As this election season ramps up, political arguments and debates follow suit. At Edina High School, these debates can spill over to potential representatives closer to home; specifically, which teacher might make the best president? 

According to 170 students polled at EHS, the social studies department has the most presidential candidates with 61.2% support. Science was the next-closest department with only 9.4% of the votes.

The most presidential teacher was disputed. The most frequently nominated teacher was AP Human Geography and Cultural Geography teacher Christopher Griggs, who garnered 15% of the votes. Next, AP U.S. History and U.S. History teacher Erik Anderson received 5.8%. Lastly, AP Human Geography and AP World History teacher Claude Sigmund, AP European History and AP Psychology teacher Eric Payne, and AP Human Geography and AP World History teacher Brad Dahlman each racked in 4.6%. 

Despite the support the social studies department received, some students disagreed. Senior Natalie Mosakowski decided that the math department had a better shot of winning an election.

“I think [Jennifer Stone] would be the best president because she’s very logical and good at seeing multiple perspectives, but she’s also very headstrong in her beliefs and isn’t afraid to advocate,” Mosakowski said.

However, there were seniors that supported the social studies department. Senior Addie Botts believed that Anderson is the most presidential.

“He would make a great president because he’s a social studies teacher and he literally taught [U.S.] Government and I think he’s hilarious,” Botts said. “So I’d personally vote personality-wise off of that. He’s really funny and he makes a lot of good Gen-X jokes.”

This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on November 4, 2024