This year is the end of President Biden’s term making it a significant election year. The election had many shocking events that students and staff kept up with as the whole situation determined the future of the nation.
This election was like no other with so many unexpected moments. It was primarily between the two main political parties who have held positions in the federal government for years, the Republicans and Democrats. Elected officials from both parties first appointed Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden to run against each other. Not too far into campaigning though, President Joe Biden dropped out of the election, and Vice President Kamala Harris ran in his place as the democratic representative.
“There were also some independent candidates running for president. One of the most prominent was Robert F Kennedy Jr,” BBC News Reports said, “but he suspended his campaign in August and backed Trump.”
Most campaigning began around the end of 2023 or early 2024. This is when both parties confirmed their candidates and they each began to publicize their presidential platforms and advocate what they believed in.
“When the election first began I was really eager to see what each party stood for and who was going to make what type of changes,” an anonymous student said. “I had a general idea of what the republican party and the democratic party usually stood for but it’s always fun to see what each new person is bringing to the table.”
As campaigning continued, people were able to take their own stances after becoming relatively familiar with the ideologies from either party. People would group themselves in support of either the republicans or the democrats based on their shared beliefs.
“One of my main deciding factors for who I was going to support in this election was the Trump 2025 plan,” an anonymous student said. “I didn’t completely agree with the plans that Trump was going to invoke moving forward and I didnt think I wanted to support him after that.”
This election did not only have effects on the community around Champe, but it had effects in Champe’s classroom environment as well. AP (Advanced Placement) Government classes made sure to follow along with the election as a part of their curriculum.
“Everything that occurred in the election is a part of our class,” AP Gov Teacher Ryan Girard said. “We made sure to fully discuss, debate, and analyze different parts of the presidential election.”
Although it was almost nationally acknowledged that this election was like no other, this was significant to students as they analyzed and followed the election as it moved forward. It was important that they looked into why the 2024 presidential election was so different to others and how this could have possibly affected the results.
“I’ve been teaching AP Government for two government cycles now and this was evidently different,” Girard said. “We saw how there was a former incumbent president- elect Trump up against the active Vice President, so from an election standpoint, it was very unique.”
One main worry for students is certainly how the results of this election would affect their school system or the curriculum itself.
“I’ve heard and seen online things that say that once Trump becomes president he isnt going to let us learn specific things at school anymore,” a second anonymous student said. “I’m unsure how true that is but it’s scary to think about how my education might change.”
Although the alteration of the school system is a very big possibility, staff aren’t all too worried about this issue:
“There could be some minor changes to the schooling process but I’m not expecting anything too major,” Girard said. “This is mainly because the states take care of most of the issues in relation to education, so if anything changes it will be on more of a local level anyways.”
Students and staff are ready to see what this 2024 Presidential election brings for us as we transition into 2025. The future is completely unexpected but everyone has their fingers crossed for the best.
“I’ve learned a lot about the American presidency and politics during this election,” a second anonymous student said. “We can only wait to see how it plays out now.”
