The Oldest Delegate at the DNC

There were more than 4,000 delegates present at the role call of states during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte last night, but Steven Sherman was the oldest of all of them. Sherman is one of the only delegates in a wheelchair — and he's the oldest delegate at 91 years old.

Born the same year Warren Harding, the 29th President, took office, he is at the convention to help Barack Obama get re-elected as the 44th President of the United States.

I met Sherman on this afternoon as he entered the Time Warner Cable Arena to be interviewed by Kyra Phillips of CNN's sister channel, Headline News (HLN). Phillips had actually just scheduled an interview with me for an hour later. Seeing him come into the arena, she suggested that I also interview him. He introduced himself to me as Steven and we talked briefly on the floor of the arena.

"I never thought I would live to see the first black President elected," Sherman told me. This is the second Democratic National Convention he's been to — he was in Denver for the convention that first nominated Barack Obama for President.

He also has some words of wisdom for people who want to become delegates like he did. "Just fight for what you believe is right in your country and follow your dreams," he said.

And fight he did. He fought in World War II and today is a decorated veteran who proudly displays his medals and a hat that reads "World War II Veteran."

When asked about former President Bill Clinton's speech last night, he said, "It was just dynamite. Dynamite. That man is smart, he knows where we're going, and Obama can take us there."

He also spoke about his core values as a Democrat and as an American. "Pledge allegiance to yourself, to God, and to your country," he said. "Those are the three."

Afterwards, I took a picture with Sherman. He then asked to take another with his camera, but he has a request. "Go to the other side of me," he joked. "You're covering my medals."

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Photo: Kid Reporter Andrew Liang shakes hands with 91-year-old Democratic delegate Steven Sherman at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte. (Kristen Joerger)

Reporting the Election for Latinos

At the Democratic National Convention, I got a chance to speak to Jose Diaz-Balart, the anchor of Noticiero Telemundo of the Spanish-language Telemundo network. Sometimes referred to as the Brian Williams of Telemundo, he spoke to me outside the Telemundo set on the Suite Level at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist spoke to me about the presidential elections, reporting, and his values. Below is my interview with Diaz-Balart on Wednesday, the second day of the convention.

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Clinton Nominates Obama

The second day of the Democratic National Convention concluded with a riveting speech by former President Bill Clinton at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. Other speakers on the evening of September 5 included former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and Massachusetts Senate candidate, Elizabeth Warren.

Clinton officially nominated Barack Obama as the Democratic Presidential nominee and fiercely pledged his support to President Obama.

"I want a man who believes with no doubt that we can build a new American dream economy, driven by innovation and creativity, by education and, yes, by cooperation," Clinton said. "I want Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. And I proudly nominate him to be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party."

Read the rest of the story on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website!

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Photo: President Barack Obama waves after former President Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday, September 5, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)  

Andrea Mitchell Reports from the DNC

On Wednesday of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, I got the chance to interview another reporter. I had a brief opportunity to speak with Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News. Having watched her numerous times on television on The Today Show and NBC Nightly News, it was very exciting to speak to her. I went with Scholastic editors Dante and Kristen to the NBC suite at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte and asked her a few questions between segments on her show. She spoke to me about memorable moments as a journalist and her tips for reporters and kids. Below is my interview with her on the set of her MSNBC program Andrea Mitchell Reports.

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

My first day at the Democratic National Convention

As a Scholastic News Kid Reporter, my latest assignment is to cover the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the early hours of the morning of September 4, when most of Atlanta was still asleep, my dad and I began our trip to the airport and ultimately to Charlotte, finally landing at the Charlotte airport by late morning. A little while later, we met up with Scholastic editors Dante and Kristen who had arrived from New York only minutes after we had. After renting a car for the four of us, we headed towards the convention center in downtown Charlotte.

When we were only a couple thousand feet from our destination, we got our first taste of convention traffic. We waited and waited in the car, finally choosing to walk the remainder of the distance to the Charlotte Convention Center where we needed to get our media credentials.

