Academy Anticipates Presidential Election
BY SAM ALTMAN, LUKE CHON, ESTHER CHAE, SAMAIYA JULY, AMERSON LIANG, ADELLE PITTS, LILY RAMPE, AALIYAH SALVA, ISHA SASTRY, MELIA THIBAULT, and THEA VAUGHAN
On Nov. 5, the United States 2024 presidential elections will take place. Republican nominee Donald Trump, with Senator JD Vance as his running mate, is against Democrat nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz. Exeter students can vote in the general elections if they are eligible, older than 18 years old, and have an ID and proof of residency in New Hampshire. As a result of efforts of political clubs on campus working with the administration, the last of these items has been placed in the PO box of eligible students. Students can either register to vote at the Exeter Town Hall in advance of Election Day or can do so the day of at the polling place for Exeter Students, Talbot Gym at the School of Technology.
In years past, candidates have come to campaign and voice their political beliefs at the Exeter Town Hall. But, even within our own community, there are several thriving clubs working on political discourse and action. In the lead-up to the election, many expect the political environment to shift. Some plan to engage with the local community via canvassing and phone banking, and nearly everyone has their own idea about how conversation around elections ought to take place on campus.
“In my prep year, the political climate on campus was very activist-centered and palpable, but over the years, it has become more centered in discussions and actions, such as phone banking or canvassing,” senior and Democratic Club cohead Aveen Burney said.
“For midterm elections in previous years, not a lot of people cared all that much about them compared to now,” senior and Democratic Club co-head Rishi Gurudevan said. “But, even then, we did a bunch of phone banking and dropped off pamphlets at five in the morning reminding people to vote.”
“The political climate has mostly been mellow, albeit a little heated after major political events, like the overturning of Roe,” senior and Republican Club cohead CJ Smith said.
“Last year, it certainly became more tense,” upper Andrew Boova said. “I think with the Israel-Palestine situation going on, people became a lot more heated about their opinions. But, after the summer, it doesn’t seem to be as tense as last year.”
With this election being seen by many as a pivotal one, many are seeing and expect the political environment to be different this year.
“I think that the political climate has been really good,” Victor Angeline, lower and co-head of Exeter Political Union (EPU), said. “I think Exeter students are very good at knowing when to speak about certain issues and when not to speak at all. Exeter Political Union is a new club this year. I think it’s doing a great job of mitigating different viewpoints and opinions, and it’s creating political literacy and raising awareness about the election.”
“The election may cause tensions to run high, especially with both candidates being divisive figures. I think that there will definitely be a lot of anger among the student body if Trump wins because the student body is pretty liberal and the school is a very liberal institution as well,” Smith said.
“People are really passionate,” Gurudevan commented. “In one of our club meetings this year, we held a canvassing training and we had more people come than ever before, which was really exciting. They really believe that it’s the most important election of our lifetime. So, the political climate is definitely very active, but also very civil and respectful.”
Upper and Democratic Club cohead Maya Piluski added, “I think the environment on campus is going to be really interesting. I’m curious to see what happens leading up to and after the election, but so far I feel like people have really open minds and are just wanting to talk about things.”
“I feel that the political climate on campus will become more active the closer we get to the election and with the debates, it has already been bubbling more than usual, which is great,” Burney said.
Payne added, “I think there is sort of a spectrum. There are certainly groups of students who are very interested and engaged, paying attention to issues, paying attention to candidates. But I think there are also students for a variety of reasons who don’t really want to talk about the election. I based that on the recent assembly speaker.”
“I think some students are perhaps not as comfortable with talking about politics,” Payne continued. “I don’t know if it’s perhaps that they don’t want there to be disagreement or if it might be something else. But again, I think if you go outside of Exeter you would find the same thing. Some people are very engaged and others not as much.”
Democratic Club adviser and Instructor in English Duncan Holcomb said, “I haven’t heard many students talk all that much about politics. Maybe as we get closer to the election, more people will, but I’ve only discussed politics with people in the Democratic Club. I have occasionally with other faculty members, but the conversation, surprisingly, has not come up all that much either outside or in the classroom.”
