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Planning for Election Day & Inauguration
It is sure to be an exciting week ahead. Our work engaging with the Presidential election this fall has been focused on supporting students in their learning and growth, encouraging them to explore the complexity of key issues, emphasizing the importance of critical thought, and leading with questions as opposed to political partisanship. We have hosted a powerful array of speakers with differing positions to model respectful dialogue and to help our community think through and set our own norms for this kind of engagement. The Senior Monitors and the leaders of our large Young Republicans and Young Democrats Clubs as well as our Government Club have encouraged student curiosity and engagement with the Presidential election while also wanting the student body to remain united and supportive of all. It has been a remarkable fall.
As we look toward Election Day next week, we will have several spaces including our Stewart Student Center and the common rooms in our dormitories for students to watch election coverage with members of the faculty, if they are interested in doing so. Leaders from our three political clubs will be tracking results and analyzing returns in real time in Stewart.
In looking ahead to January 20, we are planning several educational approaches for our students to experience the inauguration, our democratic process in action, and the peaceful transfer of power. While we are keeping a close eye on issues surrounding security and prepared to adjust our programming as needed, we have plans in place to enable students and faculty to attend the swearing in of the newly-elected president and vice president on the National Mall. We have students who are in the process of planning a full day of activities on campus for local middle school students that will include fun, camaraderie, and civic learning with a viewing of the inauguration included in the programming. We are also exploring service opportunities where our students may connect with local retirement communities for discussions of previous inauguration moments before watching the upcoming ceremony.
EHS has a long history of participation in inaugural festivities, and we share this From the Archives article published in EHS: The Magazine of Episcopal High School in Spring 2013, which offers a fun historical retrospective. The Fall 2024 issue, arriving in late December, will provide more details about campus activities this fall.
Our traditional celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and our MLK Day Symposium will take place later that week on January 22.
