Nueva’s first presidential election had been an upset. Donald Trump’s win in 2016 was without precedent in recent history, a political outsider overcoming a massive polling deficit on a platform far outside of orthodoxy.

Located in the solidly Democratic Bay Area, the consensus view on campus had been that Hillary Clinton was a president-in-waiting.

“People were looking at Nate Silver’s model and were shocked at Trump having even a one-in-three chance,” said Upper School Math teacher Liam McDonald ’19, who was then a sophomore. “I think that election really broke students’ sense of certainty about politics.”

The day after Trump’s election, many students returned to campus still shocked by the surprise outcome the night before. The business-as-usual plan for that day had been disrupted.

“We got very little done,” McDonald recalled. “In a lot of my classes, we just talked about the election.”

Eight years later, the country has been through two tumultuous presidencies, increasing polarization, the overturning of century-old legal and political precedents, all without mentioning a global pandemic and American involvement in new wars in Europe and the Middle East.

The 2024 race gives America a choice between starkly different candidates. But closer to home, school administration and of-age voters in the senior class will have to make difficult decisions on how to engage with what promises to be a highly contentious election.

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In a relaxed school environment like Nueva’s, it’s not uncommon for teachers to foster energetic political discussion amongst their students, a practice which has even manifested at a school-wide level through special events centered around topics like practicing civil discourse. This is intended to give students a platform to express their opinions and learn how to engage in tough conversations with their peers, as well as build trust and create a “safe space.”