Dante, Kristen, and I walked to one entrance of the convention center only to find it blocked by Secret Service and inaccessible without proper credentials. The only problem — we needed to get into the building to get our credentials! We journeyed to the other entrance of the center about two blocks away only to be told to go another way. Eventually, we were able to get into the building. Once inside, we were immediately met by security guards, a metal detector, and a security line.

Next, we had to get those elusive credentials. We went downstairs to the media work area to try to meet up with Scholastic’s NBC News contacts, but were refused because we hadn’t gotten credentials yet. We walked up several escalators and through numerous crowds of people to arrive at the media credential area where we would finally receive our very own ones. The next few days, we will have to come to the very same room to get credentials for each day.

We rushed back downstairs to the media work area to meet with the NBC contacts. But we soon learned that this was the work area for the affiliates, and that the national NBC News work area was at the Time Warner Cable Arena, where the first two days of the Democratic National Convention would be held. Kristen had to leave to travel by car with my dad to take a look at the place we would be staying for all three nights, so Dante and I continued on. At the arena, we were pointed in different directions and went around in circles a couple of times. Dante made several unsuccessful attempts to call our NBC contact. Inside the arena, networks like NBC, CNN, and CBS had already set up broadcast areas. Just outside of the arena, radio stations including NPR and various political talk shows were also set up.

Eventually, Dante received a phone call back from Mindy, our NBC News contact. She met us inside the arena building and led us outside to a white tent labeled NBC. Passing by many policemen and women on the way, Mindy said, “I’ve seen police on all sorts of methods of transportation today. They’re on horses, Segways, in cars, on scooters, on motorcycles.” So true.

When we finally arrived at the NBC News work area, which is located inside a tent next to the arena, Dante and I got our NBC credentials, as well as credentials for Kristen. These will allow us to work in the tent alongside NBC News employees. The two of us headed to the back of the tent and collapsed in the chairs and grabbed a quick snack after a trek that had brought us through half of downtown Charlotte from one building to another, one location to another.

We took a train from the arena back to the convention center, and Kristen and my dad picked us up outside the center in mid-afternoon. None of us had guessed it would take that long to get a couple of credentials! The four of us drove to a Cracker Barrel restaurant for a long coveted, refreshing lunch. We then headed over to the place we are staying to watch the first night of the convention on TV. But for as tired as we might be after a long day of traveling, we know we have to get our energy up for tomorrow — the real work begins bright an early at 8 a.m.!

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Election 2012: The Conventions Begin!

The next stage of the 2012 presidential campaign begins on Monday. That's when the nation's Republican leaders and thousands of party faithful gather in Tampa, Florida, for the Republican National Convention. The convention lasts until Thursday.

The big events at the convention will be the official selection of Mitt Romney as the Republican presidential nominee and Paul Ryan and the nominee for Vice President. Ryan will be nominated on Wednesday, and Romney will be nominated on Thursday.

But while the convention officially begins on Monday, it is already in the news.

Tropical Storm Isaac is churning in the Atlantic Ocean, and there's a chance it will hit Florida. The storm has already hit parts of the Caribbean, and Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba are in Isaac's path. Meteorologists are predicting Isaac to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches Florida — which could be on the first day of the convention.

Read more on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website and the Election 2012 website!

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Photo: Balloons fall as Republican presidential nominee John McCain is joined by running mate Sarah Palin on stage after his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) 

On Tour in Copenhagen

Roller Coasters, The Little Mermaid, and More!

As the Lufthansa airplane landed at the Copenhagen Airport, I was glad to arrive at my destination after two flights over a distance of 4,500 miles during the last 12 hours. I was on a 16-day concert tour with the Concert Choir of the Georgia Boy Choir (GBC) to Scandinavia, and, among other places, Copenhagen, Denmark. Every year, the choir tours to a different place every summer; for example, we traveled to England last year to become the Choir in Residence at Oxford Cathedral and Wells Cathedral.

This year, the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir invited us to give a concert at the Copenhagen Cathedral, the same way that the GBC had invited them to perform in Atlanta a month before our tour. We would stay in the homes of their boys, much like the way they had stayed in our homes when they were in the United States. I couldn't wait for this unique opportunity and was so excited to be able to spend four days in the beautiful city of Copenhagen.

