After a successful, respectful debate in the Upper School, leaders from the Young Republicans Club and the Young Democrats Club held another debate in front of an audience of fourth and fifth graders just ahead of the presidential election.

Associate Director of Community, Inclusion, and Equity Joe Valentine-White opened the assembly by explaining how the debate would work: Each participant would have one minute to answer the question followed by 30-second rebuttals. Ben Schatz ’25 served as the moderator when Jackson Armacost ’26 went head to head with James McLaughlin ’26 on the topics of the economy, health care, and education.

McLaughlin spoke about high gas prices and the Inflation Reduction Act; Armacost explained how tariffs worked. Both students favored lowering prescription costs, though they had different ideas for how to do so. McLaughlin communicated the importance of public education for our nation; Armacost suggested that public schools would best be left to the states rather than be funded federally.

In closing statements, Armacost said that even though they don’t see eye to eye on everything, “James and I are really good friends.” The students acknowledged that they actually agree on many issues, though they may disagree on the policies that would best achieve their goals. They emphasized that people on both sides of the aisle would do well to do more listening and working as a team, which would make for a stronger America.

The Lower Schoolers watching wrapped up the session with questions for the upperclassmen, followed by Valentine-White, who posed a final thought and question to the group: “No matter who wins the election, the important thing is that we come together to solve our problems,” he said. “What are you doing to help our community thrive?”

Upon later reflection, the Upper School students considered the impact of their debate:

“I believe modeling civic engagement to our Lower School students is incredibly important for improving their understanding of the electoral process. The opportunity for these students to watch their Upper School role models engage in passionate, respectful political debate encourages them to participate in politics, which is vital to ensuring the continuity of our electoral process,” said McLaughlin. “Furthermore, our debate allowed Lower School students to begin to think critically about the American political landscape and formulate their own conclusions about their values and their perspectives on the arguments of both political parties.”

“It’s so important to model civic engagement to Lower School boys so that when they grow up they are able to disagree respectfully and have friends of many different political opinions. James being the head of Young Dems and me being the head of Young Repubs, but still being close friends is a really good example,” said Armacost. “I think that we see the opposite of this practiced by many adults nowadays, so it is incredibly important for the youngest among us to realize that we are all Americans and we need to come together, regardless of political views, to create the best America we can in the future.”