The students of Malden High School were able to have “a great opportunity to see politics in action,” commented MHS history teacher Richard Tivnan, as the debate was held between candidates for the position of secretary of state. Politics were definitely in action, as the students were able to experience a debate to help decide on the new secretary of state within the confines of the MHS library.
The three men who running for the position were Democratic William F. Galvin, who was re-elected on Nov. 4, 2014, Republican Malden City Councilor-at-Large David D’Arcangelo, and Green-Rainbow party member, Daniel Factor. Each candidate gave his views on many topics, such as teen voting and business competition. Moderating the debate were MHS AP Government teachers Gregory Hurley and Richard Tivnan.
Hurley observed that the students were “most impressed with the candidates when they not only presented strong convincing evidence, but when they also made a strong argument using that evidence.” Without evidence, the arguments attempted to be made
lost much validity according to the students.
Both Tivnan and Hurley were the moderators for the debate. They were chosen under a time crunch in which the decision for them to be moderators was made only three days left before the debate with “very little time to prepare.”
Even with the time restraint, Tivnan felt fully confident during the debate and believed it would proceed smoothly because “the students of MHS [helped them] by writing all of the questions.” He mentioned that he was nervous before the debate but once it started, enjoyed it very much.
The debate allowed for students to gain a better understanding of the way the government works, rather than learning it from textbooks. MHS appreciates the candidates that attended at the debate and wished them luck in the election.
