The Constitution team placed fifth at state on Jan. 31, beating other teams like Lake Oswego and making a name for themselves in the competition. This was a fairly unexpected result seeing as this was the highest McDaniel had ever placed in the team’s history, and the second time they’ve made state. Additionally, Oregon is an extremely nationally competitive state with lots of skilled teams at competitions, making McDaniel’s success all the more impressive.
After the months of hard work and research put in by so many students, the team had a party in the McDaniel library with cake, sandwiches, and punch to celebrate.
The Constitution team is only available to seniors the majority of the time, but it’s also available to some juniors who are graduating early, seeing as a government credit is a necessary graduation requirement.
The Con team is available to join for students through the AP Government class, which offers a Con team and a non Con team version which was a new addition this year. Both classes are taught by Amanda Alonso, who also teaches sophomore US History. Alonso described Con team as a good fit for students that enjoy collaborating in small groups and being responsible for independent research, as that’s how Con team is structured.
“The students are split into small groups, each with six students, as well as a volunteer coach,” Alonso said.
The volunteer coach is usually a lawyer who guides the students in their research and prepares them to answer impromptu questions for the competition. Students prepped by going over the rubric, discussing topics, and making sure to have good etiquette. Alonso credited this year’s Con team students for their success, describing them as passionate and hardworking.
“We have very strong students from APUSH and speech and debate and I think those skills really carry over,” Alonso said.
Senior and Con team member Seren Curtis also pointed out the connections between Con team and AP US history.
“Our team was doing the Declaration of Independence and there was a lot of overlap with APUSH,” Curtis said.
Curtis also stated that despite being similar to past activities she’d participated in, there were also some key differences, such as how much collaboration is involved in the process.
“Everyone’s used to being really independent so it was different to have everyone working together for a common goal,” Curtis said.
Even though it was difficult at times, Curtis’ favorite parts of the Con team experience were the collaborative ones.
“My favorite part of the whole process was when we went to IHOP and ate pancakes while we wrote our essays,” Curtis said.
Senior and team member Emmett Letson described Con team as a valuable opportunity because of how educated participants become during the process.
“You learn a lot about what’s happening in the world,” Letson said.
Alonso encourages Con team students to follow current news so they are more prepared for the impromptu section of the competition.
Alonso mentioned there is a benefit to participating in Con team instead of regular AP Government.
“I think Con team is an extra opportunity to apply your knowledge,” Alonso said.
You don’t have to be knowledgeable on US history or the Constitution to be a valuable member of the Con team, and the collaborative aspect means that everyone involved has something valuable to contribute. Con team is a good opportunity for all students who want to gain knowledge about the US Constitution, improve their public speaking skills and get more experience collaborating with others.
