Congressman Jason Crow (D-6) visited debate classes on Oct. 6 at Shillinglaw to speak about his career in politics and his life as a representative. After a short introduction, most of the time was left to allow students to grill him on his policies, his beliefs, and his past.
“It’s important to reach all ages of constituents,” Crow said. “Folks who are older, seniors, and people who are just starting to engage in our community.”
Assistant debate coach Rob Jackson was responsible for Crow’s visit, but for him, it was simply a stroke of good luck. He reached out to see what could happen. He didn’t expect the congressman’s office to respond.
“I saw my purpose for it, which was to help kids understand the idea of argumentation, research, but then also, how to get to where they want to be,” Jackson said.
For him, it makes a big difference to be in-person with that kind of figure. It’s an opportunity one rarely gets.
“The importance of the event was to give kids direct contact with a human being who has had rich experiences [who] has something to offer,” Jackson said. “I think with Google, AI, and even books, to some degree, we forget that people can be really important sources of knowledge.”
One student in attendance for the day was senior Kartikey Mishra, a member of Speech and Debate and FBLA, who appreciated the openness of the discussion.
“It was good to have a direct question-answer format with the Congressman…Whenever I’m doing these debates, you obviously can’t have direct insight from a congressman. Rather, it’s just public statements,” Mishra said. “But being face to face with them, [we can know] what factors they’re considering when they’re making their decisions, it tells you exactly why they think what they think, and they’re logically able to explain why they believe what they believe.”
Another special arrangement for the visit was a gift from Crow to Creek, an American flag. It was no normal flag though: it had flown over the U.S. Capitol Building for a day.
“It was something I was not expecting,” Jackson said. “It’s also cool, because it’s just a surprise, and surprises are overwhelming and humbling, because I certainly don’t feel like I should be holding this flag.”
In the end, Crow just hopes he inspired some students to be more involved in politics and action.
“When apathy and discontent with our political system is so high, showing younger folks, students in the community, what civic life and public service can be about, encouraging people to actually engage in civic and community and public life is really important,” he said.
