As the nation and the Academy prepare for an intense presidential election, the Academy is introducing initiatives to engage students in political discourse outside the classroom. While civic education is already an interwoven theme throughout the Academy’s social sciences curriculum, the Center for Service and Global Citizenship looks to ready the community for earnest democratic discussion. The CSGC’s “24 For 24” election education program will host 24 meetings across the eight weeks leading up to this year’s upcoming US presidential election on November 5.
Through engagement with civic education, the CSGC’s team of faculty and students intend to promote expressive freedom and intellectual diversity, both important educational ideals outlined in Head of School John Austin’s A Framework for Schools. This program invites students to converse on American political polarization, encourages the holding of partisan views, and creates a space for these student-led discussions facilitated by the neutrality of Deerfield employees.
Director of Educational Initiatives David Miller, one of the leaders of the 24 For 24 program, hopes to foster “expressive freedom,” he said, through conversations in the CSGC by offering possible paths of engagement. “We have some small spaces and some big spaces [for students to engage],” he said. “We have ways for students to engage from a LibGuide… we also hold conversations in the CSGC about elections around the world.”
Mr. Miller also shared information about upcoming opportunities for student engagement, which aim to create a space for students to express their own partisan ideas. The first upcoming event, named “Political Parties in Polarized Times: A Conversation with the Chairs of the Massachusetts Democratic and Republican Parties,” was a facilitated discussion between the chairs of the Massachusetts Democratic and Republican parties. History and Social Science Department Chair Brian Hamilton will moderate this discussion, scheduled to take place after sit-down dinner on October 1. This event was the first time the two political leaders were asked to share a stage; they mostly present for partisan events.
Additionally, this year’s Deerfield Forum will occur during a school meeting on October 23, as opposed to after sit-down during Spring Term. The Forum will be centered around the question “How does the press shape American elections?”
Ultimately, Mr. Miller wants to encourage students to have political conversations outside of the controlled environments offered by the 24 For 24 program. “The best conversations should happen outside of these 24 opportunities,” he explained. “We want to let students test out ideas, and listen to people who are very different from them.”
Mr. Hamilton emphasized this idea of creating a partisan yet civil space. “We try to increase dialogue among students about matters they care deeply about,” he said. “The broader work is to help move toward a place where people can speak their minds.”
Mr. Hamilton sees his role in the 24 For 24 program as an opportunity to “help students gain a better understanding of some of the basic architecture of American democracy.” He said that his goal for the program is to better inform students “about how it [the election] affects all of our lives,” he said, Mr. Hamilton will also hold discussions on the Electoral College and media in the election, and present a general overview of political parties.
Josh Freedman ’26 described one of these discussions that occurred earlier this month; he led a debrief in the Parker room the Wednesday following the ABC News Presidential Debate. “The main stimulus of the conversation was how both of the candidates acted and portrayed not only themselves but also their policies and stances throughout the debate,” Freedman said.
Acknowledging a bigger picture of the election, Freedman said, “This election goes beyond just federal elections; there are also state elections happening, and state legislation that’s happening. As someone who personally worked in the Massachusetts Legislature… there’s a wide range of different legislative processes throughout the United States that all have different effects,” he elaborated.
Freedman hopes the 24 For 24 program will help the community better understand Dr. Austin’s framework. “He [Dr. Austin] wants students to either question their views, or feel more ingrained in them,” Freedman said. He also hopes that the program will encourage further student participation in political conversations. “Deerfield students have been slightly reluctant about politics,” Freedman said; “we want students to be more willing to opt themselves into general conversation about the legislature, and what this means for America, politics, and people. We want students to be able to understand and engage themselves with that conversation, both inside Deerfield, and out.”
Mr. Hamilton reiterated that the program’s purpose is to empower students in politics, not just to educate. “We want to create space and support those who are part of young political advocacy groups; this is a campus for them,” he emphasized.