Annual API Model Congress Unfolds; Blue-Red Issues Debated
By Livy Loving ’11
News Staff Reporter
Now in its 34th year, Choate’s Model Congress continues to give students a feel for real-life politics outside of the classroom. Each year, the American Political Institutions course (API) focuses in part on a “mock” Congress, meant to help students understand how the United States House of Representatives speaks, debates, and votes on different issues.
“Every student has to write a bill, and everyone is a Congressman,” said Suril Kantaria ’09, the director of this year’s model Congress. Zachary Goodyear, an API teacher, chooses the director each year. The director is selected from among underformers taking the course to assume the position as a directed study project in the fall of junior year. The director’s job is to make sure that the entire Congress runs smoothly, chair of committee sessions and acting as Speaker of the House during floor sessions.
Mock Congress Convenes
The students in the course split themselves into Democrats and Republicans—not necessarily evenly—and each group elects a party leader. Because each party has students in several class blocks, the party leaders choose ‘whips’ to help them organize. “The leader and whips make sure everyone is organizing their stance on the issue, so that during the committee, the party doesn’t fall apart,” explained Kantaria.
Sections of the class make up three committees—Judiciary, International Relations, and Appropriations. There are four committee sessions for each class. Most of the students in the course are seniors, but each year there are about six to seven juniors spread across the courses.
Once each student writes a bill or resolution, the director and teachers select the top three bills from each committee. Issues debated this year within the bills have included affirmative action, gun control, and anti-terrorism surveillance.
“What we do in class is fairly straightforward, but this type of learning means you have to imagine yourself as a member of Congress,” said Mr. Goodyear, a teacher of the class.
Kantaria agrees. “It’s truly a good opportunity to play the game of politics, and introduces people to what happens in Washington.”
Similarties seen in Washington
“Another essential part of the whole course is the actual trip to Washington,” said Kantaria. “The students actually get to meet Congressmen, senators, White House officials and representatives of the media.” From October 30 to November 1, the API class traveled to Washington to get a feel for the three branches. The agenda for the trip included a tour of the White House, briefings and interviews at the State Department, and meetings with Representatives. “We were able to watch government in action,” explained Lauren Gambardella ’08.
The Model Congress is now in its thirty-fourth year, as it originated in the mid-1970s. “A student in API came up to me and said ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had a model Congress?’,” explained Mr. Goodyear. “It’s been a directed study ever since.” The student, Bruce Cooper, was the program’s first director. Later he became an attorney at the CIA.
A student does not necessarily have to have political aspirations to be interested in the course. “It’s for any student who is interested in how the system works, and how it should work,” commented Mr. Goodyear. “The thing about a republic is that the governmental system is as good as we make it.”
While many issues discussed in class have to do with today’s world, the model Congress is “not a current events course,” said Mr. Goodyear. “But it gives us a chance to talk about current events and debate them.”
Floor Sessions Shed Insights
This year, there were two floor sessions, November 8th and 14th. “The floor sessions allowed us to see how politics work with committee caucuses and backdoor dealing” said Jake Didden, an API student. Another student said “The floor sessions are frustrating as there are certain representatives who try to run the show, and it is hard for me to voice my opinion”. On Parents’ Weekend, there were two committee sessions, each thirty minutes, because of the abbreviated schedule.
“I think the Model Congress is one of the most enjoyable experiences for students interested in politics,” said Kantaria. “Basically, students who participate have to actually think about the impact of each bill, the constituents’ and colleagues’ opinions, and how party members will react. It’s a lot of strategizing that takes place outside of class.”
“I think [the course] has been helpful, historically, to students,” said Mr. Goodyear. “It’s a different way of learning, and that’s a key to any educational enterprise.”