“For whatever reason, Exonians are always a little bit like that,” he continued. “You know how we talk about the Exeter bubble? We’re so in here and we’re just doing our thing that sometimes we forget a lot about what’s going on in the world.”
In years past, there has often been quite a bit of discussion around how the administration ought to educate the student body on politics, especially with regard to assemblies.
“I think assembly is one of the most powerful ways to educate students, and I think Exeter is doing a good job with the number of political speakers who are on the calendar this Fall,” Smith said. “They are presenting information in a very policy-focused and less partisan manner.”
“That being said, I think the school could do a better job supporting students from all sides of the political aisle and make sure that when teachers discuss politics and the election, they are doing so in a nonpartisan and open manner,” he continued.
“I think Exeter should generally just encourage dialogue about politics,” Gurudevan commented. “I know last year we had an assembly with the two governors, and I think those types of initiatives are a fantastic way to do that. And, in terms of assemblies now, I think Mr. Kilinc and that team are doing a great job of making sure that the content students are consuming is related to the everyday world.”
“Outside history classes and other classes they might have to do with current events, I think Exeter should try its best to stay apolitical, and just let students talk outside of class about it. It’s pretty easy for the school to take a political stance whether they mean to or not, and that’s the worst-case scenario,” Boova said.
Holcomb referred to an event that Principal William Rawson held. “Principal Rawson has invited some students over to his home, both Democratic and Republican members. This helps so that we don’t feel like the Exeter Republicans are our adversaries in any way.”
Angeline said, “The administration should definitely encourage students to seek out political literacy and form their own opinions instead of trying to avoid topics.”
“I would love to hear more from both sides of the parties. I think I’m definitely not informed enough to make my own opinions on a lot of the topics and I would love to get to a point where I can have my own opinion about those discussions,” lower Philly Sieverding said.
Some clubs are also taking political action within the school and in the local area in New Hampshire, inspiring the student body to take part in politics.
“We’re actually working with Republican Club on some voter registration improvements this year so that boarders who are legally allowed and have the right to vote in New Hampshire can go ahead and do so,” Gurudevan said.
Gurudevan added, “Most of what we’re doing is action focused: canvassing and phone banking. But we’re also hopefully going to send out an announcement soon about voter registration. You can register simply by going down to the town office with a letter certifying your domicile (that is, your dorm room) as well as other identification. We’ve been working with Dean Taylor and Ms. Rollick to get a letter like that into every eligible boarder’s mailbox. You need one because you can’t just show them your Exeter ID and say, ‘Oh, I live at 20 Main Street.’ Instead, you have to have a signed affidavit from the school.”
“In the Democratic Club, we’re talking about political issues that are often bipartisan,” Piluski described. “We’ve been talking about vice presidential picks, immigration, affordable housing, reproductive rights, and more.”
“The other thing we’ve been doing is getting involved with different campaigns,” Piluski continued. “We have already done some phone banking and plan to do more, and every Sunday we’re going to be canvassing right here in Exeter. We take a bus two miles away to the office for the New Hampshire Democrats. They give us a packet and teach us how to canvas, and then groups of two will approach maybe thirty or forty houses each Sunday. There are lots of independents in Exeter and many of them are very easy to talk to because they are excited to see that students are politically engaged.”
Holcomb added, “Right now we are doing some canvassing. So, on Sunday, I grab a group of students and we go out somewhere around here. We go door to door, knocking on people’s doors and talking to them about the election. We ask them who they are rooting for and we sometimes have conversations with people about if they’re voting Kamala Harris. We asked them if they need any help getting to the polls. Our big focus right now is just getting out there and trying to convince people to vote, especially people who want to vote democratic.”
Payne also highlighted the importance of discussions leading up to the election. “We had someone come in from the county office and what she presented was that this is a chance to have conversations with the individuals who you don’t agree with. If someone has a different party affiliation and is having a conversation with you and they have a pleasant interaction, then that will give them something to think about going forward.”
