first real experience how their local government works,” Turner said. “As they get older, it becomes more and more important to realize that fact. It’s not surprising that they don’t know, because as high school students, they’re focusing on other things, like their schoolwork, athletics and other activities. Once they get older and more responsible, then they realize the importance. They might know who the mayor and the council are, but they don’t understand the complexity of the entire operation.”
Turner said that the assigned students were given a tour of the major departments in the town, with several students actually playing the roles of the department heads. They were also given a tour of the North Hudson Regional Sewer Plant in Hoboken, had a question and answer session with Turner and Marchetti, then chaired the council meeting on Wednesday night.
“I think it’s an instructive day for the students, but the elected officials also learn something as well,” Turner said. “We get feedback and opinions about things that we might have overlooked. Two years ago, students asked about improvements to Weehawken Stadium and we looked into those ideas. This year, we had the students ask about the proposed waterfront recreation area. We get a chance to listen to their ideas, when we probably wouldn’t have had a chance otherwise.”
The students were somewhat surprised with the workings of the system.
“After spending the day, we got to see how everyone in the town relies on each other,” said senior Anthony Rendine, who was a member of the Township Council for the day.
“They all work to help to maintain Weehawken and have everything run smoothly. It is a little overwhelming, all that they do,” he said.
“We know that they just don’t sit around in an office all day,” said student Yazeed Abdelaziz, who was also a member of the Township Council. “I was truly amazed with the amount of responsibility involved. It was a good experience for all of us.”
Turner will continue this exercise for the students as long as he remains in office. “It’s a good exercise in civics and it leads to good conversation between the students and the public officials,” Turner said. “I believe it really is a helpful day for all of us.”