TOWAMENCIN – This is not the first time North Penn High School’s Dr. David Hall has organized a viewing of the presidential debates with his students. In fact, it isn’t even the second. For a while now, Dr. Hall has invited the members of his sociology class to watch the debates together via Google Classroom, chatting to each other online about what the candidates were saying. Last night however, he hosted his first in-person viewing party of a presidential debate, an idea given to him by a student, Mason Blankenberg.

“I invited everyone into Google Classroom and Mason just said, ‘why don’t we come in to do it here?’ So we did,” Hall explained.

As it would turn out, the idea was a good one as eleven students of various political beliefs made the commute back to the High School at 8 o’clock. It would be first Presidential Debate Party in North Penn history, though after tonight perhaps not the last.

“I thought everyone should get together and watch the debate because it’s a good way to really get to know your classmates and their beliefs, and because everyone will be old enough to vote,” Blankenburg said.

Sponsored by Lansdale’s Taco Bell, the students had plenty to snack on in the hour leading up to the debate. A lengthy time to wait indeed, but no one could call it boring. As the clock ticked down, they danced and cracked jokes and ate and drank from the scores of tacos and soft drinks provided.

At 8:30, Hall found clips of Just Dance and he and a student busted a move to the Final Countdown (aptly chosen given the circumstances). Another song was played after that and this time more students got involved in the fun, chuckling and dancing arm and arm. By the time it was over, the room had grown hot and the sound of laughs echoed off the walls. By this time it was still only 8:40, which meant they had a lot more time to kill. In the lead up to 9 o’clock, they chose to watch a clip of a Japanese game show about eating marshmallows and after that, a Saturday Night Live skit of the previous debate. When the clock finally struck 9, it was difficult for the students to keep from smiling. However, once the candidates were announced everyone fell silent.

As Trump and Hillary took their positions on stage, every eye was watching unblinkingly. Sure, the students enjoyed the dancing and SNL, but the real reason they were here was for the debate. Even the YouTube stream chat was a frenzy of excitement as the moderator, Fox News’ Chris Wallace, said the opening statements. For those moments at the beginning, everyone was silent in anticipation, a stark contrast to what the room was before. Once the debate got underway, though, the class was certainly willing to share more than a few comments regarding the candidates. Student reactions varied – the final tally was as follows: for laughs: Trump’s 8 vs Hillary’s 1, for negative comments: Trump’s 8 vs Hillary’s 7, and finally for positive comments: Trump’s 1 vs Hillary’s 0. Interesting data indeed.

When the debate was over at 10:45, everyone remaining stood up, stretched, and discussed their closing comments. The overwhelming consensus for the most memorial moment was Trump’s “hombres,” though a close runner up was his popular saying, “you’re wrong.”

After it was all said and done, Hall felt great about the event.  “I had a blast doing it this year. It’s a shame that I have to wait another four years to do it again.”

“It’s important for students to get interested in the political climate,” Blankenburg added. “We aren’t little kids anymore where this doesn’t mean anything. Politics are used all the time in daily life so it is better to have a good understanding about it than being lost and knowing nothing.”