On November 1, candidates of the 2023 Election Simulation participated in the annual debate. To accommodate the event, students and faculty were given a new schedule with a longer third band split into two parts: 3A and 3B, and shorter band times. Classes were assigned bands to watch the debate in the auditorium to help them vote during today’s Election. Band 3A was allotted to candidates for City Council races while Band 3B featured the Republican Presidential Candidate debate.
AP Macroeconomics teacher Joshua Krinsky said that the back-and-forth of the candidates during the debate was “[realistic], comical, and also representative of what we see in the actual debates.”
The candidates themselves had positive feelings about the debate as well.
“I felt welcomed and loved on stage, which made it easier to focus on what was important,” said senior Tiffany Agbonwaneten, playing Democratic City Council candidate Selvena Brooks-Powers.
Tiffany said that she had to “mentally prepare for the debate” due to feeling nervous about public speaking.
Hamza Mohamed, playing Republican Presidential Candidate Doug Burgum, said that he felt nervous during the debate, but overall describes the debate and his experience as “entertaining and enlightening.”
Of all the candidates who did participate in the debate, one was missing: Republican Primary candidate Donald Trump. As his opponents discussed their policies in the auditorium, the Trump campaign hosted a rally in the cafeteria. This was done to replicate the absence of Trump in debates in real life. This particular event captured the attention of the student body after videos spread of students physically carrying out some opposing campaign members during Trump’s rally.
As part of the Chris Christie campaign, seniors Lora Janczewski and Victoria Madej said, “We knew Trump and Christie had tension so when we interrupted the rally, we were hoping to replicate it. We wanted to see how far we could push our boundaries to make the Election Sim entertaining for us and the underclassmen.”
Students who attended believed that the debate was informative of what each candidate’s ideas were, which helped them decide who they wanted to vote for.
Junior Chloe Guthrie said, “I thought that some people had very unique opinions that not everyone shares.”
Sophomore Jazlyn Febles described the debate as “organized and engaging” and said that she is now aware which candidates will receive her vote.