Copenhagen Cathedral, where we were asked to perform, is the national cathedral of Denmark and is a lovely, neoclassical church with a seating capacity of more than 1,100 people and a bell tower containing both the largest and oldest bells in the country. Measuring 83 meters (272 ft) in length and 33 meters (108 ft) in width, the church had great acoustics, causing all of our notes to echo much longer after being sung. We adjusted to the space during the three hour rehearsal in preparation for our concert. The conductor of the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir said to us after listening to the rehearsal, "You all were very good." This was an excellent comment from the conductor of such an outstanding boy choir.

But our tour was not just a musical experience. It was also a fun one. The choir visited Tivoli Gardens, perhaps the most famous amusement park in all of Europe. The park contains many different mechanical rides for all ages, pleasure flower gardens, a Chinese styled Pantomime Theater, a concert hall, and numerous restaurants. Opened in 1843, it is still one of the most visited amusement parks in Europe and the most visited in Scandinavia.

My friends and I tried out several rides one afternoon, including the world's tallest carousel, the Star Flyer; the short but back-breaking Demon Roller Coaster; the exhilarating and fast paced Dragon's Tail; and finally the infamous Vertigo, in which riders can control a plane that loops around and spins wildly in the air. Coming off of the Vertigo, I heard a fellow chorister say, "That was the best ride ever. Even better than the ones at Six Flags!"

Another must-see attraction the choir visited was the Little Mermaid Statue, based on the fairy tale icon from the story of the same name written by Hans Christian Anderson, who was Danish. Although only 4 feet tall, the statue has become a symbol of Denmark, and was even moved to China to be displayed at the Denmark Pavilion during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

For all three nights I spent in Denmark, I stayed in the home of August, a boy that I hosted when his choir came to Atlanta. He was very smart, great at singing, and excellent at speaking English. We loved doing things together during these few days including watching TV, playing on the trampoline, playing catch, and simply just talking to each other. I learned a lot about life in Denmark and found out that it really isn't too different from life in America.

Yet the best experience of all in Copenhagen was the concert that we gave at the Copenhagen Cathedral the night before we left. We sang songs from a dozen countries around the world in several languages including Latin, German, Russian, Czech, Chinese, and English. We prepared for a year in order to sing these songs, and performing them was as equally rewarding as seeing the audience's appreciation for our singing. Our voices serenaded the audience for more than two hours, and we received a long standing ovation from the huge crowd.

Sadly, the next morning it was time to leave Denmark to continue the tour in Norway, and August and I said farewell to each other. I will miss him and the gorgeous city of Copenhagen and the country of Denmark as a whole, but I know that I could not have spent four days in Denmark in any better way. Singing there during this unforgettable concert tour was definitely the experience of a lifetime.

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Photo: Kid Reporter Andrew Liang on the streets of Copenhagen. (Courtesy Andrew Liang) 

Pottermore: A World of Magic and Imagination

Caption: Scholastic Kid Reporter Andrew Liang brews a potion on Pottermore

As a devoted Harry Potter fan and enthusiast, I was extremely excited about the announcement of the website Pottermore this past summer by author J.K. Rowling. She was finally going to reveal secrets we had wanted to know for so long and was going to lead us through an interactive experience like never before. The pages were going to come alive and tell their own stories about everything in the Harry Potter universe.

My first wish was to get exclusive entry onto Pottermore by entering the Magical Quill Challenge that was announced on the website before access was granted. The task was to look out for a question on the Pottermore website and to answer it as quickly as possible since only 1 million lucky readers would be granted early access. After answering the question, I was to find a Magical Quill (like the one that finds magical students in the book series) and sign up. I checked my email many times during the months of August and September, hoping that one day the confirmation would come to me.

And it did! I was confirmed to enter Pottermore early; now they had to set me up with a special time to enter Pottermore since the demand was so high that people all around the world with early access were already indulging themselves in the fantastic storyline of Pottermore. Finally, at the end of September, I was able to log on myself to have a first glimpse of the website. From the first moment I deeply enjoyed it, reading extras written by Rowling herself and explanations on just about anything, from the history of the Hogwarts Express to the types of wands.

