It can be hard to find a non-partisan news source these days, however, C-SPAN works with internet providers to give access to political events and resources. On March 7, the Thursday before Spring Break, the C-SPAN bus allowed AP History students to tour the bus where some of the broadcasts are held with political leaders.

The non-profit company, surprisingly, receives no government money or support from any biased sources. It is only funded by cable, satellite and telecommunication companies who give customers access to C-SPAN.

On the website, www.c-span.org, you can watch videos of the House of Representatives and Senate talking, or search any videos of something you want to see like of Debbie Lesko, our district representative, or Kyrsten Sinema, one of our senators.

In 1993, with the mission to make government more open to the citizens, C-SPAN created the C-SPAN bus as a learning center and production studio, visiting hundreds of communities each year. With them only being in Arizona for two days, it was an honor to have them visit Agua Fria and give a reliable resource for students and teachers.

As the only school in Avondale that C-SPAN chose to visit, Jenae Green, C-SPAN representative said, when getting in contact with the superintendent, “We asked what school we should go to and they said, of course, Agua Fria High School. You know this high school really is the heart of the community, it was the first high school, it’s a diverse community and involves the traditions, the cultures and what this community stands for.”

The 40-foot bus parked in front of our school where students piled in between 2nd and 3rd hour. Inside, half the bus was lined with tablets students could learn and take quizzes on. In the back of the bus was a couch with a giant TV in front, a selfie station that you could pretend to be a reporter at, and a touch screen TV that gave 360-degree views of different places.

“I’m a geek and they had a bunch of teacher resources, so I felt that was really cool,” AP US History teacher Ms. Secor said. “But for the kids, I felt the selfie station was cool where you could hold a microphone and take pictures, and pretend you were broadcasting.”

The bus itself has held many elected officials and candidates for live broadcasting around the world. In the words of Jenae Green to students, “So you are just as famous, if not more famous, than anyone who has been on here.”

To Megan Wood, an AP US History student, “I thought it was really interesting and cool to see an inside look of what goes on.” The tour of the bus truly gave us a peep into C-SPAN broadcasts, more into the government, and the bus itself.

“We simply hold up a mirror to your government and let you see it, or make you feel like you’re a fly on the wall,” Green said. “You are right there, a part of the political process, watching history as it unfolds, and being there on a day-to-day basis.”

As a huge resource for students and teachers, C-SPAN is the most non-partisan source compared to other news organizations. During the time on the bus, they emphasized heavily on their purpose, which is that the audience after watching can make their own informed decision and opinion with no bias from the source. C-SPAN doesn’t even have commentary or commercials!

Even though it was just a small field trip to the front of our school to see a bus, it was really exciting and enlightening! It was an honor to have them come out to Agua Fria and allow for our students to explore the bus!