EVERETT – It was like an old-fashioned town hall session – with a few differences.

The people doing the speaking were calm, collected and thoughtful. The people listening weren’t allowed to comment or respond.

Topics included everything from abortion to school testing, from stem-cell research to what the kids can eat for lunch, and then some.

The people speaking were high school seniors, and those listening were elected officials and candidates.

Sunday’s 10th annual Washington State Student Forum brought to Cascade High School 23 officials and candidates, about 200 onlookers and at least 100 high school seniors ready to speak their minds.

“Do we really have to trade beauty for ugly?” said Chris Stechen, an 18-year-old Archbishop Thomas Murphy High School senior, referring to urban sprawl. The question was rhetorical, since the students weren’t allowed to ask questions, only make comments.

The forum is a chance for high school seniors, many of whom are of voting age, to let their opinions be known to elected officials, said student organizer Christina Radecki of Snohomish High School.

This event is the largest of its kind in the state, she said, based on the number of officials who show up. Elected officials all the way up to presidential candidates were invited, she said. Most of those who attended Sunday were elected officials in Snohomish County or challengers for state legislative positions.

“The whole thing is organized by students, they make the contacts, they set it up,” said Cascade government teacher Mike Therrell.

The first few students to speak were selected ahead of the event by teachers to provide some balance between liberal and conservative statements, Therrell said. After that, the microphone was open.

Each student had one minute to say his or her piece. They lined up behind microphones on either side of the school’s auditoriumlike activity center.

Ashley Jimenez, 17, of Cascade, said her grandfather has cancer and she wanted him to live to see her graduate from college – and that stem-cell research was the way to help him do it.

Peter Sharp of Cascade said one of the objections to gay marriage is “why should you be allowed to marry your cat or your car or 42 people. I don’t see anyone here married to their cat or their car.”

The Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), was a hot topic, with most opposing it, saying it wasn’t a true measure of learning. Traffic and road problems in particular places were another popular subject. Many spoke on both sides of Initiative 892, which would legalize electronic slot machines in certain areas. Stricter drunken-driving laws was an oft-repeated plea.

The students’ comments were thoughtful, and in most cases, “they’ve done their research,” said Kathy Purviance, whose daughter Elizabeth of Snohomish High helped organize the event.

Several students objected to having only “healthy” choices available in school cafeterias and vending machines. Among them was Mallory Fisher of Cascade.

“I believe we should have the right to choose what we eat at lunch because nobody here looks obese to me.”

Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.