The debate was spirited in

the council chambers at Fayetteville City hall Wednesday afternoon, but

not from the usual suspects.

A government class of seniors

from Fayette County High School took over the room for its annual mock

City Council meeting, as students filled the roles of mayor, council members

and city staff to discuss the city's new sign ordinance.

The students came in for the

big day with relatively little time for preparation and not much help

from teacher Peter Lewin, who was obviously pleased with the results of

his class project.

The topic is chosen each year

Lewin said. This year, the class was notified only a couple of weeks in

advance.

Also, there was little actual

class time spent on the project, as Lewin took only one day in class to

review the sign ordinance with the group. The students who participated

got the bulk of their information from their own research, interviewing

city officials themselves and doing whatever other legwork was necessary.

The participants were chosen

in much the same way we all choose our real-life political participants

with an election. Seven class members ran for posts on the City Council,

and three vied for the mayor's seat.

Those who survived that process

to take part in the meeting included Mayor Greg Asworth and council members

Rebekah Cline, Lanedra Howard, Joey Joslin, Jonathan Shaw and Kyle Williams.

Other roles were filled by Kevin Walker (planning director), Chase Scott

(engineering director), Matt Langley (building official) and Jennifer

Goldsmith (Main Street director).

The meeting was adjourned in

just under an hour, as the council voted to approve the sign ordinance

before departing for a leisurely walk