With spirited debates and thorough research, Glen Lake High School students got a firsthand look at the electoral process through a full-day, schoolwide mock political convention Monday.
The convention aimed to promote civic engagement and understanding of the political process, especially for seniors who are eligible to vote this year.
Laker seniors Kyra Lamb (Senator), Sully Seymour (Congressman), and Noah Scott (Governor) were among those who participated in thoughtful and spirited debates.
“I learned how nuanced every single topic was because I was set in my beliefs of what I thought, but hearing everyone else’s point of view, it just made me realize how many perspectives are out there,” Lamb said.
In the morning, classes focused on policy discussions and candidate research. By the afternoon, students held a mock debate between representatives for a Republican candidate (based on the Republican Party platform), a Democratic candidate (based on the Democratic Party platform), and a “Laker Party” candidate.
The “Laker Party” platform was created from a survey conducted among students the previous week.
“I learned about each party and how everybody has their own point of view,” Seymour said. “Everybody always thinks they’re right, but we need to work together to figure out a good solution for everybody.”
After a night to finalize research, students held a mock election on Tuesday, featuring candidates from the 2024 local, state, and federal elections.
Scott appreciated the skills he gained in forming strong arguments.
“I learned how to research for a good argument, not just looking at evidence, but looking at arguments from both sides,” he said.
Glen Lake government and politics teacher Kris Herman, who has organized the mock election annually since 2000, emphasized the educational goal.
“The single biggest thing to get across with this is that the issues matter,” Herman said. “You can debate anything you want to debate as long as you don’t make it personal, and that’s what the founders intended. It’s also an educational piece because a lot of these kids don’t even know who represents them in Congress.”
With many seniors soon to become eligible voters, Lamb, Seymour, and Scott felt the event signified the importance of understanding the issues and the political process.
“A lot of people are just really uninformed about how our government works, and I think a day like this is great to get everyone informed,” Lamb said.
Scott added, “People aren’t usually taught in school how to research candidates, who to vote for, and what issues matter to them. It’s important for us to learn this as future leaders and voters of America.”
Governor Scott won the popular vote of the mock presidential election (44.2%), followed by Congressman Seymour (31.3%), and Senator Lamb (24.5%).
As for the general election, Donald Trump won 60.3% of the vote compared to 32.9% for Kamala Harris, and 6.8% for other candidates. Mike Rogers won the Michigan Senator race over Elissa Slotkin with 60.8% of the vote. Jack Berman and Lisa Trombley won the U.S. House District 1 Representative and U.S. House District 1 Representative in landslide wins with over 60% of the vote.
