Emmanuel Christian Academy’s (ECA) Government Class hosted a formal Republican debate in ECA’s cafeteria on March 2 for candidates running for the Ohio 8th Congressional District’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ohio’s 8th Congressional District includes Darke, Miami, Clark, Preble, and Butler Counties. The District is holding a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives on June 7, 2016 to fill the vacancy created with the resignation of John Boehner (R). The primary date for the special election is scheduled for March 15.

The ECA’s Government teacher, Greg Mann, says he was initially planned to invite just a few of the candidates to speak at the school. However, concerns were raised that doing so would imply favoritism, so Mann and his students planned the debate instead. The event was planned within one month and students say they used a variety of ways to invite the candidates to the event, including social media and YouTube.

Candidates taking part in the debate included: Ohio State Senator Bill Beagle, Warren Davidson, Jim Spurlino, Kevin White, George Wooley, Ed Meer, Scott George, JD Winteregg, and Eric Haemmerle.

This debate was moderated by Ohio Representative Kyle Koehler and ECA senior class officers, Halley McClain and Colin Toth, who are both also residents of Champaign County. According to Rep. Koehler’s Facebook page, he was thrilled to be “on the other end of the questions” for a change.

According to the class, all of the candidates were very open to participating in a debate planned and implemented by high school students. Over two hundred residents from all over Clark County attended the event. Twenty-six questions were prepared by ECA students and citizens were invited to submit questions as well.

Mann says McClain and Toth both did well as moderators. Says McClain, “I was very nervous...but it was felt really cool to be placed in a position of authority and be able to question people who will be working with President Obama, Paul Ryan, and people like that.” Toth takes a more pragmatic view, “I wasn’t terribly nervous since I know (the candidates) are just normal people, it doesn’t matter if they work with Obama or with people down at the factory...I just tried to keep up and focus on what was coming next and planning ahead as I was moderating.”

Some things about the event surprised the students. Senior Jason O’Brien helped take community questions, “We were surprised by how well-thought-out the questions were that people brought in. Some of the questions must’ve taken hours of researching and gathering information, even from things like court cases, before they were submitted. It was really impressive.” Senior Makana Wilson says she was simply surprised “by the large number of candidates running.”

The class says candidates had to work hard to gain public support. According to one student, there was no “courtesy applause” for candidates, “The audience really expected and wanted the candidates to know the issues and would only applaud when something really struck a chord with them.” Judging from the applause, the class says “education, abortion, and the liberal media” were hot topics that roused the most audience support.

Putting their personal politics aside, Mann’s students believe the debate’s top performers were Warren Davidson, Jim Spurlino, and JD Winteregg due to their energy, confidence, willingness to answer questions, and ability to articulate what they believed in.

The ECA Government students say some of the most important lessons they learned from planning and attending the debate are that a small, private school can successfully hold an important political debate; that although two candidates may essentially have the same goal, small differences in their messages can make or break them; and it is very important for citizens to take the time to learn about candidates to see if they feel the same way about the issues.

Senior Donovan Holloway may have summed up the best lesson the ECA students learned during the whole experience, “A lot of times our nation complains about government from a national picture. But really, I think we can change Congress and other things through starting small. We wouldn’t have been able to get a Presidential debate here, but we were able to get a Congressional debate in only a month. I think starting locally and working your way up is the key to get things to change.”

The class received many compliments both in person and on social media concerning how “in-depth” and “formal” the debate was and how well-thought-out the questions were. Glenn W. Rathmell posted this on ECA’s Facebook page, “(The) debate was well run, with pertinent questions. Congratulations and thank you to the students and staff at Emmanuel. Presidential debates could learn proper procedures from you.” Rep. Koehler posted, “The (ECA) students did a phenomenal job coming up with great questions. I think the candidates now know that Clark County voters are engaged and care about who they vote for”

Mann says his ultimate goal is to hold a Presidential debate at ECA. His students say they are eager to help, challenging all 2016 Presidential candidates to attend a debate at the school, saying, “We’ve proven we can put a great one together in a month!”