And the Winner of the Presidential Campaign Is…

In the final run up to the presidential election, Ranney students representing both sides of the campaign were getting in their last words of support and promoting each candidate’s stance on the issues in an effort to sway those “independents” in the student body who had yet to make a decision for either the Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin ticket.

With coordination and guidance from Linda Abrams, Upper School history teacher, students in 7th through 12th grades gathered in Panther Hall this week for a mock debate and to listen to students present the viewpoints and key objectives that differentiate the presidential candidates from one another. Focusing on the Economy, Foreign Policy, Health Care and the Environment/Energy, students, Manik Uppal (11th grade), Jesse Feldmus (12th grade), Anna Mrzyglocki (12th grade) and Matthew Haines (11th grade), representing the Obama camp, and 11th graders Kara Santora, William Miller, John Zipp, Stephen D'Onofrio, representing the McCain camp, put forth persuasive and often humorous presentations before an enthusiastic student and faculty audience.

The lively Democrat/Republican debate, which was emceed by Krista Irons and moderated by Benjamin Mooney, both 11th graders, was followed by two rounds of Team Trivia, with students trying to correctly answer a variety of political history questions. John Lewis (singing), Head of Upper School, and David Fischer (guitar), Assistant Head of Upper School’s recounting of campaign highlights, to the tune of James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James, was met with strong popular support.

Once the debate was over, students returned to their classrooms where each received a ballot and was asked to cast a vote for the candidate of his/her choice. In order to emphasize the importance of voting system reliability, students were required to follow strict voting rules: each student’s name had to appear on the class’ voter roll, only one vote was permitted per student, and completed ballots could only be returned to a designated student election official. Students who had not “registered” to vote last week were not permitted to cast a ballot.

In the end, election results were tallied showing John McCain as the winner by a small majority – 104 McCain to 98 Obama. Ralph Nader received one vote and Mrs. Abrams even got a thumbs-up from a student. Lower School students will vote for their candiate of choice on election day, Tuesday, November 4.  Whether Ranney’s election results end up being indicative of how the campaign turns out, the Ranney community will just have to wait and see.

Although most Ranney students are not eligible to vote in this historic presidential election due to their age, these events serve as a great civics exercise, allowing students to experience the many components of the election process first hand and also learn more about each candidate’s platforms on issues that are most important to Americans. By the time these students are able to really vote in a presidential election they will have a greater understanding of political campaigns and issues and an appreciation for the complexity and importance of the American election process.

For additional information on all Ranney School news, please contact the Communications Department at communications@ranneyschool.org.