BY TAMARAH WALLACE
From security guards to an opinion segment open to the audience, this year’s annual mock presidential debate, hosted by the National Honor Society, strove for accuracy and the dispersal of sound political knowledge to Cooper City High School’s student body.
“I think the debaters were pretty accurate [in depicting] their candidate’s stances and so hopefully students have heard and understood what the candidate brings to the table,” CCHS senior Kia Del Solar said. “This is very important in order to incentivize citizen participation [in voting] through having the future generation build an interest in these matters.”
The mock debate was open to all students, grades 9 and 10 during their social studies classes and 11 and 12 during their personalization classes, and included the student portrayal of 4 presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson. One standout moment from the debate was the take down of fake protesters by student security guards to startlingly disrupt and add some enjoyable light hearted fun to the serious aesthetic of the subjects discussed. The debate itself focused on a range of topics, encompassing everything from foreign policy to the candidate’s own controversies.
“I think the mock debate was a great learning experience for my classes. [It] can really make an impact on how students react to politics in the future as voting citizens,” English and Debate teacher Wendy Schauben said. “And as CCHS’s debate coach, I could see that all of the students really embodied the candidates they portrayed, not only in their stances but also with their gestures and tone.”
The “candidates,” portrayed by various CCHS juniors and seniors, had each volunteered for their position through the National Honor Society and had very specific reasons for their participation in the mock debate.
“I chose to try out for Gary Johnson because some reject the cliche that a citizen who chooses a principled 3rd party candidate is squandering his or her vote,” student candidate and CCHS junior Bruce Glasserman said. “I took part in the mock debate because this is the moment to look at the candidates on this year’s ballot. This is the moment to see this election as not so much about them as about the American people and where their country is heading.”
Similarly, another mock debate candidate, Jill Stein, shared her rationale for participating in the event.
“I believe that a chance to participate in an event such as this was undeniable. I really loved that I could inform students about politics while learning about them more closely myself,” said candidate and CCHS junior Emma Sheridan. “It was a great experience that I am looking forward to [participating in] again next year.”
Students who had the chance to see the debate had also positive remarks about the mechanics of the debate and were pleasantly surprised by the incorporation of third party candidates.
“The mock debate taught me a lot about the upcoming election and I really liked the inclusion of third party candidates, it was interesting to hear their stances,” said CCHS Junior Talia Slann.
