This Winter Week, Tom Conroy, the State Representative for Wayland, Lincoln and Sudbury, came to Wayland High School to discuss issues relevant to students.

Students engaged in an open forum with Conroy, similar to what he said goes on in the Massachusetts State House. Conroy encouraged students to speak, asking questions, rather than giving his own opinions.

“I wanted to talk about what you are interested in today,” Conroy said. “The fun part for me is when this is interactive.”

Conroy introduced topics that the state legislature has recently debated, hoping to receive a response from students. Among these were the Massachusetts driving age, the age when kids can drop out of school, online shopping and Facebook privacy issues.

After briefly providing background information, Conroy opened the floor to students.

“There is a movement [in the State House] to increase the driving age from 16 to 17,” Conroy said. “The percentage of auto accidents that occur by 16, 17 and 18-year-olds compared to when people who are 35, 50 or 60 … is higher in [teenagers].”

“I think new drivers, no matter what age they’re at, are going to get into more accidents,” said senior Elena Drews.

Conroy asked students whether they believed the state should require kids to remain in school until the age of 18.

“Do we want to allow kids, through law, to just walk away from their education and the hopes of a better future and better opportunities, or do we want to mandate and enforce that by keeping them in high school until they get a diploma or at least they turn 18?” Conroy said.

Conroy served more as a debate moderator than a politician during the discussion. He offered both sides of an issue, allowing students to form opinions on their own. Students of varying ages responded to the issues, making for a lively discussion.

Conroy has served as State Representative since 2006. He entered the United States Senate Race, hoping to defeat incumbent Republican Scott Brown in 2012. However, he withdrew from the race in December of 2011.

Conroy told students he enjoys working on the state level of government because of the myriad of topics he gets to work with.

“I actually enjoy [working in state government] because you have to work on local issues and understand what’s going on in the community like in Wayland,” said Conroy. “You also get to work on federal issues, the big picture stuff, not just Wayland, not just Massachusetts, sometimes not just the United States, but the whole world.”

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