Convent of the Sacred Heart students and faculty casted their ballots in a mock presidential election November 8, giving members of the Sacred Heart community a chance to voice their opinions in America’s current race for the presidency.
The Constitutional Law Honors class provided information regarding the policies of the two major presidential candidates to Upper School students, allowing students to become aware of the views that each candidate represents. Students and faculty then used this information to cast an informed vote.

“In a democratic republic, voting is our way of delegating our power to elected officials. Presidential elections get so much attention that they provide an opportunity for promoting civic awareness in our students,” Upper School History Teacher and Chair of the History Department Mr. Vincent Badagliacca said. “We want our students to be active, knowledgeable citizens who value the importance and responsibility of voting.” 
Over the past two weeks, the Constitutional Law Honors class evaluated the policies of four presidential candidates, Mrs. Jill Stein, Mr. Gary Johnson, Mr. Donald Trump, and Mrs. Hillary Clinton. However, they only presented on the policies of the two major candidates, Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton, to the Upper School community. Topics included economic policy, immigration policy, foreign policy, national security, the Constitution, the Supreme Court, justice issues, education, and health care. 
The students conducted research for a five minute PowerPoint presentation during Upper School Morning Meeting. These presentations included information which the presenters researched during time in class and at home.

“This assignment allowed me to expand my knowledge on a particular issue and how the candidate is addressing it,” Student Body President and senior Maeve Hogan said. “I think it’s very important for students and faculty in the school community to take a view on this election and it’s important that people stay informed as well.”
After the two-week long presidential discussion in the Upper School, the now cognizant students and faculty voted in the school’s mock election. To tally the votes, the school used Google Forms, which restricts students and faculty to a single vote.
“The hope was to use our most senior students to educate our student community and promote civic awareness,” Mr. Badagliacca said. “This election, more than any I can remember, has been sidetracked by issues of character and temperament. So, there was a real need for our students to hear about candidate positions on the issues.”
After students and faculty voted online, Mr. Badagliacca revealed that the Sacred Heart community elected Secretary Clinton as the winner of the mock election. 
Secretary Clinton received 49.5 percent of the total vote from Sacred Heart students and faculty while Mr. Trump received 36.4 percent of the vote. Secretary Clinton won the majority vote from all the faculty in the Lower, Middle and Upper School. Still, Mr. Trump received a majority of the vote from the ninth and tenth grade students, as well as from Sacred Heart staff and other administration. Mrs. Stein received 8.5 percent of the vote and Mr. Johnson won 5.5 percent of the vote.
-Maggy Wolanske, Staff Writer