Student School Board Member Uses Social Media To Advance His Agenda

The Washington Post (4/12, Birnbaum) reported that Tim Hwang, a "senior at Wootton High School, was elected a student member of the Montgomery County [MD] school board last year, in part by campaigning among the county's 142,000 students with a Web site modeled" on President Obama's campaign Web site. Hwang "is the only board member with a blog, he has a volunteer staff of about 20, he posts videos about education issues on YouTube, and he has held town hall-style meetings at which students have been able to air their concerns." Hwang "and Edward Burroughs III, Hwang's student counterpart in Prince George's County [MD], vote on most issues, although not on some of the most crucial ones the board faces, such as the budget and personnel."