“It also reinforces the idea that just because someone has a different political affiliation doesn’t somehow make them evil or mean or that they have sort of outlandish ideas, but someone that you can still have a conversation with,” Payne continued.
On the level of day-to-day meetings, political clubs around campus are, for the most part, observing constructive political discourse, perhaps due to some of the Academy’s Harkness norms.
“We haven’t had any issues,” Piluski discussed. “I think people come in with a really open mind. There are a lot of people who come from Republican Club and I think that actually helps to keep our conversations more regulated. We also try to ground our discussions in articles, text, and facts, and it’s hard to get heated when you can see where people are coming from.”
Angeline said, “Each week in EPU we have a different topic, and we try to create a fruitful discussion and debate. People can share if they want to share, but we also try to make sure that there are no Harkness warriors. We encourage students to share their beliefs and their opinions, and we encourage others to combat those beliefs in a healthy, discussion based manner.”
“Other days, we’ll have lectures and seminars from either students who want to present on a certain topic or from politicians and political candidates seeking office who want to talk to us,” Angeline continued. “For example, we’re currently in the works to get Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire to come speak with us.”
“Republican Club is not a campaign club,” Smith said. “Instead, we are open to all political beliefs and will continue to discuss election-related topics in the weeks ahead. We have fostered a healthy discourse that includes people from all sides of the political spectrum and we make sure that everyone has roughly equal speaking time and treats political discussions similar to Harkness discussions.”
Republican Club Advisor and Instructor in Science Townley Chisholm commented on the political discourse in Republican Club. “Republican Club conversations tend to be pretty civilized. The election is never out of mind.”
“We’ve only met a few times this year, but we haven’t had any problems with civil discourse—everything is treated very much like a Harkness conversation. You’re not going to do well in an English class by yelling at other people whom you disagree with, and so I think the skill of disagreeing respectfully that people have learned in their classes has translated well to political conversation,” Gurudevan said.
“Last meeting, we talked about the debate between the vice presidential candidates and our thoughts on Vance and Walz. The great thing about Dem Club is that it is not an echo chamber. People with a variety of opinions come in and discuss and debate and reflect and it is a great space for anyone who just wants to get into politics,” Burney said.
Holcomb added to this topic as a club advisor. “I’ve only been to two of the meetings thus far, but I was impressed with how much the members of the Democratic Club knew about what’s going on in politics.”
“For instance, when they were talking about Kamala Harris’ choice for Vice President, a number of them knew the names of three other people, mostly governors, but governors and senators who were also considered,” Holcomb continued. “So they were having a conversation about that, but they knew who those people were and they could name them. They seem to be very well informed and interested in the facts and not just opinions.”
Payne shared how the Democratic Club sends out articles before in order to have more civilized discussions. “We certainly allow whoever wants to engage in the conversation to be a part of it, but I think a piece that they do is making sure that everyone has articles that they’re reading before they’re entering into the conversation. Because some folks, based upon perhaps an interest of time, may have a chance to really do deep dives on certain topics and other students may not as much.
“You also include the fact that we’ve got students who are coming from all over the world,” Payne continued. “Some students may be very familiar with issues or with candidates, whether it’s national or local, and others just may not be as familiar. It’s not that they’re not interested, they’re just unaware. And I think having the articles helps folks to be informed when they’re having those conversations. And it also allows folks to learn something if they just didn’t know about a particular topic, to be able to learn more.”
In the end, many of our student leaders were optimistic about the outlook of Exonians getting involved and informed politically. “One thing about Exonians is that they want to be informed on what’s going on. So, I don’t worry too much about people being engaged. If people are curious and they want to learn about something, they will,” Piluski reflected.
Gurudevan concluded, “It was Pericles in ancient Greece who said something like, ‘Just because you’re not interested in politics, doesn’t mean politics isn’t interested in you.’ You don’t need to be the next CNN pundit, but it’s my belief that you should have at least a cursory understanding of civics and government to be an informed and successful citizen, and I think the administration has been doing a pretty good job in encouraging that.”