I retraced Harry’s route from the Dursleys all the way to Diagon Alley, then started my own little adventure. There, in the wizarding community of Diagon Alley, I virtually entered Gringotts Bank, purchased necessary materials, bought myself an owl, and even visited Ollivander’s Wand Shop. A questionnaire helped the wand choose its master and now in my possession is a beautiful beech dragon core wand that is 13 inches long. Just as exhilarating was the ride to Hogwarts and the moment I was sorted by the Sorting Hat.

Another questionnaire was used to tell my true personality and I was very nervous — the house I would be sorted in today would be the house that I would keep for the rest of my journey through the seven books. The virtual Professor McGonagall warned the first year students to take it seriously and that “its decision would be final.”

In the questionnaire, I wished to be a trustworthy and kind person to others and someone who was not boastful of their own accomplishments. The hat quickly decided and announced that I was a... HUFFLEPUFF! I had always thought of Hufflepuff of being the weaker house, but my prefect seemed to have read my mind and my welcome letter from him said, “First of all, let’s deal with a perennial myth about the place, which is that we’re the least clever house. WRONG. Hufflepuff is certainly the least boastful house, but we’ve produced just as many brilliant witches and wizards as any other. Want proof? Look up Grogan Stump, one of the most popular Ministers for Magic of all time. He was a Hufflepuff – as were the successful Ministers Artemesia Lufkin and Dugald McPhail.”

Did you know that Newt Scamander was a Hufflepuff? See, there are loads of information you will love on Pottermore. Also, the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room has been so well concealed that in a thousand years of Hogwarts school history, no outsider has ever seen it!

I am still only on the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and I’m having a blast exploring Hogwarts, visiting Hagrid, brewing potions for Professor Snape, and making new online friends. Whether you’re looking to collect chocolate frogs online or you would like learn more about how the Dursleys met each other, Pottermore is just right for you. I encourage you to sign up and with one swish and a flick you’ll be ready to begin your expedition through the mind of Harry Potter!

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Singing in Hogwarts

For many years, Harry Potter has been a famous and much loved wizard, even in the muggle world. This kid reporter and choirboy had a chance to visit and sing at some of the great inspirations and filming locations for the Harry Potter films and enjoy a week of fun at the world famous University of Oxford. As a member of the Georgia Boy Choir, which was the Choir-in-Residence at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford from July 18-24, I spent a week in Christ Church College studying music, the college’s fine architecture, and its rich history. The school’s alumni include 13 British Prime Ministers and leading scientists, politicians, and artists.

The GBC rehearsed for two hours and sang a 45-minute long Choral Evensong every day in the cavernous cathedral with marvelous acoustics. The echo was long and enormous, and a bit hard to deal with. “Don’t sing by what you hear but by what you see. We can then produce a fantastic sound together,” conductor David White told us.

The bulk of the service was done by the choir. It was an exhausting but rewarding experience. For around 500 years now, choirboys have stood on the exact spots, resonated their voices in the cathedral, and produced some of the best music in the world. These were high expectations to live up to, but the GBC boys seemed to find encouragement in that fact and worked to set the bar even higher. 

So what was that about Harry Potter? In the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry is shown arriving as a first year at Hogwarts and is greeted on a staircase by Professor McGonagall before being taken into the Great Hall. Inside there are four long tables for each House of students with similar personalities. The High Table at the end of the hall is for Professors and the Headmaster Dumbledore.  

First of all, the staircase where Harry is greeted filmed on 16th century stairs inside Christ Church. The Great Hall of the college was the inspiration for the Great Hall of Hogwarts and is almost identical to the one in the movies, which was a replica built in a film studio. Also, the ancient 1000-year-old cloisters of the college were ideal filming locations. One scene was when Harry Potter was shown his dad’s Quidditch trophy. 

