MORGANTOWN – People who conduct FaceTime phone calls in public are pretty annoying, but they don’t belong in jail.
That was the determination Thursday morning as a group of Morgantown High School students, sitting as Morgantown City Council, agreed it would be an “egregious overreach” for the city to outlaw the practice.
Further, the body voted against the construction of a new parking garage at MHS.
The above scenarios were discussed and debated during a mock council meeting conducted as part of the city’s observance of Municipal Government Week.
The students worked efficiently through the agenda items despite some interesting public commentary and borderline unruly audience behavior from city staff, elected officials and volunteers relishing a turn on the other side of the dias.
For example, Mayor Danielle Trumble was nearly removed from the proceedings for holding a spirited FaceTime conversation in her third-row seat. Councilor Joe Abu-Ghannam chastised the council over the city’s covert use of animatronic surveillance birds.
All acting – but not completely outside the realm of what one might experience while conducting a public meeting.
“That’s always my favorite part because it catches the kids off guard. They don’t really have anything to compare it to, so when they’re up there and they start getting yelled at, it throws them off a little bit. It also helps loosen the vibe, so to speak. The kids realize it’s not meant to be so serious. We can have fun,” Abu-Ghannam said.
Many of the participants taking on the roles of council members and city staff were from a business and marketing class taught by Abu-Ghannam at MHS. Others have participated as deputies in the City Ambassador program.
Taking part were: Maddie Mazzoni, Ava Miller, Beaux Carlson, Zoey Wolford, Anthony Sellaro, Addison Smith, Audrey Davis, Andrew Lucci, Austin Lucci and Karter Farley.
“I was just really impressed with their level of thinking about these issues. They were asking questions about ADA accessibility and changing traffic patterns,” Abu-Ghannam said of the mock council’s parking garage debate. “I think it gives the kids more perspective and it really showcases the fact that they’re quality students and quality people all around. I was really proud to hear the stuff they came up with on their own.”
Municipal Government Week 2025 started Oct. 13 and runs through Sunday.
According to the West Virginia Municipal League, the observance is meant to be an opportunity for residents, schools and local leaders to engage in activities that showcase how municipal services impact daily life.
In addition to the mock meeting, the city of Morgantown held a touch-a-truck event at Mountainview Elementary as well as a coloring contest, a photography competition and a read-a-book series in which city staff and elected officials were recorded reading themed children’s books for dissemination through the city’s social media outlets.
