On September 15, 2016, I attended the Democratic National Convention/Republican National Convention panel which is associated with the Stockton Delegation. Here, the students who were involved with the Washington Internship discussed their experiences. Upon explanation, the eight students were each placed into separate sectors where they encountered various tasks from working as a runner for CNN (Tyler Osbourne) to interning for Free Speech TV (Maryam). After each student slightly detailed their personal role, the coordinator of the program opened to a series of questions which covered the students’ take from the unification of the representatives to their opinion on the diversity. To answer the first question, the students mentioned how protesters fought in vulgar ways at Sander’s standing during Clinton’s event and another mentioned how the convention is meant to draw people on the fence and rally behind their chosen candidate. In a sense, the supporters are treated harshly and the cameras show a biased visual by focusing on a small group of protesters rather than the overall group of supporters. To answer the latter question, the students phrased their answer around political diversity, although there was no ethnic/ racial diversity. A very essential question which allowed the audience to be placed into the internship itself questioned about the inaccuracies which the media was reporting. Based on this, the panel responded that the media’s goal is to focus on the conflict and remains unbiased by avoiding extra commentary. Furthermore, many Bernie and Trump supporters were being riled up for not covering all sides of the story and a particular student (Brittany) who listened to their voices was thanked for hearing opinions outside of mainstream media. Following these posed questions, the audience for the panel was left up to open discussion where the topic of civic education was explored.  The popular opinion holds that the more of civic education which is held by an individual, the greater contribution one can serve for their community with good intentions. Onward, a recently raised question is brought up regarding the possible fracturing into a third party. This idea is immediately dismissed on the basis that history has always held two parties and a third party concept would be too revolutionary.

Although the Washington Internship is only available every four years based on the election, these meetings by the Stockton Delegation will occur again on similar topics. The panel, in a broad sense, was able to highlight the objectives of the internship while providing personal experiences from each student. Most importantly, the audience was given insight into how the ropes of the political broadcasting system work and how the debates run. In addition, a high maintenance and constant stress environment was implied; however, a glimpse into the political world seems worth the trial. For any interested members, the event was enjoyable for individuals of all backgrounds and political views. In summation, I would attend the panel another time with choice due to the enlightenment and information that it provided both the audience and me.

~Millie Shah