Constitution Team looks towards a bright future

Olivia Das Gupta News Editor

Thisyear, the Constitution Team has made it to Nationals, and there have been some changes to improve the team and better prepare incoming seniors for the task ahead of them.

The C-Team is a unique class and extracurricular that consists only of seniors, meaning that each year begins with an entirely new lineup as the previous team graduates.

One feature recently added to the program to better ease this transition is the junior exhibition team.

“The junior exhibition team is the juniors who have made C-team for next year and are competing at the state hearing to get experience for next year’s hearings,” junior exhibition team member Jimmy Johnston, said.

This year, the junior team travelled with the senior team to the state competition. This was C-Team’s first in-person competition in three years.

“For junior exhibitions, we compete on the same day and in the same place as the regular Maine south team,” junior exhibition team member Charlotte King said. “We compete in different rooms, but we have the same judges as the rest of the teams.”

Because the junior team cannot be formed until after they are approved to enroll in the next year’s class, there are some adjustments that have to be made with the timing of preparation.

“We got the questions about three weeks before, and [the senior team] had since August to work on theirs, essentially,” King said. “So, for us, it’s just a quicker turnaround.”

The junior team acts mainly as practice for the upcoming year, and all work is done outside of the classroom. Their scores at state are not counted towards the overall school score, but the experience itself has proved to be important to have for many participants.

“The people on the team for next year are all amazing, smart individuals who just know so much,” Johnston said. “I’m so excited to be able to work with all of them and learn stuff from them. Being able to do junior exhibitions this year was just a lot of fun.”

These exhibitions began last year, but were not widely practiced.

“We really have not reaped the benefits of it yet,” Mr. Andrew Trenkle, a Constitution Team coach, said. “A couple people did it last year, but it was more extensive this year.”

While the future of these students is not yet known, the team is optimistic.

“They have the experience of what it’s like, which I think will pay off next year,” Mr. Trenkle said.

Another recent addition to the team is their new coach, Ms. Leah Politi.

“It’s been a fun way to get involved,” Ms. Politi said. “Only teaching Psychology, I meet a pretty small group of students. So it’s good to get a different angle on the school.”

While the experience has been largely positive, it does not come without its share of challenges.

“Sometimes at State, there will be state government questions the kids want to tackle, and because I took civics in Ohio, I wasn’t quite as familiar with the Illinois State Constitution details,” Ms. Politi said.

However, challenges can be met with support from the other coaches.

“Not having the answers, I think, is difficult, but having Mr. Hansen and Mr. Trenkle who have been doing this for decades is really nice because they know everything,” Ms. Politi said.

The team continues to do well, and will be going to Nationals this April.

“I’m proud of this year’s group and how much they have grown in different ways, academically, interpersonally, and in speaking,” Mr. Trenkle said. “I think they have grown as much as any other team I’ve coached.”