Discussing the Election: Browning Students Take Charge in Political Discourse

Early voting at a Manhattan polling center; copyrighted for AFP/Getty Images

On November 4th, New Yorkers went to the polls for a variety of reasons, foremost among them to vote for their next mayor. The race can perhaps be described as between three ‘outsider’ figures: two with little to no municipal experience, and one whose political survival was unexpected. This election was closely watched by millions not only across the five boroughs, but across America; what changes could be brought about, and what would they mean for the future of politics?

 Questions like these have been floating around Browning for the past few months, and on November 3rd were verbalized during an assembly for one of the school’s many discourse-based clubs, the Political Discussions Club. In a time of such partisanship, the club has become a hallmark of discourse; it regularly gathers one morning per week to discuss current events, with topics ranging from foreign relations to the economy and presidential politics. 

According to one attendee, the discussion was “about our perceptions of the race” — Browning students’ personal experience with the campaign on all sides, and how discourse around the election “turned into competition of character rather than policy”. Such insight was carried through later in the evening, where through a Zoom-hosted Watch Party students were able to talk about the live particulars of the race, asking and answering more questions about what the election meant. 

Despite the results of the mayoral election attracting much interest as to the future of the city, one thing is clear — that at Browning, a spirit of civil discourse remains present and thriving.