On October 8 and 9, 2024, the Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics (AP Gov) course of Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) finally ended their months-long mock election with votes tallied from participating juniors and seniors. Winning the title of Mister or Madam President was Republican candidate, Maxwell Fielder ‘25 in period one, Green Party candidate, Huzaifa Rangwala ‘25 in period four and Democratic candidate, Lila Rosenthal ‘25 in period five.
The election, which lasted almost the entirety of the first quarter, ended with fiery campaign speeches given to Geibs AP Language and Composition (AP Lang) classes, and a final vote in each AP Gov period.
For many, this election was a learning experience, “I learned how to put myself out there and be a public speaker, that was a really big part,” Rosenthal said. Rangwala shared similar sentiments stating, “You really have to advocate for what you believe in; and stand up for what you believe in.”
Through the course of the election, candidates were given the difficult task of deciding policy and opinions on major election topics including healthcare, women’s rights and immigration. “[It was difficult] to actually get all of your details down and understand the full scope of all [of] the problems in America” reflected Fielder on the experience.
A large part of class time for the election was devoted to putting all types of propaganda up, both to support your own campaign and “ruin” others. This friendly competition was many students’ favorite part of the experience with candidates continuing the rhetoric “[the other candidates] tried, and they just had to try harder,” shared Rangwala humorously.
Other candidates took a more humble approach giving gracious thanks regardless of win or loss. “I just want to say thank you America, thank you so much for choosing me to be your president,” Rosenthal graciously shared.
All in all, this yearly tradition is a capstone in the senior year experience at Foothill Tech, and “good practice for when we actually get to vote in real life,” Fielder said.