The choir ate dinner at the Great Hall, and it was an exhilarating experience to be able to walk up the staircase and into the magnificent room. Unfortunately, the Great Hall had no floating candles, sorting hat, or magically appearing food. Every day for breakfast and dinner, the GBC members sat in one of the House tables. Since there was a change of tables daily, there were shouts of excitement about what House’s table the choir was sitting at: “We’re sitting at the Gryffindor Table! Wait, it might be the Ravenclaw table!”

Finally, on the last morning, the choirboys got what is probably the ultimate dream of a Harry Potter fan: to sit at the High Table. Where did this kid reporter sit? In groundskeeper Hagrid’s seat! It was a glorious moment, to look out and imagine seeing Dumbledore commencing a feast or Harry receiving mail from Hedwig.

Harry Potter isn’t the only piece of children’s literature associated with Christ Church. Math professor Charles Dodgson — more commonly known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll — wrote Alice in Wonderland based on the stories he told to the Dean of Christ Church’s daughter Alice. Carroll was also inspired by a painted glass panel in the Great Hall. 

So after a week in the corridors of Christ Church, rehearsing before concerts, telling people about the mission of the choir, and singing at their best, the Georgia Boy Choir, came to know the Evensong program well and did it brilliantly. Spirits were high whether it was time to play cricket on the Christ Church Meadows or to perform an Anglican chant under candlelight in a church. One of the tour guides at the beginning of the week said, “Singing at Oxford has been a long tradition and it is an honor. Value your time here and do well, and I hope it is a wonderful experience.”

And the boys can be proud to say they did just that.

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang

Photo: Kid Reporter Andrew Liang at Christ Church, Oxford. (Courtesy Andrew Liang) 

Summer Camp: Boy Scout Style

Where can an intrepid and adventurous boy go to build fires, trek mountains, and experience the outdoors? The answer is Boy Scout Summer Camp, where I was for a week this summer. Summer camps are run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization, now more than 100 years old. The BSA encourages boys to preserve and protect the wilderness, to understand and appreciate nature, to be a leader in the community, and to learn various skills such as Lifesaving, Camping, and Swimming.

I went with Troop 2000, my Boy Scout unit, to go to the summer camp at Rainey Mountain in northern Georgia. Rainey Mountain is a Boy Scout reservation located by breathtaking mountains and a gleaming lake.

Each day for a full week, I took various courses to earn merit badges, awards for learning different abilities and skills. A Boy Scout needs at least 21 merit badges and needs to lead a community service project to rise to the sixth and highest rank: Eagle Scout. Only 5% of all Boy Scouts make it to the rank of Eagle.

My merit badge courses were First Aid, Environmental Science, Citizenship in the Nation, Communication, and Citizenship in the World. During these days, I acquired much knowledge in class, from treating snakebites to the benefits of greenhouse gases.

At night, my fellow scouts and I slept on bunk beds in wooden Adirondack cabins with no electricity.

Throughout the week, I participated in many activities, one of which was the Scout Skills Competition. I was a member of the team representing my troop and after an evening filled with tying knots, orienteering with compasses, lashing with ropes to make camp gadgets, and building fires with flint and steel, our team emerged in first place as the fastest to be done with the challenge.

Apart from classes and activities, we had meals in the dining hall, where the camp staff made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us. Before breakfast and dinner, the highly patriotic scouts and staff lined up for the rising and lowering of the American and state flags, which would be accompanied by a loud cannon shot and a tune played on a bugle. Afterwards, staff members would make announcements about fun stuff happening around the camp and during our couple hours of free time, my friends and I went to many demonstrations and lectures held by Eagle Scouts that were part of the camp staff.

Also, I liked to go with my buddies during free time to the trading post to buy a slushy, some candy, or an ice cream. This little camp store was the embassy of the outside world.

Some boys went fishing for trout in the camp’s lake and I heard that someone in our troop caught six fish in four minutes!

Every boy had something to do at summer camp and we all had a blast! Boys were boys, and sometimes we were messy, but when it came to cleaning up, I think we did a swell job. From the minute we joined scouting, we knew to leave no trace. There was no physical trace or evidence that we were ever there at summer camp for a week, but in our minds, we boys will cherish the awesome memories of Boy Scout Summer Camp.

—Kid Reporter Andrew Liang