a few weeks ago, erik weibel was at a bernie sanders rally for hillary clinton in pennsylvania when he was accosted by a group of young supporters of donald j. trump . the boys surrounded him, jeering and chanting, <u+201c>trump! trump! trump!<u+201d> one made a crude comment about mrs. clinton. <u+201c>they were being really obnoxious, getting right up in my face and shouting things, and i didn<u+2019>t know how to react,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>my mom stepped in and helped.<u+201d> it was just one of the potential pitfalls of being a young campaign reporter during one of the most contentious, polarizing and occasionally perilous elections in history. erik is 14, a ninth grader from benton, pa. he has been closely tracking the presidential race as a reporter for the children<u+2019>s book publisher scholastic, which has dispatched 35 children, ages 10 to 14, to the campaign trail. covering the primary campaigns and general election in pennsylvania, erik has witnessed tense encounters between trump supporters and protesters, heard raw and offensive language from angry crowds and occasionally felt the animosity directed toward the news media. he has had to tiptoe around contentious subjects in his articles, omitting the graphic details of the allegations of unwanted advances on women against mr. trump and the obscene language in the leaked tape from <u+201c>access hollywood,<u+201d> in which the republican presidential candidate bragged about his treatment of women. <u+201c>i told the truth, told what happened, but also glazed over some of the details that are not appropriate for the age group i was writing for,<u+201d> erik said. scholastic has been providing child-friendly election coverage to teachers and classrooms for nearly a century, starting with the 1924 race between calvin coolidge and john w. davis. it introduced its children<u+2019>s press corps program in 2000, and for the last five presidential elections, scholastic has sent precocious young political reporters to cover rallies, debates and stump speeches around the country. this year<u+2019>s press corps includes children in 22 states and the district of columbia. the children cover their local areas, and their reports appear on the scholastic news website and occasionally in its classroom magazines, which reach about 25 million students. many of the young reporters say it is exhilarating to witness history unfolding before their eyes. but this election has presented challenges, as the race has devolved into one of the most vicious in the nation<u+2019>s history. even the most grizzled, jaded campaign veterans have been shocked by the barrage of insults and controversies that have defined this year<u+2019>s race. <u+201c>this election does stand out just for the level of nastiness all around,<u+201d> said elliott rebhun, the editor in chief of scholastic classroom magazines. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s been really tricky.<u+201d> for the scholastic news corps, covering the presidential campaign has at times been an eye-opening initiation into the uglier side of politics. abigael shea, a home-schooled 13-year-old who lives in mayodan, n.c., was reporting at a rally in fayetteville, n.c., in march when a trump supporter sucker- punched a protester , an assault that made national news. abigael did not witness the encounter but interviewed one of the police officers who had responded. <u+201c>it was tense,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>i was a little nervous, but i did feel safe because i was in the press area, and my parents were with me.<u+201d> other young reporters have wrestled with how to address reports about allegations of unwanted advances against mr. trump, a subject that has scandalized adults. esther appelstein, 12, from st. louis, covered the second debate between mrs. clinton and mr. trump at washington university, which took place just days after the release of the leaked <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> recording. wearing a press badge and a red polo shirt that said scholastic news kids press corps, esther interviewed trump and clinton supporters at a debate viewing party. the atmosphere grew tense as the candidates sparred over mr. trump<u+2019>s comments about women, and mr. trump brought up bill clinton<u+2019>s history with women. in her article , esther alluded to <u+201c>a controversial video of mr. trump<u+201d> that had been released days before the debate, but skipped over the details. <u+201c>i didn<u+2019>t really elaborate too much on that video because it might be inappropriate for kids to hear about, and i don<u+2019>t want to create any controversy among the teachers and students,<u+201d> she said. esther<u+2019>s mother, callie appelstein, said it had been especially hard this year to indulge her daughter<u+2019>s curiosity about the election. <u+201c>she had heard about the video, the video, the video,<u+201d> ms. appelstein said. <u+201c>she said, <u+2018>mom, what<u+2019>s the video?<u+2019><u+201d> ms. appelstein told her daughter that mr. trump had made <u+201c>sexually inappropriate<u+201d> remarks about women, and left it at that. <u+201c>i want to be honest with her and tell her what<u+2019>s happening, but i also don<u+2019>t want to freak her out,<u+201d> she said. of course, there have been uplifting and inspiring moments, too. several reporters for scholastic have been able to interview the candidates and mingle with professional reporters at campaign events. <u+201c>i feel like i<u+2019>m really becoming part of history, and this is such an unusual election,<u+201d> esther said. kaitlin clark, 12, from north woodstock, n.h., has been obsessed with presidential history and politics since she was 6. that year, her father took her to disney world and they visited the hall of presidents. <u+201c>i asked where all the girls were,<u+201d> said kaitlin, who wants to be a lawyer or the president of the united states when she grows up. when her social studies teacher suggested that she apply to the scholastic program, kaitlin jumped at the opportunity. she has reported on the primary contests, a republican town hall meeting, a trump rally and two clinton events. she was able to ask mrs. clinton a question <u+2014> and a follow-up question <u+2014> about the economy. occasionally, though, she has been disheartened by the mistrust of the news media. at a recent trump rally in portsmouth, n.h., kaitlin was excited to join the professional press corps in the news media area, and eagerly asked the other reporters about their jobs. <u+201c>one of them said, <u+2018>prepare to be booed,<u+2019><u+201d> kaitlin said. <u+201c>you could feel that the crowd didn<u+2019>t really want us there.<u+201d> erik weibel said he was disappointed at first when he was denied press credentials to cover a recent rally in pennsylvania for mr. trump. he put on his scholastic shirt and badge and went to the rally anyway to interview supporters and report on the candidate<u+2019>s speech. <u+201c>at one point at the rally, he made fun of the press, and the crowd, they were booing and going along with it,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>i was kind of glad i was not in the media section right then.<u+201d> a version of this article appears in print on november 2, 2016, on page a14 of the new york edition with the headline: meet the pg-13 reporters covering an r-rated presidential campaign. order reprints | today's paper | subscribe
the pg-13 reporters covering an r-rated election
alexandra alter