NEWBURYPORT — Faster than you can say "Google it," a group of civic-minded high school students got a lesson on how quickly a question to a presidential candidate can go viral during New Hampshire primary season.
The question that launched a million Web hits led to a debate between presidential candidate Rick Santorum and 17-year-old Newburyport high school senior Rhiannon Pyle on the issue of gay marriage.
In the end, Santorum's response drew boos from the audience and quickly became fodder for news and talk shows nationwide.
It all started with a civics lesson. Pyle and her classmates attended a three-day event at New England College in Concord, N.H., which hosts high school and college students during the New Hampshire primary season. Teacher Matt LaChapelle said this was the school's third trip to the event that invites candidates to speak and also take questions afterward. The students returned yesterday and sat down with The Daily News to talk about the experience.
The exchange on Thursday started with a question posed by someone not from the Newburyport group. The question was why not have legal same-sex marriage as long as it's not a religious marriage.
"For 230 years, marriage has been between one man and woman. So, if you want to change the law ... you have to make the positive argument about why," Santorum responded, according to a video footage of the event. Santorum is a strong critic of gay marriage.
Pyle later shot up her hand and said: "How about the idea that all men are created equal, rights to happiness and liberty?"
Santorum responded, "Are we saying that everyone should have the right to marry?"
Several members of the crowd yelled back "Yes!"
Santorum compared gay marriage to polygamy, which set off more groans and jeers. Santorum then began questioning the teens aggressively, in an increasingly testy exchange. Santorum challenged the students to argue why three people getting married to one another is morally different than gay marriage.
"I'm going to give people one more chance and then we are going to move on. I'm going to ask the question again. If three people happen to get married based on what you just said, what makes that wrong and what you said right?"
"That's irrelevant," Pyle responded. "My personal opinion is, 'Yeah go for it,' but what I'm asking [is] for you [to] justify your belief and your high morals about all men created equal."
The exchange went on for another minute or so, and soon after, the clips of the back and forth between Santorum and Pyle went viral.
Reporters and bloggers interviewed Pyle, and clips on the exchange were posted on websites like YouTube.
"We went to the Tilton Diner right after that night was over, and when we were done, most of us were getting text messages from anyone we knew," said student Samantha McCraine.
While Pyle didn't expect her answer to change Santorum's mind, she said the back and forth didn't bode well for him.
"He wasn't very confident, and it was very evident when the debate was going on between me and him, he got very frustrated with the audience. He was kind of yelling, and he really didn't answer the main part of the question: What about all men being created equal?" Pyle said.
Another student, Alex Bradley, a senior, said Santorum's exchange went beyond a gaffe.
"Occasionally, candidates have gaffes, and that's normal," Bradley said. "But this was rude of him."
The exchange with Santorum occurred just after the students attended a panel discussion with members of the media who discussed how quickly news travels now compared to decades ago.
The trip opened up the students' eyes to the political process and the importance of being an informed voter.
"Not all of us are 18, but we're going to be, and being there especially taught us the importance of who you're voting for," said Sarah Jacqz, a junior.
"One of the things that I learned ... is the responsibility citizens have to educate themselves. It's such a big country, so many people, they have such an influence on who will be the next leader of our country, they have a responsibility to educate themselves," Henry Jacqz, Sarah's twin, added.
For a video of the debate, go to www.newburyportnews.com
