HIGH SCHOOL PRESS GRILLS FORBES; CANDIDATE FAILS TO SWAY MOST STUDENTS.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Staff Writer

A group of high school journalists who interviewed Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes on Friday said they admired his pioneering spirit but think his views are too extreme and out of touch with mainstream America.

Forbes met with about 30 student reporters, editors and photographers from across the Los Angeles Unified School District in the Van Nuys High School library.

Despite his best efforts to connect to the mostly minority student audience, Forbes fell short with anecdotes about his grandfather, a poor immigrant from Scotland who made his fortune by writing about business and creating Forbes magazine.

``He's had such a privileged life - he can never relate to us even if he had a penniless grandfather,'' said Connie Chang, 17, a senior at Van Nuys High.

``He's famous, rich and upper class,'' said Vinod Puvvada, 17, a Van Nuys High School senior, who plans to register as a Democrat. ``I'm from a middle-class family and we've voted liberally.''

Forbes had a different reaction to the meeting.

``It's a great opportunity to get real questions from young people,'' he said after the forum. ``That's one of the most enjoyable parts of campaigning - the give and take.''

During the 45-minute forum, Forbes touted a school voucher plan, his flat-tax proposal and a cure for the nation's ailing Social Security system.

But the students, many of whom will be eligible to vote during the 2000 presidential election, said they weren't swayed by Forbes' arguments. Justin Gest, 17, a senior at University High School on the Westside, said Forbes' school voucher plan is misguided.

``Instead of avoiding bad schools, let's make them good schools so we don't have to have choice,'' Gest said after the meeting.

Deidre O'Neill, 16, said Forbes' flat-tax plan - which would tax Americans earning $36,000 or more at a 17 percent flat rate - would hurt her parents.

``It punishes people who are successful by taxing them,'' said O'Neill, a Van Nuys High School senior. ``Everybody should get taxed.''

Forbes' anti-abortion stance and belief in abstinence also received a cool reception among the teens.

``He talked about abstinence and not about the problems we face, which is too many unwanted babies and pregnant teens,'' said Nazanin Izadpanah, 17, a Van Nuys High senior who asked the candidate about his views on a morning-after pill.

While students were critical of Forbes, they admired his zeal for change and radical idea for scrapping the existing Social Security system for personal retirement accounts.

``I liked him in the sense that he is an agent of change,'' said Gest. But he suggested that Forbes soften his approach if he wants to win the election.

``Rather than abolish or avoid something completely, if he could compromise and be a little more conservative, it might help his campaign and (if he's elected) help the country,'' Gest said.